Property owner claimed that a complying development was difficult because the High Line crossed the lot. Romanoff Equities applied to BSA for a variance to construct a twelve-story, 215-foot tall office building at 437 West 13th Street, a site occupied by a portion of the … <Read More>
Court of Appeals ruled BSA abused discretion in granting variance. GAC Catering Inc. purchased a single-family home at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island across the street from its catering business. GAC demolished the house and applied to the BSA for a use variance to build a two-story commercial photography studio to be used in conjunction with GAC’s catering hall. GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area, and that … <Read More>
Owner claimed that lot’s irregular shape and close proximity to Queensboro Bridge entrance ramp limited development choices. Royal One Real Estate LLC applied to BSA for a variance to build a 12-story, 99-unit hotel at 42-59 Crescent Street, an irregularly shaped vacant lot in Long Island City, Queens. During the hearing process, the owner modified and reduced the 35,109 sq.ft. project in order to build a 10-story building with 88 hotel units. The owner still … <Read More>
Owner sought to develop a one-story building on a corner lot formerly occupied by two-story single-family home. The owner of a vacant lot at the corner of Midland Avenue and Freeborn Street in Staten Island applied for a use variance to construct a one-story commercial building. A two-story single-family home formerly occupied the 60 x 87 foot site, which consisted of two separate lots that were merged in 2008.
The owner claimed that the lot’s … <Read More>
School’s plans would violate street wall height requirement. The Learning Spring Elementary School, a school for high-functioning autistic children, applied to BSA for a variance to construct a new 27,492 sq.ft. elementary and middle school at 345 Second Avenue at East 20th Street to replace its current Chelsea facility. The building design called for an eight-story section at the corner of East 20th Street running along the first 42 ft. of Second Avenue. The building … <Read More>
Applicant claimed that a conforming commercial office building would not yield a reasonable return. DJL Family Limited Partnership applied to BSA for a variance to construct a new seven-story building with 12 apartments and ground floor retail on Spring Street between Crosby Street and Lafayette Street in SoHo, Manhattan. DJL sought a variance because the proposed residential and retail uses were not permitted within the M1-5B district. If granted the variance, DJL planned to demolish … <Read More>