HPD’s conversion of vacant school approved

Former school at 217 W. 147th Street in Harlem. Photo: Kevin E. Schultz

HPD argued that variance would avoid demolition of 1905 school building. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development, owner of 217 West 147th Street, a 29,975-square-foot lot in Harlem, proposed to convert a vacant school into a 56-unit residential building with a community facility space in the cellar. The school, constructed in 1905 and declared obsolete by the Board of Education in … <Read More>


Parking garage approved; Stringer raises issues

Special permit for 174-space garage approved over new Borough President’s objections. Continental Residential Holdings, LLC applied to the Planning Department for a special permit to allow for a 174- space attended public parking garage within its new, as-of-right 41-story residential building at 325 Fifth Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. Although the building is located in a predominantly commercial area one block south of the Empire State Building, in recent years the area … <Read More>


Two Queens neighborhoods down-zoned

Middle Village and Glendale rezoned to allow in-context residential development. The Planning Commission approved another outer-borough rezoning intended to preserve established scale, protect low-rise character, and curb inconsistent development in residential neighborhoods. A majority of the rezoned area, 105 blocks along Metropolitan Avenue and the Long Island Railroad, will be predominantly rezoned R4-1 to allow only one- and two-family dwellings. Another 60-block area, bounded by Juniper Valley Road, Juniper Boulevard South, 78th Avenue, and 80th … <Read More>


Flight 587 Memorial Park

Site for the Flight 587 Memorial Park to be located 15 blocks from crash site. The Department of Transportation and Department of Parks and Recreation applied for a map amendment to establish a Memorial Park honoring the 265 victims who died when flight 587 crashed in Rockaway in November 2001. The site consists of .16 acres between Beach 116th Street’s southern turnaround and Ocean Promenade.

The map amendment would eliminate portions of Beach 116th Street … <Read More>


Modifications to High Line, West Chelsea district approved

Boundaries, frontage, easement access and lot coverage modified for High Line and Special West Chelsea district. In June 2005, the City Council approved several applications related to West Chelsea including the establishment of a Special West Chelsea District to support development of the High Line elevated public space, art galleries, marketrate housing, and affordable housing. 2 CityLand 83 (July 15, 2005). Public review of the proposed text amendments identified the need for additional modifications.

On … <Read More>


Two Bronx neighborhoods down-zoned

Pelham Bay and Westchester Square residents concerned that developers would move in after adjacent neighborhood was down-zoned. After the City down-zoned Throgs Neck in September 2004, 1 CityLand 4 (Oct. 15, 2004), residents of Pelham Bay and Westchester Square complained that the new limits on development in Throgs Neck would send developers north and westward into their communities, spurring over-development. While both communities are predominately developed with detached housing, the current zoning permits large apartment … <Read More>