Plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park Withstands Challenge

Citizens group challenged inclusion of private residential development. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki created the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation as a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation and charged it with the responsibility to design and build a proposed park on Port Authority land along Brooklyn’s East River waterfront. The 2002 agreement required that no less than 80 percent of the acreage be park space, all revenue generated from commercial uses … <Read More>


City’s condemnation of SI park to proceed

Three brothers owning land in Staten Island challenged use of ULURP to exempt City from condemnation procedures. In 2002, the Planning Commission approved an application by the Department of Parks and Recreation to add 14.5 acres to the Skyline Playground, a neighborhood park in Staten Island. Six of the 14.5 acres belonged to the Putter brothers, who planned to develop the site and had a pending application with City Planning for 50 affordable townhouses.… <Read More>


EDC lease of Hunts Point Space to Baldor approved

Competitor challenged procedures in EDC’s selection of Baldor for South Bronx lease. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for a long-term lease of two parcels across the street from the City Terminal Market at Hunts Point in the Bronx. Baldor Specialty Foods and the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association, among others, submitted proposals. EDC chose Baldor after deciding that it had submitted the most competitive lease package. Baldor, … <Read More>


DeNiro hotel fails to qualify for brownfield tax credits

Construction of DeNiro’s luxury hotel at 377 Greenwich Street nears completion. Photo:Morgan Kunz.

Developers sought brownfield credits, but had excavated and remediated site before DEC denied claim. 377 Greenwich LLC, developers of a seven-story luxury hotel and restaurant at Greenwich and North Moore Streets, conducted soil tests on the site and discovered two 550-gallon unregistered underground storage tanks. The developers applied in 2004 to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to have the site recognized … <Read More>


Court affirms approval of Brooklyn Sanitation garage

Property owners and neighboring residential buildings sued to stop Sanitation garage. The Second Department affirmed the lower court decision of Justice Abraham Gerges dismissing claims brought by property owners, nearby businesses and residents objecting to the condemnation of land in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn for construction of a Sanitation truck garage. 1 CityLand 48 (Dec. 2004).

The court found the parties’ claims untimely since their challenges to the condemnation were entirely based on the land use … <Read More>


Court upholds BSA’s denial of variance

BSA legalized existing Queens homeless housing facility, but denied request to expand facility. In the 1980s, Homes for the Homeless, Inc. converted an abandoned hotel on Rockaway Boulevard near Kennedy Airport into a 259-bed homeless housing facility; a use which conflicted with the lot’s manufacturing zoning. Over 15 years later, Homes applied to BSA for variances to expand the facility for 91 additional homeless families and legalize the use. The expansion faced significant opposition.

BSA … <Read More>