Early in January 2017 the City of New York began the official public approval process for a proposal to rezone East Midtown Manhattan. The proposal was based in part on a report by the East Midtown Steering Committee co-chaired by the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and the District 4 Council Member Daniel Garodnick.
The new 2017 proposal is the third proposal for rezoning East Midtown. In 2013 the Bloomberg Administration proposed to rezone East … <Read More>
City Officials and developer broke ground on the new One Vanderbilt office building and $220 million transit upgrade of Grand Central. On October 18, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Council Member Dan Garodnick joined the developer SL Green for the on-site groundbreaking ceremony. The new office tower will reach 1,401 feet and cover the city block west of Grand Central. The tower is expected to achieve … <Read More>
Owner of Grand Central Terminal claims violation of property rights, seeks $1 billion in damages. On September 28, 2015, Andrew Penson—the owner of Grand Central Terminal in the Midtown East neighborhood of Manhattan—initiated a lawsuit against New York City for allegedly unlawfully taking Grand Central’s air rights from him for the benefit of SL Green Realty Corporation without just compensation, which is a violation of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The complaint … <Read More>
The late Bernard Richland was Corporation Counsel when the City appealed the adverse 1975 New York Supreme Court decision in the Grand Central Terminal case. Federal Judge Nina Gershon wrote about Richland’s role in a memorial article about Richland in 2004. 48 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 411 (2004).
Gershon wrote that “there were some in the preservation community who questioned the city’s resolve to pursue, through appeal, the fight to preserve Grand Central Terminal … <Read More>
MTA took private land to expand Sunnyside Rail Yard for East Side Access Project. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority acquired 38-38 43rd Street and 38-40 43rd Street in Sunnyside, Queens through eminent domain. The MTA plans to use the lots to expand the Sunnyside Rail Yard for the East Side Access Project, which would connect the Long Island Rail Road directly to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. 38-38 43rd Street consisted of a two-story storage, warehouse, … <Read More>