http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#3421 The Riverside South Planning Corporation filed a lawsuit with the New York State Supreme Court on Thursday claiming that development plans by Extell for 80 Riverside Drive do not follow a design agreement that was made 12 years ago by the owner of the site at the time, Donald Trump. The group believes that Extell’s new development in the Upper West Side is bound by the design agreement that specified environmental sustainability in construction on the site. The agreement made in 1993 included a caveat that if the building was sold, new owners would be subject to the original design instructions. 2007-11-30 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#3073 Yesterday the City Council approved a rezoning plan limiting the use of high-rise buildings in the community. The plan, which applies to 51 blocks, limits the heights of buildings along avenues and side streets. In addition, the plan does not allow developers to purchase unused air rights from buildings on surrounding streets. The motivation behind this rezoning is to maintain the physical character of the neighborhood and protect it from aggressive development techniques. 2007-09-26 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#3038 The Jewish Home & Hospital and the Upper West Side Community Board were able to broker out an agreement that allows for some exceptions in the rezoning plans, which will affect the nursing home on 106th Street. The Jewish Home will sell part of their land in order to raise revenue to build a new facility. In the agreement negotiated, which was approved by the City Council subcommittee tasked with the rezoning, the Jewish Home will be “grandfathered in with the old zoning” and the private developer must abide by new zoning regulations. Additionally, there will be restrictions on heights for both buildings. The City Planning Commission must approve this agreement before heading back to the City Council and Mayor for final consent. 2007-09-20 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2986 A long anticipated rezoning of the Upper West Side, which would significantly restrict building heights in the neighborhood, is set to pass in the near future. The awaiting rezoning is complicating plans by a home and hospital center to build a 15-story structure and sell part of its land for a 14-story residential development. The proposed structures, while legal under existing zoning laws, would violate the substance of the rezoning. Representatives from the community board and the center are committing to a resolution of the dispute. 2007-09-05 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2703 Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has waived his period of review for the Upper West Side rezoning and has recommended that the rezoning go ahead, speeding up the process. The rezoning will limit the height of new buildings and will also support the development of affordable housing. Top building heights for the neighborhood would be 14 stories along Broadway, but only if developers include affordable housing units. 2007-06-07 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2593 The Department of Planning is set to consider the first comprehensive rezoning for the UWS in almost half a century, focusing on the neighborhood between 97th and 110th street, Riverside Drive and the Central Park West. The incentive for rezoning has been spurred the construction of two thirty-plus story residential towers at 99th and 100th street that locals feel are completely out of place in the neighborhood. The rezoning would create height limits for both avenues and side streets, rising at their highest to less than half the two new towers. It would also restrict transfer of air rights from mid-block to avenues and create incentives to build below market-rate apartments. Opponents believe that the wide avenue around Broadway is ideal for high-rises and that the rezoning will deter needed residential development. 2007-05-10 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2512 In an effort to prevent excessive development, the city has proposed a rezoning of a 50-block area of the Upper West Side from W. 97th to W. 110th Streets and Central Park West on the east and Riverside Drive on the west. The rezoning would put a cap on maximum building height at 14 stories. Two towers developed on Broadway Avenue in excess of 30 stories inspired the rezoning, which banded together the community in opposition to further excessive development. Chair of the City Planning Commission, Amanda Burden, cited the community's desires for the rezoning when she said that, "The community was clear in its focus on ensuring that any new development in this area of the upper West Side is more predictable." The rezoning will now go through public review. 2007-04-24 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2237 The 13 blocks of high-rise developments along the Hudson River on the Upper West Side, known as the Riverside South development, will add three more buildings and 3.2 million square feet of space to be divided between office, hotel, and residential. The three buildings, to be designed by renowned architect Christian de Portzamparc, will sit between 59th and 61st Streets. Developer Extell Development needs a rezoning to finalize the building plans, which it hopes will occur in the next few weeks. Community advocacy group, Coalition for a Livable West Side, believes that the building additions comprise 35 percent more built space than was agreed upon for the Riverside South master plan. 2007-03-16 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2038 Developer Related Companies is developing the west side of Amsterdam Avenue between 76th and 77th streets into luxury condominiums, forcing old buildings to be demolished to pave way for construction. Even the historical Dakota Stables remain slated for destruction, having failed to achieve landmark status in the fall. Yet, the Westside Brewery Co. and the low-budget Amsterdam Inn above it refuse to be sold to the developer. The hotel continues to remain popular with European visitors. Related Companies' plan for the neighborhood has had to develop around the remaining structures. 2007-02-14 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#2033 According to the New York Post, developer Related Companies has determined plans for the parcel where the historic Dakota Stables once stood. The west side of Amsterdam Avenue between 76th and 77th streets will feature 350 Amsterdam Avenue, a 16-story condominium project with "Romanesque" features. Perhaps surprising to preservationists, the architect for the project is A.M. Stern, who has been instrumental in other preservation campaigns on the Upper West Side. Attempts to preserve the Dakota Stables failed when the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted against providing landmark status to the historical buildings. The developer will build 40 units of affordable housing in an exchange for a larger building. 2007-02-13 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#1909 Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan unveiled yesterday four new studios as part of the School of American Ballet. The studio addition is welcome news to managers of Lincoln Center’s expansion, which has occurred at a slower pace than anticipated. The architectural firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, constructed the innovative studio design. 2007-01-19 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#1673 The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted yesterday against extending landmark status to an historical stable on 77th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. The Related Companies, who had already received demolition permits from the city, will develop the former stable into condominiums. In another LPC vote, the commission granted landmark-status to another stable on Amsterdam Avenue, known as the New York Cab Company Stable. Yesterday’s votes reflect a debate in the preservation community about the ability of the city to protect buildings awaiting landmark-status from demolition. 2006-11-15 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=78#1527 The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing yesterday at Municipal Hall regarding the Dakota Stables building on the Upper West Side. Landmark West has been lobbying the commission to preserve the Dakota Stables building for 20 years, and the commission has twice denied the building a hearing. 2006-10-18 00:00:00