Community Group sued the School Construction Authority seeking a long-term maintenance and monitoring protocol for the Mott Haven School site. The Mott Haven school campus site, consisting of four public schools, was formerly a railroad yard in the South Bronx. The site contained soil and ground water that were significantly contaminated, and the site needed to be remediated before the campus could be built. The campus opened in 2010.
The New York State Department of … <Read More>
This article was originally published on 10/15/2011 (see below for update).
Dissent argued that City only belatedly added consideration of rezoning’s impact on low-income residents. In April 2009, the Department of City Planning proposed a 128-block contextual rezoning of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Planning sought to preserve the residential neighborhood’s built character while allowing new construction at a height and scale consistent with existing development. The proposal called for establishing height limits, mapping new … <Read More>
Developer sought to extinguish deed restriction on Upper West Side property. The City, through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Asset Sales Program, sold 330 West 86th Street in Manhattan to the building’s tenants. Because the property had been designated as an Urban Development Action Area Project, the deed stated that the tenants could only rehabilitate or conserve the existing dwellings, or construct new dwellings permitted by existing zoning laws. The deed also required … <Read More>
Court of Appeals ruled BSA abused discretion in granting variance. GAC Catering Inc. purchased a single-family home at the intersection of Otis Avenue and Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island across the street from its catering business. GAC demolished the house and applied to the BSA for a use variance to build a two-story commercial photography studio to be used in conjunction with GAC’s catering hall. GAC claimed that commercial uses predominated the area, and that … <Read More>
Landmark West! representative altered public official’s statement when she read it during public hearing. Virginia Parkhouse, a Landmark West! representative, allegedly misread a letter from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer into the record at a Landmarks Preservation Commission public hearing. Stringer subsequently informed Landmarks of the misstatement, Landmarks complained to the Department of Investigation, and DOI issued a subpoena to Parkhouse. Parkhouse moved to quash the subpoena, claiming that it interfered with her right to … <Read More>
City concedes new facts and requests remand; developer allowed to retroactively correct incorrectly issued permit. Developer GRA V LLC received excavation and foundation permits from Buildings for a proposed 63-unit apartment building. With about 85 percent of the foundation poured, the City downzoned the area, restricting development to one- and two-family houses.
The developer applied to BSA, claiming it had a common law vested right to complete construction based on its foundation permit. Buildings disagreed, … <Read More>