1299 Third Avenue Update: FRIENDS Appeals DOB’s Endorsement of Segmented Approvals

In the last week there have been not one, but two, significant developments related to the long-stalled project at 1297-1299 Third Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets which has sat vacant for nearly three years.

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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"!

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lower level view of NY blood center rendering

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.

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ny blood center expansion 1

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,

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Blood Center proposal at East 67th Street

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

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200 Amsteram

Community Advocacy: Recent Victories and Ongoing Battles

On the heels of of the news regarding 200 Amsterdam, we thought this to be a good time to talk to you about zoning and development.

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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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