247 Cherry, which we have seen more details on, will be a very nice tower designed by SHoP Architects.
https://jdsdevelopment.com/cherry-street/
http://ackermandevelopment.com/cherry-st
https://citylimits.org/2020/08/28/an...pment-schemes/
Another Court Win for City Hall Against Critics of Development Schemes
It was the second legal victory in as many months for City Hall in a matter involving a development project approved over community opposition.
Sadef Ali Kully
August 28, 2020
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An appeals court on Thursday sided with the de Blasio administration in one element of a tangled legal dispute over a proposed development in the Two Bridges neighborhood.
It was the second legal win in as many months for City Hall in a matter involving a development project approved over community opposition. In July, an appeals court ruled that the 2018 Inwood rezoning, which a local judge had annulled, had been proper. That case could now go to the state’s highest court.
This week’s ruling in Two Bridges addressed just one of three lawsuits against the plan.
The controversy is over a joint application filed by four developers for three new mixed-use high-rise projects involving four towers: a 1,008-foot rental tower at 247 Cherry Street by JDS Development Group, a 798-foot dual-tower project at 260 South Street by L+M Development Partners and CIM Group, and a 730-foot building at 259 Clinton Street by Starrett Corporation.
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The de Blasio administration welcomed the ruling.
“New York is more than ready for 700 new affordable homes, new and improved open spaces, an ADA-accessible subway station and $12.5 million in improvements to NYCHA. This ruling now makes it possible. The Planning Commission was on firm legal ground as it moved these important projects forward without subjecting them to ULURP procedures. The Court reached the right result and New Yorkers will reap the benefits sooner because of it,” said James E. Johnson, Corporation Counsel for the city’s Law Department, in an email statement to City Limits.
In a statement, the developers said, “We applaud the court’s decision, which makes clear that these projects were lawfully approved and comply with zoning that’s been in place for more than 30 years. Private investments in affordable housing and essential community infrastructure are even more critical as the city emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.”
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The project’s critics did not say whether or not they planned to appeal.
“We, the City Council and the Manhattan Borough President, sued the administration here because we believed that the community needed a seat at the table for a proposal which would add close to 3,000 units of majority luxury housing within a three block radius in a historically affordable and diverse waterfront neighborhood, and will pierce through a low-income senior building,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Chin and Brewer in a statement to City Limits. “We’re disappointed in today’s decision to overturn the lower court’s ruling in our favor and are evaluating our options.”
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The four-judge panel wrote in their decision the Zoning Resolution, which establishes the zoning districts for the city and the regulations governing land use and development, allows the City Planning Commission to issue special permits to waive, vary or modify certain zoning resolution provisions relevant to large-scale residential districts (LSRD) and the zoning resolution provides for “greater flexibility” within LSRDs. It also said the petitioners, in this case the City Council and Brewer’s office, had plenty of opportunities to mitigate the issues and concerns raised by the community beforehand.
“In reaching this result, we are mindful of petitioners’ concerns that their constituents have had limited input on the proposed development’s potential effects on their neighborhood, including increased density, reduced open space and the construction of a large number of luxury residences in what has been a primarily working class neighborhood of low to medium rise buildings. However, existing law simply does not support the result petitioners seek,” wrote the judges.
“Petitioners could have taken steps to amend the [Zoning Resolution] to prohibit buildings of this scale in the area, and/or to amend ULURP to add to the categories of land use actions requiring review, through legislation and/or referendum. In addition, petitioners could have taken steps before expiration of the Two Bridges Urban Renewal Plan by its own terms in 2007 to amend the [Zoning Resolution] to include the Urban Renewal Plan’s greater restrictions, including a preference for low to medium rise buildings. Petitioners could have also sought to change the zoning classification of the Two Bridges neighborhood. Having failed to do so, petitioners cannot seek a remedy in the courts,” read the decision.
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“The appellate division made it very clear that the City Planning Commission has the right under the current law to do what they did. I think this is just another indication where the Appellate Division is saying to the lower courts, ‘You cannot legislate.’ If groups believe that the law is wrong, then they have ample recourse through their local City Council to change the rules. But you can’t change the rules through the courts,” said Ross Moskowitz, a real estate and land use partner at the law firm Stroock. “This decision, plus the recent decision allowing Inwood rezoning to proceed are all positive news for development going forward. Hopefully, this will give lower courts some pause before rendering these decisions that are getting overturned.”
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https://archinect.com/news/article/1...egal-challenge
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NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
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