Challenge to Denial of Hardship Application Fails on Appeal

Developer claimed that Commissioners irrationally and prejudicially analyzed hardship application, and that designation amounted to an unconstitutional taking. In 1990, Landmarks designated the City and Suburban Homes Company, First Avenue Estate an individual City landmark. The block-sized development is bounded East 64th and 65th Streets and York and First Avenues. Built between 1819 and 1915, it was constructed to provide high-quality housing to low-income New Yorkers in an alternative to crowded, poorly ventilated tenement buildings. … <Read More>


Construction Begins On Renovation of Upper East Side Community Center

Senior center and youth center in NYCHA housing will have kitchen and bathrooms upgraded. On June 8, 2018, City Council Member Ben Kallos, together with the New York City Housing Authority, announced the start of renovations and upgrades for the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center. The Isaacs Center is located in Holmes Towers at 415 East 93rd Street. Construction is expected to be completed by February 2019 and full completion and use of the … <Read More>


New Initiative Will Offer Apartment Modifications To Help Residents Live More Comfortably

Program seeks to keep aging tenants in their homes. On April 30, 2018, the Housing Preservation & Development Commission announced a new preservation program tool named Aging in Place. The program will offer apartment and common area modifications to residents of buildings undergoing City financed rehabilitation. The modifications aim to increase safety and comfort in the home and reduce risks of falls. The program was created in collaboration with the Department of Health and … <Read More>


W Hotel cited for grease traps violation

The W New York ordered to install 19 new grease traps. On November 3, 2016, a Department of Environmental Protection officer found that the grease interceptors at the W Hotel at 541 Lexington Ave., Manhattan did not conform to DEP’s standards. The inspector directed the hotel owner to install and maintain properly-sized grease interceptors in seventeen designated locations on the first and second floor at the hotel. On March 1, 2017, a DEP officer … <Read More>


Council Members Critical of Proposed Amendment in Little Italy for Larger Retail Use

An amendment to expand ground floor retail use received harsh criticism from Council Members, tenants, and the community board. On May 30, 2017, the City Council’s Subcommittee heard testimony on an application to expand the Special Little Italy District to abolish rear yards to expand retail use. The applicant, JBAM TRG Spring LLC, proposed to build a one-story addition to the rear yards of 55-57 Spring Street—eliminating empty ground floor residential units—to create an expanded … <Read More>


Comprehensive Plan for Waldorf-Astoria Renovation Approved

Plan would see some small additions, cleaning and restoration of facades, a new residential entrance, re-opening of historic interiors, and replacement of unsympathetic later elements. On April 25, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved applications to renovate the exterior and interior of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The 1931 Art Deco hotel’s exterior was landmarked in 1993, and continuous interiors on the first three levels were designated earlier in 2017. … <Read More>