DECEMBER 2004 Center for New York City Law VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3
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CITYLAND DECEMBER 2004 center for new york city law VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3 Highlights Elevation of Watchtower complex showing its Jay Street frontage CITY COUNCIL Watchtower’s complex . .33 Senior housing in Rosedale . .35 Verizon rezonings . .36 CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Hudson Yards approved . .36 C. de Portzamparc design . .39 New BID in Bronx . .40 BOARD OF STANDARDS AND APPEALS Riverdale permits renewed . .41 Spa in Little Korea . .41 Williamsburg housing . .42 Carwash denied . .43 Notice to vacate denied . .43 Printed with permission of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, LLP LANDMARKS ond modification agreed to by Modern building in Flatiron . .44 CITY COUNCIL Watchtower to obtain City approval. New house in Clinton Hill . .45 Special Permit/Rezoning Watchtower assembled the SoHo sign to come down . .45 135,000 sq.ft. site, encompassing DUMBO, Brooklyn De Niro’s Tribeca Hotel . .46 the entire 3-acre city block bounded Brooklyn library redesign . .47 Watchtower’s full-block by Front, Bridge, York and Jay project approved Streets, during the 1980s and the COURT DECISIONS 1990s, but left it vacant. It remains Watchtower reduced height to New community garden sites . .47 one of the only large, undeveloped gain approval of complex. On parcels in the area, and its location, Dwight School expansion . .48 December 2, 2004, following exten- immediately adjacent to an “F” sub- Brooklyn Sanitation garage . .48 sive negotiations between the way line entrance, makes it a vital NoHo retail permit upheld . .49 developer and Council Members entry point for DUMBO. Leticia James and David Yassky, the The Council approved the CHARTS City Council approved the 736,400 Jehovah Witnesses’ proposal for New DCP Applications . .38 sq.ft. development proposed by the four new, connected buildings to ULURP Certifications . .40 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society house its world-wide headquar- New BSA Applications . .42 of New York, Inc., subject to a height ters. The multi-building complex reduction. The modification, which will provide sleeping accommoda- Landmarks’ Hearings . .44 reduced the street-wall heights of tions for 890 people, a 2,500 seat New Buildings Permits . .49 the Front Street buildings to 82 ft. assembly hall, a 1,600 seat cafete- citylaw.org New Decisions . .50, 51 and a maximum height of 110 ft. ria, and a five-level parking garage away from the street, was the sec- with 1,100 spaces, (cont’d on page 35) December 2004 Volume 1 CITYLAND 33 COMMENTARY CityLand draws praise from The New York Times’ David Dunlap On Thanksgiving Day, David W. Dunlap, in his “Blocks” column in the Metro Section of The New York Times, reviewed the first two issues of CITYLAND. For those of you who took the day off from reading The Times, here is how David Dunlap began his article: When Curtain Rises on Property Disputes, It Helps to Have a Program Land use battles – development, design, planning, zoning and landmarks – offer some of the best the- ater in New York City. The problem has been the lack of a playbill. Until last month, there was no comprehensive, timely guide to the workings of all of the arms of gov- ernment involved in land use: the Board of Standards and Appeals, the Buildings Department, the City Council, the City Planning Commission and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. There is such a source now. CityLand, an illustrated monthly newsletter produced by the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School. We were joyous when we read David Dunlap’s assessment of CITYLAND, especially because of Dunlap’s long experience in covering news while on the land use and landmarks beats for The Times. CITYLAND strives to be readable and interesting, but also useful to the professionals in the field. Praise from Dunlap, a professional, is for us very high praise. This issue of CITYLAND is four pages longer than the first two issues, in part because this issue covers more than a single month, but also because we have so much to write about. The many charts have also lengthened as more applications are filed and certificates of appropriateness are decided. We invite readers to tell us what else we should be covering and how we can make the information even more useful. It is, after all, the playbill for the land use drama. –Ross Sandler CITYLAND Ross Sandler Angelina Martinez-Rubio ‘04 Jason Weeks ‘06 Executive Editor and Director, David Steingard ‘04 Jordana Marcus ‘06 The Center expresses appreciation to the individuals Center for New York City Law John Tatulli ‘04 Joseph P. Cardillo ‘05 Melanie Cash ‘02 Fellows in New York City Law Kevin Schultz ‘05 and foundations supporting the Center and its work: Liat Cherkes ‘05 Associate Director Jeffrey Ocasio The Steven and Sheila Aresty Foundation, The Robert Maren Mahoney ‘05 Molly Brennan Web Master Sarabeth Gaver ‘05 Sterling Clark Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Editor, CityLand Research Assistants: Rula D. Alzadon ‘05 Foundation, The Murray Goodgold Foundation, Jerry Robert Merola Brian T. Pakett ‘06 Design Director Carley Ward ‘06 Gottesman, The Marc Haas Foundations, The New York Community Trust, The Prospect Hill Founda- CITYLAND ADVISORY BOARD tion, and The Revson Foundation. Kent Barwick Andrew Berman Albert K. Butzel CITYLAN D (ISSN 1551-711X) is published Frank Munger Paul D. Selver Howard Goldman monthly by the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School, 57 Worth St., New York City, CENTER FOR NEW YORK CITY LAW ADVISORY COUNCIL New York 10013, tel. (212) 431-2115, fax (212) 941- 4735, e-mail: [email protected], website: www.citylaw.org © Center for New York City Law, Stanley S. Shuman, Michael D. Hess Steven M. Polan 2004. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper. Chair Lawrence S. Huntington ’64 Norman Redlich Maps presented in CITYLAN D are from Map- Arthur N. Abbey ’59 William F. Kuntz II Joseph B. Rose Harold Baer, Jr. PLUTO copyrighted by the New York City Depart- Eric Lane Rose Luttan Rubin David R. Baker ment of City Planning. City Landmarks and His- Nathan Leventhal Frederick P. Schaffer Edward N. Costikyan Randy M. Mastro toric Districts printed with permission of New York Paul A. Crotty Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr. City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Richard Matasar Richard J. Davis O. Peter Sherwood Fernando Ferrer Robert J. McGuire Edward Wallace POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Michael B. Gerrard Francis McArdle Richard M. Weinberg CITYLAN D , 57 Worth Street, New York, New York Judah Gribetz John D. McMahon ’76 Peter L. Zimroth 10013-2960. Periodicals postage paid at New York, Kathleen Grimm ’80 Thomas L. McMahon ’83 James D. Zirin New York. 34 Volume 1 CITYLAND December 2004 Watchtower (cont’d from page 33) limited to Watchtower’s use. A 220- ft. building and a 195-ft. building will face York Street and two towers of 110 ft. will face Front Street. Each building in the complex will connect by grade or elevated walk- ways, making it effectively one large development that encom- passes the entire city block. Watchtower’s proposed use, a community facility with sleeping accommodations, was not permit- Elevation of Watchtower complex along Front Street showing the reduced buildings ted under existing zoning. In addi- Printed with permission of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, LLP tion to the zoning change [from M1- 2 to M1-2/R6 (MX-2) and M1-2/R8 Ikea, which had a justified demand. Council: Watchtower Project; CPC: (MX-2)], Watchtower also requested In voting to approve, Council Watchtower Project (C 040215 ZMK - rezoning), (C 040216 ZSK - special permit special permits to allow a 1,100 Member Tony Avella stated that for height and setback), (C 040217 ZSK - space public parking garage and to “negotiating large developments exceed height and size limits. special permit for parking) (November is always a balancing act,” but 15, 2004) (Stephan Lefkowitz, Melanie At the Council’s November 30, noted, in this case, the appropri- Meyers, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & 2004 public hearing, when ques- ate compromise was reached. Jacobson LLP, for Watchtower; Richard tioned about the community’s Because the project was modified, Metsky, Marc Pittsley, Doug McKean, desire for street retail somewhere on the Council sent it back to the Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Plan- the block, Watchtower repeated that Planning Commission, which ners). CITYADMIN its charter prohibited commercial voted to approve the modified transactions unrelated to its reli- design on December 6, 2004. CITY COUNCIL gious purposes. However, Watch- tower argued, the ground-floor ULURP Process: The Planning Disposition reading room on York Street would Commission, as lead agency, issued be open to the public, which would a negative declaration on June 7, Rosedale, Queens create a quasi-public space. Watch- 2004. Brooklyn Community Board 2, narrowly approving the rezoning LIRR commuter parking lot tower could not confirm whether its to become senior housing other properties in DUMBO and by a vote of 18 to 15, recommended Brooklyn Heights would be sold. It that the building’s height be Development will contain 38 stressed that the project had been restricted to 120 ft. along Bridge units of senior housing, office space, reduced at the Commission level, Street, and that Watchtower pay to and 54 tenant parking spaces. The from over 800,000 sq.ft. to 736,400 maintain local parks. Department of Citywide Adminis- sq.ft., that it was in negotiations with Borough President Marty trative Services obtained approval to Parks to aid in Brooklyn’s Bridge Markowitz disapproved all three dispose of a 47,108 sq.ft. site located Park restoration, and that it would applications. The Borough President at 240-02 North Conduit Avenue, provide private security cameras, recommended a 40% reduction in currently providing 40 parking street lighting and patrols to the size of the entire development spaces for Rosedale LIRR com- improve safety at the adjacent sub- and in the number of parking spaces muters, to the New York City Eco- way station.