BSA Update: Second Public Hearing for 180 East 88th Street
FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts and Carnegie Hill Neighbors’ fight against 180 East 88th Street continues. Next Tuesday, October 30th, the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) will hold a second public hearing to address our joint community challenge of the Department of Buildings’ (DOB) approval of a 10 foot by 22 foot portion carved out of
“Fix Our Zoning Rules,” Say Manhattan Borough President and City Council Speaker
Last week, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Speaker Corey Johnson wrote a letter, supported by the entire Manhattan delegation of the City Council, to Department of City Planning Chair Marisa Lago to encourage the agency to address and prevent the suite of loopholes being exploited by developers.
ADVOCACY ALERT: We need your support to save Marx Brothers Playground
Dear Friend, When the City agrees to give away the public’s parkland to a private developer with deep pockets, you know we’re in trouble.
180 East 88th Street Has First Board of Standards and Appeals Public Hearing
This week FRIENDS, along with other New Yorkers concerned with the impact of megatowers on our city, has been advocating full force for the City to make good on its promises to enforce the misuse of zoning loopholes.
ADVOCACY ALERT: Next Tuesday, East and West Side Megatowers to be Heard at Board of Standards and Appeals
Next Tuesday, July 17th, will be a big day for New Yorkers concerned with the impact of megatowers on our city as two high profile projects on the Upper East and Upper West Sides will have their day at the Board of Standards and Appeals.
ADVOCACY ALERT: Manhattan Electeds and Advocates Call on City for Immediate Reform
In advance of Tuesday’s hearing, FRIENDS will join with elected officials and colleagues on the steps of City Hall to raise these issues to the citywide stage. The ability to freely sculpt zoning lots, as at 180 East 88th Street and 200 Amsterdam Avenue, that serve no purpose beyond circumventing zoning requirements
NYS Appellate Division Rules in Favor of LPC in First Avenue Estate Hardship Case!
Last spring FRIENDS led the effort of local and national preservation groups, along with elected officials, to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the City of New York in the ongoing battle to stop the demolition of two historic buildings, part of the City and Suburban Homes First
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.
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.
Make your voice heard! Tell Governor Cuomo to protect East Side parks
In December, FRIENDS filed a lawsuit alongside the Municipal Art Society, Carnegie Hill Neighbors, and CIVITAS in order to prevent the City from alienating a public park, the much-loved Marx Brothers Playground, to facilitate a massive, 1.3 million square foot private development that will rise over 700-feet on the site.