Special Permit Granted To Enlarge Building in Historic District

BSA found the proposed expansion would not alter the neighborhood character or interfere with any pending public improvements.  On December 9, 2014 the Board of Standards and Appeals voted to grant the applicant, Galt Group Holdings, a special permit to extend the rear portion of an existing building as part of the building’s conversion into a single-family home.  The building is located at 127 East 71st Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side Historic District, … <Read More>


CityLand’s Top Ten Stories of 2014

Welcome to CityLand‘s third annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected a range of our most popular and prominent stories, guest commentaries and profiles concerning New York City land use in 2014.  Our third year as an online publication was marked by a new Mayor, a new Council, and a massive push to address the City’s housing shortage.  We at CityLand are excited to continue providing in-depth coverage of the latest … <Read More>


CPC Hears Request to Convert Artists’ Building to Residential Use

Proposed renovation would restore two floors lost to fire and open loft building to non-artist tenants. On December 3, 2014 the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for a special permit for 102 Greene Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, Manhattan. The building is three stories, with the Galeria Melissa gallery on the ground floor and two apartments above. The apartments are designated as Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists … <Read More>


Designation Supported by Community, Preservationists, and REBNY [UPDATED]

Faux-Tudor 1915 development consisting of 18 buildings takes step toward designation. On November 25, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on potential designation of Chester Court as a historic district. The proposed district comprises of 18 two-and-a-half story faux-Tudor dwellings built in 1914 and 1915 in two facing rows near Prospect Park’s eastern edge by developer Brighton Building Company. The buildings were designed by former Brooklyn Commissioner of Buildings Peter J. Collins, who … <Read More>


Commission Approves District Encompassing almost 1,000 Buildings

District was modified from its initially conceived boundaries to exclude buildings uncharacteristic of district that lay on its edge. On December 9, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve the designation of 990 buildings in the Ridgewood section of Queens as the Central Ridgewood Historic District. Pending Council approval, the district will be among the City’s largest. The district adjoins the previously designated Ridgewood South Historic District, and lies close to the Ridgewood <Read More>


Tortoise-shaped roof addition to former Tammany Hall proves controversial

Applicants argued that addition would echo the domes of classical architecture, pay homage to the Lenape who once occupied Manhattan. On November 25, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to construct an addition to a building that housed the Tammany political machine at 44 Union Square East, an individual City landmark. The building was the third Tammany Hall constructed, and the only one extant. Designated in 2013, the neo-Georgian 1929 … <Read More>