A Victory in the Fight Against Zoning Loopholes

The Department of Buildings (DOB) has filed an Intent to Revoke its prior approval for a 39-story, 775 foot tall tower at 50 West 66th Street. Extell, the developer, first filed for a 25-story, 260 foot mixed-use structure back in 2015.

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DEVELOPMENT ALERT: First Avenue

As reported in YIMBY, The Real Deal and the Upper East Side Patch, the Developer Extell has just filed demolition permits for an entire block on the east side of First Avenue between East 79th and East 80th Streets in Yorkville.

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ADVOCACY UPDATE: Inter-building Void at 62nd Street Periscope Tower Endorsed by DOB

After six months, the Department of Buildings (DOB) has finally responded to FRIENDS’ Zoning Challenge of 249 East 62nd Street filed in November 2017.

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Frick Collection, NYC

Frick Update: New Architect Chosen for Expansion

In June 2014, The Frick Collection announced plans to expand the institution, which included the replacement of the prized Russell Page garden with a new, out-of-scale tower. FRIENDS, among many other groups like Unite to Save the Frick, opposed these inappropriate plans. After much criticism, the Frick withdrew its proposal the following year.

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Housing New York

Advocacy Update: Zoning Proposals Voted On to City Council

It has been nearly a year since the first public documents about the Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) Text Amendment were released, and nearly a year that New Yorkers have expressed serious concerns about the proposal’s negative effects on neighborhoods citywide.

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ADVOCACY UPDATE: Another Win for Preservation!

Last November the Landmarks Preservation Commission announced a plan to remove nearly 100 buildings from consideration for designation. When a building passes the Commission’s initial review and is found to meet their basic requirements for designation, it is put on their calendar for a public hearing.

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ADVOCACY UPDATE: Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit

Nearly a year to the date of the denial of the hardship application, on May 21, 2015, the Federal court dismissed the owner’s lawsuit for “failure to state a cause of action for a substantive due process violation.” However, we still await a decision from the State Supreme Court and have no

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ADVOCACY UPDATE: FRIENDS testifies before City Planning on Zoning Text Amendment

As any good preservationist would, I will start with a bit of history. In 1985, our founding president, Halina Rosenthal, wrote to our members:

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ADVOCACY UPDATE: FRIENDS Speaks out Against the Frick with a Letter to the Editor

Once again, FRIENDS speaks out against the Frick expansion proposal! Click here to read our Letter to the Editor in the Christmas edition of Our Town.

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Frick Collection

ADVOCACY UPDATE: Recent Frick expansion coverage from the New York Times

On Sunday Robin Pogrebin at the New York Times published an article about the Frick expansion, bringing to light a statement from the museum’s testimony before the landmarks Preservation Commission in 1973:

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