Guggenheim’s sidewalk food kiosk rejected

Museum sought to have its own food kiosk; claimed it would reduce concentration of food cart vendors outside main entrance. On October 19, 2010, Landmarks rejected a proposal to build a small, curvilinear food kiosk in front of the land-marked Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The Guggenheim and Restaurant Associates, which manages the museum’s Wright Restaurant and its third-floor cafe, proposed building the free-standing kiosk along the Fifth Avenue facade underneath … <Read More>


East Village south of Union Square rezoned

Contextual rezoning established streetwall and building height limits for an eight-block area below Union Square. On October 27, 2010, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s rezoning of portions of eight blocks in Manhattan’s East Village. The contextual plan rezoned an area bounded by the south side of East 13th Street, the north side of East 9th Street, Third Avenue, and the east side of Fourth Avenue from C6-1 to C6-2A. The blocks … <Read More>


Leslie Koch Discusses the Future of Governors Island

Leslie Koch, president of The Trust for Governors Island, is responsible for the planning, redevelopment, and operation of 150 acres of Governors Island. Located 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan, the island is the newest addition to New York City’s real estate portfolio.

Koch, a native New Yorker, draws from her experience in both the private and public sectors in managing the island. After receiving a master’s degree in Public and Private Management … <Read More>


Court challenge to East Village/LES rezoning fails

Developer argued City inadequately considered rezoning’s economic impact. In May 2008, the Department of City Planning proposed rezoning 111 blocks in Manhattan’s East Village and Lower East Side neighborhoods. Planning proposed the contextual rezoning in order to preserve the area’s low- and midrise character and channel new construction to blocks suitable for development. The plan included rezoning large mid-block portions above Houston Street from R7-2 to R8B to establish height limits while providing an increase … <Read More>


Commercial tower at 15 Penn Plaza approved

Proposed site of 15 Penn Plaza. Image: CityLand

Proposal would replace Hotel Pennsylvania with 2.1 million sq.ft. tower and reopen Gimbels underground passageway. On July 14, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to build a large commercial tower, known as 15 Penn Plaza, on Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The site is occupied by the Hotel Pennsylvania, which Vornado would demolish in order to build its … <Read More>


After judicial remand, special permit granted for residence

Second Department ordered BSA to determine whether special permit findings were met. In 2005, Alexis Lyublinskiy obtained an alteration permit to enlarge his one-story home at 136 Norfolk Street in Manhattan Beach. Initial demolition and construction work did not match building plans, and Lyublinskiy eventually demolished all but one of the original building’s walls and built a two-story house.

Buildings issued a stop-workorder after discovering that the house did not conform to the approved plans. <Read More>