NEW YORK | 1780 First Avenue | 530 FT | 50 FLOORS

[chris08876]

New 50-Story Tower Coming To 1780 First Avenue In Yorkville, Manhattan

Permits have been filed for a new 50-story tower at 1780 First Avenue, in Yorkville, Manhattan, adjacent to where the New York City Housing Authority‘s John Haynes Holmes Towers currently stand. Located at the corner of 1st Avenue and East 93rd Street, the two buildings presently on the site were built in 1968 and have 537 units across 25 floors with a gross square footage of 386,322. The nearest transit access is two city blocks north at the 96th Street – 2nd Avenue station, courtesy of the N and Q trains.

Plans for the new development include a total scope of 342,612 square feet, with community facilities allotted 4,718 square feet, and 325,650 square feet for residential space. Rising up 530 feet, the tower will have 339 units at an average size of 960 square feet. The larger square footage is an indicator these residences could include condominiums or a mix of unit types. Luigi Russo of SLCE Architects is responsible for the design.

Hal Fetner, president of Fetner Properties is listed as the owner, according to filings. An estimated completion date has not been announced.

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NYY

[NYguy]

Pretty good for that area.

[chris08876]

Premises: 1780 1 AVENUE MANHATTAN Job No: 121189196
BIN: 1076333 Block: 1573 Lot: 20

[...]


13 Building Characteristics

Primary structural system: Masonry Concrete (CIP) Concrete (Precast) Wood
Steel (Structural) Steel (Cold-Formed) Steel (Encased in Concrete)

Proposed
Structural Occupancy Category: II - OTHER THAN I, III OR IV
Seismic Design Category: CATEGORY B
2014/2008 Code Designations?
Occupancy Classification: R-2 - RESIDENTIAL: APARTMENT HOUSES Yes No
Construction Classification: I-B: 3 HOUR PROTECTED Yes No
Multiple Dwelling Classification: HAEA
Building Height (ft.): 530
Building Stories: 50
Dwelling Units: 339



Pre-Filed: 11/15/2018 Building Type: Other Estimated Total Cost: $0.00
Date Filed: 12/28/2018 Electronically Filed: Yes

==========================
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/Jo...ssdocnumber=01

[NYguy]

https://patch.com/new-york/upper-eas...opment-project

Residents, Pols Rip NYCHA For UES Private Development Project
NYCHA claims an unpopular 50-story development on Holmes Towers land will fund renovations, but skeptics say the money won't make a dent.





By Brendan Krisel
Jan 31, 2019

Public housing residents, local elected officials and the Upper East Side's community board slammed the New York City Housing Authority for a plan to allow a 50-story private development to replace a playground on the Holmes Towers development during a heated meeting Wednesday night.

Critics of the plan claimed that money the developers are committing to NYCHA repairs won't meet the need of the Holmes Tower development and that the troubled agency — which is currently negotiating a plan for greater federal oversight — can't be trusted to spend the money efficiently or responsibly.

Elected officials also ripped into NYCHA for seeking mayoral zoning overrides rather than go through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which would deprive the community board, borough president and city council from publicly reviewing the plan.

The tower — to be built by Fetner Properties — will rise 530 feet above East 92nd Street and will contain 339 apartment units, half of which will be offered at market rates and half of which will be offered at regulated below-market rates, according to building plans filed with the city.

Fetner will pay NYCHA $25 million up front for a 99-year ground lease at the site. All of the money will be used by NYCHA to fund repairs at the HOlmes Towers, officials said.

"Why in the world does this project not go through a ULURP public review? It makes no sense," Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said at a public meeting Wednesday. "At the appropriate time, along with my colleagues, we're gonna fight to make sure Holmes infill goes through the review process and that you have input."

Brewer added that politicians aren't ruling out going to court in order to force a public review of the project.

NYCHA plans to request three mayoral zoning overrides to allow the building that does not conform to the site's current zoning regulations, NYCHA's Director of New Construction Matthew Charney said.

The three mayoral zoning overrides will allow Fetner to:

-Build an ADA-accessible ramp leading to an athletic field that would otherwise be too close to existing NYCHA buildings;

-Construct a tall structure that would otherwise violate the city's mandated "sky exposure plane" — a regulation to set back buildings in order to ensure light and air at street level in dense zoning districts;

-Build 2.3 percent less open space on the lot than required for the maximum amount of residential development density allowed for the site's zoning district.

Charney said that NYCHA has no plans to put the project through ULURP. The NYCHA executive said that the lengthy nature of the ULURP process would cut into the agency's timeline to begin construction on the new building and repairs to Holmes Towers this summer.

[chris08876]

"Why in the world does this project not go through a ULURP public review? It makes no sense," Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said at a public meeting Wednesday. "At the appropriate time, along with my colleagues, we're gonna fight to make sure Holmes infill goes through the review process and that you have input."

And this is why things are so expensive to get going. Delays after delays. More city govt gets involved, you just increased costs.

Just kicking the can further, but this will rise.

On a side note, will be good when the next borough president comes into office or IF he/she is pro-development. Gale might be more suited for Staten Island, not Manhattan.

[NYguy]

http://gothamist.com/2019/01/31/nych...rt_on_uppe.php

For more than a year, NYCHA has been trying to sell skeptical residents at Holmes Tower and the neighboring Stanley M. Isaacs Houses on a 50-story infill project to be built by Fetner Properties, a New York-based housing developer. The development at East 92nd Street is one of two in the city being rolled out under the authority’s NextGen initiative, also referred to as NYCHA 2.0, which would allow NYCHA to strike deals with private developers like Fetner as a way of generating much-needed money for capital improvements. NYCHA stands to earn $25 million from the Holmes project. Following criticism last year that not all the money would be used to help residents at the site, the agency pledged to reserve all of that money for repairs at the existing Holmes Tower complex.

But the height of the 169-unit tower, which at 500 feet would rise well above the 25-story buildings at the public housing site and violate zoning regulations, coupled with NYCHA’s intention to avoid the city’s public land-use approval process by asking the mayor to grant an exception, have roiled residents and the local community board.

“You are putting a monstrosity there,” said Lakeesha Taylor, a mother who grew up in the Holmes Tower. “It’s not what we want. It’s not about our future. It’s about your future, and your pockets.”

Gale Brewer, the Manhattan Borough President, and City Councilmember Ben Kallos both attended the hearing to oppose the project, and suggested that the issue may ultimately wind up in court. "I don't want to be specific but we're very serious about this project," Brewer added.

[jackster99]

I wonder how many cats Gale has?

[yankeesfan1000]

I despise this city's local politicians...

Manhattan BP threatens ‘legal remedies’ against Upper East Side NYCHA project



"...For the privilege of the near century-long lease, Fetner will pay NYCHA $25 million up front. The cash will be used by the authoirty to fund repairs at the Holmes Towers, but residents and elected officials are skeptical that $25 million will cover significant repairs at the Holmes Towers when NYCHA itself puts estimates of the complex’s capital needs at $35 million. Brewer questioned the deal’s economic validity in her letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio."

[Crawford]

Is there a single local politician who isn't batshit crazy and doesn't want this city to fail?

What could possibly be the objection to saving NYCHA while providing tons of desperately needed new affordable housing units?

The Borough President is gonna sue NYCHA for every new building it's planning? (NYCHA is planning tens of thousands of new units on its land, which is basically the only way it survives).

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Is there a single local politician who isn't batshit crazy and doesn't want this city to fail?

What could possibly be the objection to saving NYCHA while providing tons of desperately needed new affordable housing units?

The Borough President is gonna sue NYCHA for every new building it's planning? (NYCHA is planning tens of thousands of new units on its land, which is basically the only way it survives).

She's gonna sue everybody. She's had it with these damned skyscrapers! And in Manhattan of all places. The NIMBYism in New York has made getting almost anything done a major headache, almost not worth dealing with. It's getting out of hand, and will push this city back into the dark days if left unchecked.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by NYguy

She's gonna sue everybody. She's had it with these damned skyscrapers! And in Manhattan of all places. The NIMBYism in New York has made getting almost anything done a major headache, almost not worth dealing with. It's getting out of hand, and will push this city back into the dark days if left unchecked.

I like the progress that De Blasio has done thus far, but I think he does not have the guts to push back at times. I'm hoping the next mayor is more like Bloomberg or even better... someone who will push back at the NIMBYS.

While I like DeBlasio on the social issues, I think the city is due for a business oriented, supply and demand candidate similar to Mr.Bloomberg.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I like the progress that De Blasio has done thus far, but I think he does not have the guts to push back at times. I'm hoping the next mayor is more like Bloomberg or even better... someone who will push back at the NIMBYS.

DeBlasio has always played both sides. He knows realistically that you have to get these things done because the city needs it. But his style has always been very laid back, to the point of being nonchalant on issues he needs to be firm on. Amazon comes to mind.

[NYguy]

https://ny.curbed.com/2019/4/22/1851...-housing-nycha

Manhattan BP sues city over plan for private housing at NYCHA complex
The city has “illegally circumvented” the typical land use review, according to the lawsuit





By Caroline Spivack
Apr 22, 2019

A controversial private development planned on an Upper East Side public housing complex faces a new legal hurdle.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has followed through on threats to sue Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration over Fetner Properties’s plans to erect a 50-story building on the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Holmes Towers development. Instead of going through the typical Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which gathers input from locals and elected officials before culminating in a City Council vote, the city plans to skirt the lengthy process and acquire mayoral zoning overriders for the project. But Brewer’s suit argues that steamrolling the public review process is unlawful.

“From the beginning, Borough President Brewer has made clear that robust public review following established land use procedures is needed—and indeed legally required—to vet a proposal of this magnitude,” states the Manhattan Supreme Court suit, which was filed Thursday. “Unfortunately, despite the enormity of the proposed changes, Respondents have illegally circumvented ULURP, to the detriment of the communities they are tasked with serving.”

Brewer charges that the project, which is set to raze a playground and rise between two 25-story NYCHA buildings, violates state public housing law and the city’s charter. The suit comes as a blow to a project that is poised to be the first of NYCHA’s 50/50 program—rental towers built by private developers on land owned by the cash-strapped city agency.

Fetner Properties is set to lease land at East 92nd Street for 99 years and collect rent from the units—169 are slated as affordable housing units while another 169 will be market rate. In exchange, Fetner will pay NYCHA $25 million toward repairs at Holmes Towers.

A spokesperson for Fetner said the agency is “committed to delivering new affordable housing, open space, and a state-of-the-art recreational and community center, as well as new funds to support much-needed building and infrastructure repairs for NYCHA residents.”

[NYguy]

https://www.6sqft.com/city-withdraws...de-playground/

City withdraws plan for mixed-income tower proposed for Upper East Side playground


https://imgs.6sqft.com/wp-content/up...s-Towers-2.jpg




JUNE 17, 2019
BY DEVIN GANNON

The New York City Housing Authority has ditched plans to build a private 47-story apartment building on top of a playground on the Upper East Side, agency officials said Friday. The original plan called for a 300-unit tower to replace the playground at the Holmes Tower public housing complex with half of the units affordable and the other half at market-rate, the latter meant to raise funds for repairs at the tower. The new plan for the site will increase the number of market-rate apartments in order to collect more money, NYCHA officials told THE CITY.

The New York City Housing Authority has ditched plans to build a private 47-story apartment building on top of a playground on the Upper East Side, agency officials said Friday. The original plan called for a 300-unit tower to replace the playground at the Holmes Tower public housing complex with half of the units affordable and the other half at market-rate, the latter meant to raise funds for repairs at the tower. The new plan for the site will increase the number of market-rate apartments in order to collect more money, NYCHA officials told THE CITY.

https://thecity.nyc/2019/06/nycha-sc...z-lawsuit.html

Housing officials are scrapping the current design by Fetner Properties for a 50-story building at the Holmes Towers complex in Yorkville in order to “redraw and redo,” New York City Housing Authority Chair Kathryn Garcia told THE CITY.

Their goal is to allow more market-rate apartments on the site in an effort to raise more money for the cash-strapped Housing Authority.

“We will re-engage with the residents regarding all of the tools that we have … to drive as much investment into Holmes as we possibly can,” Garcia said on Friday.

The now-shelved plan, first announced in 2017, would have had Fetner Properties paying the authority an up-front $25 million in funds committed to making much-needed repairs at the Holmes complex.

Under that scheme, half of the apartments in the new tower would have been market-rate and the other half subsidized for households making less than 60% of the area’s median income, or about $57,660 for a three-person household.

Now, Garcia says, the new plan will have closer to 70% market-rate apartments and 30% subsidized apartments. The complex would still get money for repairs — hopefully, a lot more than $25 million, she said — and all of the cash raised would go only to the Holmes Towers.

According to NYCHA’s most recent assessment, the two towers at Holmes, built in 1969, need about $36 million worth of repairs immediately, with more than $100 million needed over the next 20 years.

[Crawford]

I think this makes sense. A tower with a higher proportion of market rate units, directed strictly to the housing development, will increase revenues and (hopefully) quell some of the NIMBYism. And this provides a template for future developments.

But NYCHA needs to get going already, and stop with the "community" outreach. They've been doing this nonsense for 10 years now.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I think this makes sense. A tower with a higher proportion of market rate units, directed strictly to the housing development, will increase revenues and (hopefully) quell some of the NIMBYism. And this provides a template for future developments.

But NYCHA needs to get going already, and stop with the "community" outreach. They've been doing this nonsense for 10 years now.

We'll see.

The complex would still get money for repairs — hopefully, a lot more than $25 million, she said — and all of the cash raised would go only to the Holmes Towers.

But something tells me that the NIMBYism will carry on.

[Busy Bee]

I liked the design. Hopefully the new will look as good.

[NYguy]

Somehow, I don't think people are getting it...the tower isn't canceled.


https://www.liberationnews.org/nyc-p...-fight-we-win/


NYC public housing victory: ‘When we fight, we win!’

By Emilie Rose
Jun 18, 2019

Residents of East Harlem’s Holmes Towers are celebrating the news that the New York City Housing Authority will withdraw its Section 18 land disposition application that would have allowed Fetner Properties to build a 50-story luxury tower on top of their development’s playground.

“We, the tenants, never gave up, and we felt strong about fighting to retain our land and playground that the community utilizes. The plan would have deprived and devastated this community,” said Saundrea Coleman, resident of Isaacs Houses and former resident of Holmes Towers. “We urge the city and state to allocate the much-needed funds to restore NYCHA dwellings citywide and stop taking away our playgrounds and parking lots. We will remain united to stop the privatization of New York City Public Housing Land.”

https://patch.com/new-york/upper-eas...50-story-tower

UES NYCHA Residents Celebrate Reversal On 50-Story Tower
The city is going back to the drawing board on a plan to develop part of the Holmes Towers complex on East 93rd Street.

By Brendan Krisel
Jun 18, 2019

Residents who opposed for years a city plan to allow private development at an Upper East Side public housing complex celebrated the city's decision to scrap the plan to conduct more community outreach.

A group of tenants at the Holmes Tower and Stanley M. Isaacs Houses on East 92nd Street between First and York avenues held a victory rally at the developments on Monday following the New York City Housing Authority's decision to rescind a development application for a 50-story apartment tower late last week. Many tenants have protested the plan since it was announced in 2017 because the development will replace a playground and tower over their homes.

The city announced Friday that it will conduct additional community outreach and that it still plans to partner with Fetner Properties to develop a new plan for the site. But tenants hinted Monday that they will oppose any private development at the public housing developments.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer sued Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYCHA in April to force the project through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. The city is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed in the wake of the decision to scrap the plan, a NYCHA rep said Friday.

Fetner's plan for the site would have resulted in a 530-foot-tall tower with 339 apartments. Half of the apartments would have been offered at market rates and the other half would have been offered at regulated below-market rates.

Residents had originally planned a protest march around the public housing development for Monday, but quickly shifted to a celebration following the city's announcement.

"We, the tenants, never gave up, and we felt strong about fighting to retain our land and playground that the community utilizes. The plan would have deprived and devastated this community," Saundrea Coleman, a current resident of Isaacs Houses and former resident of Holmes Towers, said in a statement.

[chris08876]

Credit: City Realty