June 12,2007

Hon Mayor, City of New York Greenrvicir City Hall Village New York, NY 10007 Society lirr tl istorir: Hon. Amanda Burden Prescr-vaIion Director, New York City Departmentof City Planning

e3z Ilasr rrth Street 22Reade Street New York. Nerv York roooq New York, NY 10007

(ztz) 475-9585 fu: (ze) 475-g5tlz Re: Zoning Bulk Bonus for Dormitories rv rvw.gvs hp. org

lrt'tt,rtrr l),,,'r,, Dear Mayor Bloomberg and Director Burden, Andren Berman

t1t I)ti,Llt "l 1it, lt,nnl I write to again urge the Departmentof City Planning to changeour city's X{ary Ann Arisman zoning regulationsto eliminate the current bulk bonus in many zoning districts

I i,t l\,.i,!, 'r,' for dormitory developmentsas comparedto residential development. While the Arthur Levil problems of inappropriatedevelopment created by this zoningbonus are long- Linrla Yowell standing,several recent developmentswhich may facilitate fraud through this ,i,tnt,tt,l)rtttrt systemmake the need for reform more urgent now than ever.

Katherine Schoonover As you know, neighborhoodslike the EastVillage have seenwoefully Penclope Bareau inappropriatedevelopment of dorms utilizing the bonus curently afforded for Meredith Bergnann dorm development. The most recent and perhapsmost egregiousexample is a Elizatreth Ely Jo Llanrilton 26-story'mega-dorm' being developedfor NYU at 120 East 12'nStreet, which I-eslic S. Alasrur will be the tallestbuilding in the EastVillage. Being built on a mid-block, it Ruth )\'IcCoy Florerrt Morellct will stick out like the proverbial sore thumb in every respect. Perer Mullan ,{.ndrerr S. Paul However, problems created is now no longer Jorrathar Russo the by the dormitory zoningbonus Juditb Sronehill simply limited to inappropriately-scaleddevelopment. There is now also the ,\rbie 'Ihalacker increasingthreat of fraudulent developmenttaking place utilizing this dubious George Vcllonakis I,'red Wistow provision of the zoning text, and seemingly increasingdifficulty in policing such P Anrhony Zuruno III abuses.

Kenr Barwick As you know, the May 29thruling by the New York StateAppellate division in .loan K. Davidson the caseof 9th & 1OthStreet L.L.C. vs. Board of Standardsand Appeals Chrisropher Forbes Margarer Halsey Gardiner threatensthe requirementthat developershave a leaseof at least 10 yearswith Margot Gayle an accreditededucational institution in place in order to receive a permit for Elizaberh Gilmore Carol (]rcitzer constructionof a dormitory utilizing the dormitory zoning bulk bonus. This Tony Hiss regulation was apparentlypromulgated in responseto casessuch 8l East 3'd Manin Hutner Regina M. Kellerman Streetin Manhattan,where the developerwas apparently$anted permits from Jaes Stewm Polshek the Departmentof Buildings to build a larger-than-normallyallowable building Elinor Ratnei becausethey claimed it would be a dormitory, but when constructionwas Henry Hope Reed .{}ice B. Sandler completedthey had no school to occupy the supposeddormitory. If the lO-year Anne-N{arie Surnner leaserequirement is not allowed to stand,we will no doubt seesimilar casesof Calvin lrillin Jean-Claude van Itallie developersclaiming to build a dormitory in order to get permits for a much- Vicki Weiner larger than normally allowable building (inR7-2 zoning districts such as the one Arthonv C. Wood vvtrichcovers 81 East 3'd Street,the bonus for dorm developmentis nearly 90%). Without the requirementof a l0-year leasefrom a school in place, however, there will be little necessaryto prove this claim

However, even if this requirement does stand(the City has said it is appealing the court.uling), it has becomeclear that developers'sometimes working with unscrupulousschools, will still try to get permission for construction or occupancyof larger-than-norma1ly-allowablebuildings by claiming dormitory use anylvay. A recent caseto look at is 159 Bleecker Streetin Manhattan, where a tempora.ryCertificate of Occupancywas grantedfor this building, which was built at a greaterbulk due to the supposedinclusion of dormitory space,based upon a l0-year leasesigned by the Dalton S"chool.However, the dalton School, a day school for kindergartenthrough l2'n gradestudents five miles away on the Upper East Side, doesnot appeal to provide any housing for students(nor does it appearit has at any time in its nearly 9O-yearhistory). In fact, there is considerableevidence that the units are simply intended to be used by Dalton faculty as housing, which is explicitly prohibited under current zoring regulations. However, becausethe requirementfor proof of appropriatedorm o."trp*"y is simply having a 1O-yearlease for dormitory use in place, when the school is part of the deception this makesenforcement of the provision particularly difficult, and the outcome in this caseremains to be seen.

For all thesereasons and others, I strongly urge the City to considerremoving the dormitory bulk bonus from the zoningtext. tf the zoningdistinction betweendormitory and faculty housing or residencecannot be policed' maintaining this distinction is simply an invitation to abuse. Perhapsmore importantly, however, this raisesthe bigger question as to why dormitories are granteda bulk bonus in the first place. Three yeals ago the City appropriately removedthe bonus afforded faculty housing from the zoningtext, seeingno difference. Now the sameshould be done for dormitory spaceas well.

Starting in2002the City promised to make substantialreform of community facility regulations,but only one very small reform packagehas been advanced thus far. It is time for the zoningpreferenceafforded to dormitories as comparedto residencesto be eliminated, to prevent inappropriate overdevelopmentof neighborhoodsand fraud and abuseof our zoning regulations. A/,*Sincerely. Executive Director

Cc: Departmentof Buildings CommissionerPatricia Lancaster City Council SpeakerChristine Quinn ManhattanBorough PresidentScott Stringer Borough PresidentMarty Markowitz QueensBorough PresidentHelen Marshall Bronx Borough PresidentAdolfo Carrion City Council Land Use Committee Chair Melinda Katz City CouncilZonng SubcommitteeChair Tony Avella City CouncilmemberAlan Gerson City Councilmember Rosie Mendez City Councilmember David Yassky City CouncilmemberEric Gioia City Councilmember Letitia James City Councilmember lnez Dickens Manhattan Community Boards 1-9 Brooklyn Community Board 2 Municipal Art Society Citywide Coalition for Community Facility Reform Manhattan Institute QueensCivic Congress Civitas Landmark West! East Village Community Coalition Hamilton Heights-West Community PreservationOrganization Momingside Heights Neighbors ConcemedResidents of Manhattanville, Momingside Heights, and Harlem Murray Hill Neighborhood Association Fort GreeneAssociation Hamilton Heights HomeownersAssociation Union SquareCommunity Coalition NoHo Neighborhood Association Brooklyn HeightsAssociation Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts Defendersof the Historic Upper East Side St. Ann's Committee