NEWS: Developers try to beat downzoning in South Slope & Midwood
Pk Slope Zone Busting! BSA Lets Developers Build Under Old Regs
By Charles Hack
Park Slope Courier: http://www.parkslopecourier.com/site/tab7.cfm?newsid=16829176
The Board of Standards and Appeals gave developers the green light to finish constructing two buildings in South Park Slope, which became unlawful after new zoning laws came into effect last November.
That was despite organized community opposition, numerous building violations and damage to adjacent properties. The NYC Board of Standards and Appeals unanimously approved hardship applications for 400 15th St. and 639 6th Ave., allowing each to vest under old zoning, at their hearing room at 40 Rector St. in Manhattan. The Department of Buildings (DOB) stopped work last November after the Department of City Planning rezoned some 50 blocks in the South Park Slope and Greenwood Heights area. The BSA accepted the argument that the developer would suffer serious losses if forced to build under new zoning, said Deirdre Carson of Greenberg and Traurigs, the attorney for both developers. She said the BSA decision was fair. “I think it was supported by the law, and of course our clients are happy and grateful to the board for their decision,” Carson said. But the ruling angered community members who had volunteered hours of time to oppose the developments. “We fought long and hard, and the community was 110 percent behind not having any of these properties vested,” said Aaron Brashear, co-founder of the Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights. “If you look at their track record — including damage to adjacent properties — it does not deserve hardship.” Opponents have challenged seven applications to vest under the old zoning. Other cases are pending decisions. The board did reject the developer’s separate applications claiming that the work was substantially complete. In their applications, the developer of 400 15th Street claimed to have completed 49 percent of the required foundation work. The developer of 639 6th Avenue claimed they had spent 21 percent of required costs. “Clearly the foundations were not advanced in both cases, and we felt they should not have been vested,” said John Keefe, a representative from Assemblymember James Brennan’s office, who testified against the developers’ requests. Brashear said that profit trumped concerns over unsafe building practices, code violations, working through stop work orders and the impact of having buildings that did not fit in with its surroundings, all of which had been cited in testimonies against vesting the properties.
Flatbush Life: http://24sevenbrooklyn.com/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=16824005&BRD=2384&PAG=461&dept_id=552850&rfi=6
Developers Try Skirting Around New Zoning Regs
By Helen Klein
Two months after the City Council approved the rezoning of Midwood, developers who did not get their foundations in prior to the new zoning are still hoping to get the go-ahead for projects that, clearly, the community would much rather do without.
At a pair of public hearings held by Community Board 14, at the board office, 610 East 16th Street, residents from throughout the area spoke out vehemently against giving these developers – who plan multi-story, multi-family condominium buildings – from proceeding with the construction. For projects that had been planned under the old zoning to proceed, foundations had to be “substantially complete” on the date the new zoning took effect, April 5th. Board members present formed a consensus to vote to recommend to the Board of Standards & Appeals (BSA) that that they deny approval to go forward to two of these projects, a recommendation that was affirmed by the full board at its subsequent meeting, held at Public School 249, Caton Road and Marlborough Road. Johnny-Come-Latelys Chiefly, at the committee meeting, the feeling appeared to be that developers had broken ground late in the rezoning, knowing full well that the rezoning was coming, but hoping to forge ahead quickly enough with their out-of-scale construction that the projects would be vested by the time the rezoning took effect. And, indeed, residents who were part of the standing-room-only crowd testified to late night work at the sites as the date of the rezoning approached. The projects in question are located at 1472 East 19th Street and 1623 Avenue P. Both sites were down-zoned from a category that would have allowed multi-story, multi-family construction to a category meant to allow one and two-family detached and semi-detached residences.