Council members David Greenfield and Peter Koo lead a public hearing on Intro 775 last September.

City Council Land Use Committee Approves Deadlines for Landmarking

Yesterday, the City Council’s Land Use committee voted through a contentious bill that would impose deadlines on the Landmarks Preservation Commission and its process of designating historic properties. Preservationists and their allies on the City Council overwhelmingly oppose the bill, Intro 775-A, because it would force the LPC to consider buildings and historic districts within two years of being calendared.

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Pier 6

Updated Two-Tower, 266-Unit Mixed-Income Residential Project Approved for Pier 6, Brooklyn Heights

Last month, news broke that the city, with selected developers RAL Development and Oliver Realty Group and architect ODA New York, would be moving forward with a two-building residential project at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6, in southern Brooklyn Heights, without the support of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESD). Yesterday, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation voted to approve the updated project, Curbed NY reports. The latest plans call for a 28-story, 126-unit market-rate condominium tower and a 12-story, 140-unit mixed-income rental building, where 100 of the rental apartments will rent at below-market rates, according to the Wall Street Journal. One of the buildings will feature a public restroom, but there’s no mention of any commercial components. Construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2017. As part of the deal, the city will receive a one-time payment of $115 million followed by $2.7 million per year.


520 Park Avenue

54-Story, 33-Unit Residential Tower Rises Into Skyline, Receives Limestone Façade At 520 Park Avenue, Upper East Side

Last month, YIMBY brought you new renderings of the 54-story, 33-unit ultra-luxury residential tower under construction at 520 Park Avenue, located on East 60th Street in Lenox Hill. The building is now between 15 and 20 stories above street level, as seen in photos posted to the YIMBY Forums by Robert Walpole and ILNY, and can be seen for the first time from Central Park. Crews are also installing limestone to the structure’s western façade. The 781-foot-tall tower will encompass 251,892 square feet, and its condominium units should average an opulent 5,394 square feet apiece. The building’s amenities are all listed in our previous update. Zeckendorf Development is the developer and Robert A.M. Stern Architects is behind the design. SLCE Architects is serving as the architect of record. Completion is expected in 2017.