DOCSLIB.ORG

June 5, 2018 Testimony of Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer 200 Amsterdam Avenue Board of Standards and Appeals Good Mo

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
June 5, 2018 Testimony of Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer 200 Amsterdam Avenue Board of Standards and Appeals Good Mo June 5, 2018 Testimony of Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer 200 Amsterdam Avenue Board of Standards and Appeals Good morning Vice Chair Chanda and Commissioners. My name is Gale Brewer and I am the Manhattan Borough President. Previously, I served as the City Councilmember for the Upper West Side for twelve years. In March, Councilmember Rosenthal, my office, and hundreds of concerned citizens and advocates testified against the gerrymandering of the zoning lot at 200 Amsterdam Avenue. At that time, I emphasized the importance of DOB’s reversal of their own position, correcting a 40 year mistake in their interpretation of the Zoning Resolution. The kind of community action, legal challenge, and formal review over this project is the exact process by which bad interpretation of laws are changed and public policy mistakes are corrected. I argued that the Board should back up the DOB’s revised position and prohibit the gerrymandering of zoning lots now and in the future, starting with 200 Amsterdam. All of that remains true, and our community and excellent legal team will continue working to ensure that 200 Amsterdam becomes a precedent for good policy rather than a monument to an old mistake. But I also wanted to take time today to talk about the broader implications of gerrymandered zoning lots. Allowing a developer to cobble together portions of different tax lots in order to make up one Page 2 of 2 zoning lot would not only create unwarranted confusion and a general lack of transparency. It would also create loopholes that will have very real consequences for communities far beyond the Upper West Side. One example, as you’ll hear about today, has to do with Section 23-70 of the Zoning Resolution, which sets the minimum spacing requirements between two buildings on the same zoning lot. Gerrymandering would allow developers to strategically carve up the zoning lot into irregular shapes so as to bypass these rules. This could lead to much more haphazard and unpredictable infill development in zoning lots with existing buildings. There are legitimate concerns about this from constituents all over the borough, from East Harlem to Kips Bay to Stuyvesant Town. As the Manhattan Borough President, I have come across a whole suite of loopholes that developers exploit in order to circumvent the purposes of the Zoning Resolution. From excessive floor-to-floor heights to unnecessary mechanical and void spaces that only serve to push up the height of the building for luxury views, these loopholes have led to ever more unpredictable and illogical building forms in our city. The gerrymandering of zoning lots falls into the same category. I am committed to addressing all of these issues. In many of these cases where the Zoning Resolution is bent and twisted to give developers the right to do something they were never intended to be able to do, the only remedy is to attempt to change the Zoning Resolution. However, what is before you today is a case in which there significant agreement that this violates the Zoning Resolution. I ask the Board to prohibit the gerrymandering of zoning lots and revoke the permits for 200 Amsterdam. Thank you for your time and consideration. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Law of the Land - Real Estate Litigation Newsletter
    Law of the Land - Real Estate Litigation Newsletter June 7, 2021 Volume 1, Issue VII CASE HIGHLIGHT PLAINTIFFS MAKE WAVES FOR HARBOR PLAN Foundation, et al. v. Theoharides, et al., 1884 CV02144-BLS1 (April 1, 2021) In a recent decision, the Massachusetts Superior Court granted partial summary judgment to Plaintiffs in two companion cases, challenging the validity of certain Waterways Regulations and the City of Boston’s Downtown Waterfront District Municipal Harbor Plan (the “MHP”). The Superior Court determined that the sections of the Waterways Regulations, which required the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) to follow the parameters approved by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (the “Secretary”) in a municipal harbor plan when making licensing determinations for projects built on tidelands, are an improper delegation of DEP’s authority and thus invalid and ultra vires. Plaintiffs who are Members of the Harbor Towers condominium community in Boston and the Conservation Law Foundation brought their respective lawsuits to challenge the MHP and the plans of RHDC 70 East India, LLC, an affiliate of the Chiofaro Company, to build a 600-foot-tall tower on the waterfront at the current site of the Harbor Garage. The MHP, which was approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency in May 2017 and by the Secretary on April 30, 2018, encompasses approximately 42 acres of tidelands on the Boston waterfront running along Atlantic Avenue and near the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The MHP allowed the Harbor Garage parcel a height limitation of 600 feet, approximately eleven times the standard foot height limit permitted by the applicable regulations absent a municipal harbor plan.
    [Show full text]
  • November 2020, Sidler: Inside Reflections
    Preferences NOVEMBER 2020 Micro living in a compact home? Storage solutions to consider! You don’t have to give up storage and functional space to live in a smaller home! In 2007, there was an emergence of the tiny- house movement or the "small-house” movement within North America, which is an architectural and social movement advocating living simply in small homes. By 2012, these tiny homes eventually evolved into even smaller spaces as these 'homes on MICRO-HOME UNDER 1000 SQ FT wheels' with under 400 square feet or even less in living space. Living in these smaller spaces are appealing to some prospective homebuyers due to affordability and also the desire to create a more minimalist lifestyle. So the question is, is there still a surging trend for tiny homes? And if so, why does this trend exist and how has it evolved in the current real estate market climate? In the current North America real estate market, the tiny house on wheels is still a home option for TINY HOUSE ON WHEELS UNDER 300 SQ FT some, but issues such as getting bank financing, having the assurance of quality, solid and safe construction and also, where to park the home given inhibitive zoning laws are all unappealing to a percentage of prospective home buyers who want to or can only afford to live in a smaller space. Given this, new more practical and appealing trends for this percentage of the home buyer population is emerging, which encompasses the ideology of 'micro living' with micro-homes or micro-condo living spaces.
    [Show full text]
  • STATED MEETING of Monday, December 11, 2017, 1:57 P.M
    THE COUNCIL Minutes of the Proceedings for the STATED MEETING of Monday, December 11, 2017, 1:57 p.m. The Public Advocate (Ms. James) Acting President Pro Tempore and Presiding Officer Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker Adrienne E. Adams David G. Greenfield Antonio Reynoso Inez D. Barron Barry S. Grodenchik Donovan J. Richards Joseph C. Borelli Corey D. Johnson Ydanis A. Rodriguez Fernando Cabrera Ben Kallos Deborah L. Rose Margaret S. Chin Andy L. King Helen K. Rosenthal Andrew Cohen Peter A. Koo Rafael Salamanca, Jr Costa G. Constantinides Karen Koslowitz Ritchie J. Torres Robert E. Cornegy, Jr Rory I. Lancman Mark Treyger Elizabeth S. Crowley Bradford S. Lander Eric A. Ulrich Laurie A. Cumbo Stephen T. Levin James Vacca Chaim M. Deutsch Mark Levine James G. Van Bramer Daniel Dromm Alan N. Maisel Jumaane D. Williams Rafael L. Espinal, Jr Steven Matteo Mathieu Eugene Carlos Menchaca Daniel R. Garodnick I. Daneek Miller Vincent J. Gentile Annabel Palma Vanessa L. Gibson Bill Perkins Absent: Council Members Ferreras-Copeland, Mealy, Mendez, and Vallone. The Public Advocate (Ms. James) assumed the chair as the Acting President Pro Tempore and Presiding Officer for these proceedings. 4472 December 11, 2017 After consulting with the City Clerk and Clerk of the Council (Mr. McSweeney), the presence of a quorum was announced by the Public Advocate (Ms. James). There were 47 Council Members marked present at this Stated Meeting held in the Council Chambers of City Hall, New York, N.Y. INVOCATION The Invocation was delivered by Rev. Dr. Jacques Andre DeGraff, Associate Pastor, Canaan Baptist Church, 132 W.
    [Show full text]
  • 200 Amsterdam Ave.Pdf
    Appeals Court Decision Saves 200 Amsterdam Ave. from Chopping Block New York City developers collectively sighed with relief when 200 Amsterdam Avenue, a mixed-use, high-rise building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was saved from the guillotine when a New York State intermediate appellate court reversed a lower court’s decision that retroactively revoked the developer’s building permit for an as-of-right development. The affirmance of the controversial ruling, issued by the New York County Supreme Court on February 27, 2020, would have resulted in the demolition of more than 20 top floors of the fully-constructed 668 feet high 55-story tower. The affirmance of the controversial ruling, issued by the New York County Supreme Court on February 27, 2020, would have resulted in the demolition of more than 20 top floors of the fully-constructed 668 feet high 55-story tower. On September 27, 2017, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) issued a building permit to Amsterdam Avenue Redevelopment Associates LLC, a joint venture between SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan, to construct 200 Amsterdam. After the validity of the permit was twice approved by the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development (CFESD) commenced a special proceeding in the New York County Supreme Court seeking to annul BSA’s determination, vacate the DOB-issued permit, and remove a bulk of the skyscraper’s top floors. On February 27, 2020, the Court granted CFESD’s request and, on March 3, 2020, the developer appealed. On appeal, the developer, one of the appellants in the proceeding, sought review of the February 27th decision to determine whether a DOB-issued building permit that was affirmed by BSA can be retroactively invalidated by a trial court based on the court’s new interpretation of Section 12-10(d) of the New York City Zoning Resolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Monthly Accident Details: January - October 2019
    Monthly Accident Details: January - October 2019 Incident Date Borough Address Number Street Fatalities Injuries EOC Final Description DOB Action ECB Violation Numbers DOB Violation Numbers Permit Permit No Incident Type Owner's Name Contractor Name 1/2/2019 Bronx 4215 PARK AVENUE 0 1 A DOB inspector reported that a worker in the cellar fell ECB Violation 35367408M 010319CE06WG01 Other Construction Related Incidents NOT ON FILE JOY CONSTRUCTION CORP approximately five feet from a ladder. The worker was sent to a hospital. An ECB Violation was issued for the improper use of a ladder. 1/2/2019 Queens 147-40 ARCHER AVENUE 0 1 The Site Safety Manager reported that an electrician No Dispatch NEW BUILDING 420654508 Other Construction Related Incidents HP JAMSTA HOUSING DEV. FUND CO CNY CONSTRUCTION LLC was preparing to pull wires through a pipe when he stepped backwards on the same floor and lost his balance. The electrician cut his left hand while trying to reach for something to grab to prevent himself from falling. The worker went to an urgent care center on his own to receive treatment. 1/3/2019 Brooklyn 1797 BROADWAY 0 1 A DOB inspector reported that a worker was guiding ECB Violation 35374959Y 010318CNEGS01 NB 32156883 Excavation/Soil Work 1797 REALTY ASSOCIATES W Developers Corp piles into place when a pile shifted and the worker suffered an injury to his right leg. The worker was in stable condition and was taken to an area hospital. The extent and severity of the worker's injuries were not known as of the time of inspection.
    [Show full text]
  • Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, First
    FILED: APPELLATE DIVISION - 1ST DEPT 03/02/2021 07:24 AM 2020-01872 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 44 Supreme Court of the State of New YorkRECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/02/2021 Appellate Division, First Judicial Department Barbara R. Kapnick, J.P. Angela M. Mazzarelli Anil C. Singh Tanya R. Kennedy JJ. Appeal No. 12658 Index No. 157273/19 Case No. 2020-01872 In the Matter of COMMITTEE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND DEVELOPMENT et al., Petitioners-Respondents, -against- AMSTERDAM AVENUE REDEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES LLC, et al., Respondents-Appellants. NEW YORK BUILDING CONGRESS, INC., Amicus Curiae. Petitioners appeal from the order and judgment (one paper) of the Supreme Court, New York County (W. Franc Perry, J.), entered February 27, 2020, annulling the resolution of the BSA, dated June 25, 2019, which upheld the issuance of a building permit by the DOB, revoking the permit, and ordering Amsterdam to remove floors built in excess of the allowable bulk. Selendy & Gay PLLC, New York (Caitlin J. Halligan, Michael P. Duke and Ryan W. Allison of counsel), for Amsterdam Avenue Redevelopment Associates LLC, appellant. Herrick, Feinstein LLP, New York (Scott E. Mollen and Ross L. Hirsch of counsel), for Amsterdam Avenue Redevelopment Associates LLC, for appellant. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, New York (Paul D. Selver and James P. Power of counsel), for Amsterdam Avenue Redevelopment Associates LLC, appellant. James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel, New York (Barbara Graves-Poller, Richard Dearing, Claude S. Platton and Eric Lee of counsel), for New York City Board of Standards and Appeals and New York City Department of Buildings, appellants. Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, New York (Richard D.
    [Show full text]
  • Cityrealty 2019 Manhattan Year-End Report Here
    THE CITYREALTY YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 2019 DECEMBER 2019 2019 Year-End Manhattan Market Report CityRealty is the website for NYC real estate, providing high-quality listings and tailored agent matching for prospective apartment buyers, as well as in-depth analysis of the New York real estate market. 1 THE CITYREALTY YEAR-END REPORT DECEMBER 2019 Summary Following escalating prices during the first half of the decade, Manhattan residential real estate remained flat in 2019, with condos showing slight gains in average pricing and a modest decline in sales volume. For the overall Manhattan residential market CityRealty analyzed, consisting of condos, co-ops, and condops south of 96th Street on the East Side and south of 110th Street on the West Side; approximately 10,400 residential units are expected to close in 2019, down from 10,531 in 2018. There was a small increase in the average price paid for an apartment in 2019, rising from $2.07 million to $2.12 million. The median price of all apartments also rose slightly from $1.18 million to $1.2 million this year. Largely due to big-ticket purchases near the southern end of Central Park, most notably at 220 Central Park South, total residential sales of units sold for more than $10 million are projected to reach $4.60 billion by the end of 2019, up from $4.23 billion in 2018. Average Sales Price 2018: $2.07 million CONDOS AND CO-OPS 2019: $2.12 million 2018 2019 Condo Condo AVERAGE SALES PRICE AVERAGE SALES PRICE $2.96M $3.07M Co-op Co-op AVERAGE SALES PRICE AVERAGE SALES PRICE $1.38M $1.33M The average price of a condo in 2019 was $3.07 million, up from $2.96 million in 2018 The average price paid for a co-op was $1.33 million, down from $1.38 million in the year prior.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Economy of Value Capture: How the Financialization of Hudson Yards Created a Private Rail Line for the Rich
    The Political Economy of Value Capture: How the Financialization of Hudson Yards Created a Private Rail Line for the Rich Danielle L. Petretta Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee Of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2020 © 2020 Danielle L. Petretta All Rights Reserved The Political Economy of Value Capture: How the Financialization of Hudson Yards Created a Private Rail Line for the Rich Abstract: The theory of value capture is simple to understand and easy to sell, promising self-fulfilling virtuous cycles of value generation, capture, and redistribution. Countless studies document value creation attributable to public interventions, providing guidance on the type and extent of potential benefits. Scholars too have set forth parameters for optimal value capture conditions and caution against common pitfalls to keep in mind when designing value capture plans. But even when utilizing the best advice, equitable redistribution of benefits rarely occurs in neoliberal economies, leaving municipalities struggling to meet the myriad of social needs and provide basic services for all their inhabitants. Invariably, capitalistic real estate states seek to financialize public assets for private gain. Nowhere is this more apparent in New York City today than in the outcomes thus far of one of the largest public-private developments in New York history at Hudson Yards. This dissertation documents the failure of the value capture scheme put in place at Hudson Yards which neither captured fair market value for the public, nor extracted much public benefit. The scheme aimed to leverage vast tracts of publicly-owned land above operational rail yards at the Far West Side of Manhattan.
    [Show full text]
  • The MHNA Discount Program Please Be Prepared to Show Proof of Membership When You Ask for a Discount
    Information that may be of interest...August 12, 2019 The information in this eblast is provided by The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association. We are sharing the information as a service to our members. If this notice does not interest you, please disregard it. You can also find these eblasts online in PDF (printable) format at www.murrayhillnyc.org in the News section, look for Weekly Eblasts 2019. Please share this email with a friend, neighbor or colleague. You can sign up for these emails at www.murrayhillnyc.org, scroll down the Also Happening column. NOTICE TO MHNA MEMBERS: Our Membership personnel are changing, and you may experience delays in receiving your Discount booklets when you join or renew your membership. An up to date list of the discounts can be viewed on the MHNA website. If you received an acknowledgement email when renewing or joining online, you can use it as proof of membership. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. The MHNA Discount Program Please be prepared to show proof of membership when you ask for a discount. New 5th & MAD, 7 East 36th Street (between 5th & Madison Avenue), 212-725- 2353, 5thandMad.com, 10% discount when dining in, not to be combined with other offers, excludes gratuity and taxes. Full list of discounts offered to MHNA members: Restaurant and Food Discounts General Discounts For Murray Hill street closures, see Traffic Updates on www.murrayhillnyc.org. If you would like to join a committee, please send an email to [email protected]. Information about the MHNA committees can be found on www.murrayhillnyc.org.
    [Show full text]
  • Here on Page 14
    CRAINSNEW YORK BUSINESS NEW YORK BUSINESS® APRIL 10 - 16, 2017 | PRICE $3.00 CITY MOVES TO CLOSE PAY GAP P.7 Are yellow cabs running out of gas? P.19 PROPERTY TAX HOME PUSHBACK P.20 BOX OFFICE The lm and TV production boom has New VOL. XXXIII, NO. 15 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM Yorkers such as Bill Connolly clamoring to rent their apartment for shoots. But not every neighbor is eager for a close-up PAGE 16 NEWSPAPER P001_CN_20170410.indd 1 4/7/17 7:05 PM APRIL 10 - 16, 2017 CRAINSNEW YORK BUSINESS FROM THE NEWSROOM | JEREMY SMERD | EDITOR IN THIS ISSUE Make room for working moms 4 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 5 POLITICS HAVE YOU EVER HAD ONE OF THOSE MORNINGS when you 6 BUDGET asked yourself: Why did I even bother leaving the house? Health tech 7 COMPLIANCE CEO explains Thursday was one such morning for my wife, Jocy, when why people nothing seemed to be going right. In her case, though, the 8 HEALTH CARE love his app question was not merely an expression of frustration but of 9 ASKED & ANSWERED something far more literal. 10 WHO OWNS THE BLOCK Permit me to explain. Our nearly 6-month-old son, 11 REAL ESTATE Judah, has started day care in Downtown Brooklyn now 12 VIEWPOINTS that Jocy’s clerkship in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals in Manhattan is underway. On Thursdays, Judah is 14 THE LIST scheduled to be picked up by 3 p.m. Because Jocy had an I thought, because FEATURES 11 a.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Skyscrapers: the Latest Architecture and News
    3/22/2021 Skyscrapers | Tag | ArchDaily By using ArchDaily, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. I ACCEPT ArchDaily Skyscrapers Skyscrapers: The Latest Architecture and News 200 Amsterdam to Become New York's Tallest Skyscraper on the Upper West Side 6 days ago The 52-story residential tower 200 Amsterdam Avenue is set to become the tallest skyscraper on New York's Upper West Side. The project was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, and is being developed by SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan America. An appeals court recently decided to allow the tower to include it's top 20 stories on the building's site between West 69th and West 70th Streets. Save this article Read more » 50 Hudson Yards by Foster + Partners Tops Out February 22, 2021 Home Projects Products Folders Feed https://www.archdaily.com/tag/skyscrapers 1/15 3/22/2021 Skyscrapers | Tag | ArchDaily By using ArchDaily, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. I ACCEPT The 50 Hudson Yards skyscraper by Foster + Partners has topped out in New York. As one of the largest oice buildings in the city, the project has become the fourth-biggest oice tower by square footage. The 58-story oice tower includes very large floor plates for up to 500 employees on each floor. The tower is the latest in a series of projects rounding out the Hudson Yards on the western edge of Manhattan. Save this article Read more » BIG's Spiral Skyscraper Tops Out in New York City February 19, 2021 The new "Spiral" skyscraper by Bjarke Ingels Group has topped out at Hudson Yards in New York City.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdf Download
    MANHATTAN NEW DEVELOPMENT REPORT November 2017 NOVEMBER 2017 Manhattan New Development Report 1 MANHATTAN NEW DEVELOPMENT REPORT November 2017 New Buildings by Neighborhood The Lower East Side will see the most condominium units completed over the next few years in large part because of the 815 units coming to Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square, which will be one of biggest condos, by unit count, ever constructed in Manhattan. In Midtown West, nearly 1,000 units are under construction, many of which are slated to arrive in new Billionaire’s Row buildings such as Central Park Tower, 220 Central Park South, and 111 West 57th Street. NEW DEVELOPMENT KEY: UNITS: 10+ 50+ 100+ 150+ 200+ Unit Count NEIGHBORHOOD # OF UNITS NEIGHBORHOOD # OF UNITS Lower East Side 1,118 Midtown East 196 Midtown West 990 SoHo 179 Tribeca 492 Central Park West 146 Gramercy Park 423 West Village 88 Financial District 386 NoHo 77 Riverside Dr./West End Ave. 294 Carnegie Hill 59 Yorkville 233 Greenwich Village 52 Broadway Corridor 232 Flatiron/Union Square 39 East Village 228 NoLiTa/Little Italy 38 Murray Hill 213 Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. 32 Chelsea 198 2 MANHATTAN NEW DEVELOPMENT REPORT November 2017 New Development Market Overview Following the fallout from the economic crisis in 2008, sales of new condos were on a downward trend, and between 2012 and 2015, fewer than 1,000 units sold each year. In 2016, more than 2,000 new condo units sold, and although there was a fall-off in 2017—with 1,695 closings—CityRealty projects that roughly 1,800 and 2,000 units will close each year through 2020.
    [Show full text]