Queens Rezoning Application Sees Opposition From Residents

Mixed-use building seeks to bring residential and commercial space, but residents do not agree. On May 23, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the 40-31 82nd Street Rezoning application by The Heskel Group under representation by Nora Martins of Akerman LLP. The application seeks a zoning map amendment and zoning text amendment to develop a mixed-use building with residential, commercial, and community facility space in a currently vacant lot. The … <Read More>


Threatened Mansion Designated Two Weeks after Calendaring

Turn-of-the-century mansion, identified as part of Sunset Park survey, was calendared as a last-minute addition to agenda two weeks prior to hearing, followed immediately by designation. Landmarks voted to designate the Maurice T. Lewis House, at 404 55th Street in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, immediately following a public hearing on March 6, 2018. Landmarks had only added the item to its calendar two weeks prior, as a last-minute addition to the day’s agenda.


Hearings Held on Two East Midtown Early-20th-Century Buildings

Support for individual landmark designations of Beaux-Arts Hotel and Neo-Renaissance Office Building expressed at hearing. On February 20, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held public hearings on the potential designations of Hotel Seville and the Emmet Building, both in East Midtown, in the area to the north of Madison Square. Landmarks added both buildings to its calendar in December of 2017.


New JPMorgan Chase State-of-the-Art Headquarters to Rise At 270 Park Ave

JPMorgan Chase intends to pursue building a new 2.5 million-square-foot headquarters at its 270 Park Avenue location. On February 21, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio and JP Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon announced the construction of a new 2.5 million-square-foot headquarters at its 270 Park Avenue location in Manhattan, which will be the first project under the City’s innovative East Midtown Rezoning plan passed in 2017. Under the East Midtown rezoning, JPMorgan Chase … <Read More>


City Council Subcommittee Hears Jerome Avenue Rezoning Plan

Amidst opposition from community members and organizations, the Jerome Avenue Rezoning plan had its day at the City Council. On February 7, 2018, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on the application by the Department of City Planning and Department of Parks and Recreation for a zoning text amendment, zoning map amendment, and City Map amendment to de-map a portion of Corporal Fischer Place and to map new parkland … <Read More>


New Special Permit for Self-Storage Facilities: An Imperfect Victory for Industrial Jobs Advocates

The final legislative session of 2017 saw an active NYC City Council scrambling to pass almost 40 bills before the term’s end.  Among these legislative actions was the passage of a zoning text amendment for the creation of a special permit that will limit self-storage facilities in NYC’s Industrial Business Zones (IBZ’s).  City Council’s vote in favor of the new special permit is a victory for the industrial and manufacturing sectors, albeit an imperfect victory … <Read More>