FRIENDS In the News
FRIENDS has been featured in recent news pieces covering the community opposition to the New York Blood Center/Longfellow commercial tower that would undo decades of community-minded human scale zoning on the midblocks in our neighborhood
Preserving our Green Upper East Side
You know FRIENDS speaks up for our historic architecture, and the preservation and zoning mechanisms in place to maintain the scale and character of our community.
Scrapping the ‘Tower on Stilts’
We are thrilled to announce that 249 East 62nd Street, the poster-child example of egregious loopholes in supertalls, has been purchased by a new owner, with a new architect, and a new as-of-right design. The proposal that was dubbed the Jetsons' Building is "outta here"!
TODAY: NY Blood Center Environmental Scoping Session
Today, December 15, NYC Department of City Planning will hold its first scoping meeting for the New York Blood Center development. The scoping hearing reviews the Draft Scope of Work for the environmental impact statement which the Blood Center must complete before the project enters the formal public review process, or ULURP.
NY Blood Center: Learn More Today and Speak Out Next Week
The New York Blood Center released plans in October 2020 to demolish its modest 1930 building on a large through-block site on East 67th Street between First and Second Avenues. Replacing the three-story building would be a 334 foot midblock commercial tower, anchored by the Blood Center on the first five floors,
Proposals Chipping Away at the Midblock
One of FRIENDS’ earliest initiatives, led by our founder Halina Rosenthal, was the successful effort to bring contextual zoning to the midblocks of the Upper East Side. The R8B zoning district was mapped across vast swaths of our midblocks in 1985, hailed by the New York Times as “the most
IN THE NEWS: Developer Zoning Fraud
The issue of zoning fraud, heightened by the Buildings Department’s broken self-certification program, was highlighted today in an opinion piece published today in Gotham Gazette, by Diana Florence, the former head of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Construction Fraud Task Force.
The Fight to Save First Avenue Estate: Looking Back
FRIENDS recently capped its weeklong series exploring the cultural and historical context of Yorkville’s City and Suburban First Avenue Estate and the decades-long battle to preserve it, which relied upon both local advocates and the legal system at our country’s highest court.
A Perilous Path to Protection: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of a Landmark
April 2020 marks the 55th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law, and this year, our neighborhood has something extra special to celebrate as we honor this milestone year. As of October 2019, the City and Suburban First Avenue Estate has been saved from demolition, thanks to a years-long,
Annual Awards 2020: Honoring New York City Council
In this second of our series to celebrate FRIENDS 2020 Annual Awards recipients we highlight our 2020 Expression of Thanks Awardee New York City Council for adopting Resolution No. 916, which amends the Zoning Resolution to put a cap on exempt mechanical void space within new buildings in residential neighborhoods.