Municipal Arts Society
Municipal Art Society's Reaction to St. Vincent's
Yesterday, we wrote about the public hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission where St. Vincent's submitted its application for hardship status to get permission to demolish the O'Toole building and build a new hospital on the Seventh Avenue site.
The Municipal Art Society, which also testified at the hearing, issued the following statement in reaction to St. Vincent's application: read more »
Bill Would Give More Bite to Community Boards' Bark
Councilman Tony Avella is putting the final touches on a bill that would make community-based plans the framework for zoning regulations, land use, and development for every district in the five boroughs. He expects to formally introduce the bill to the City Council this summer.
Under the current system. community boards can submit development initiatives called 197a plans that “have no legal force whatsoever;" are often overlooked; and limit residents’ influence over the future shape of their neighborhood, according to Mr. Avella.
“The bill would allow each community, through the mechanism of the community board, to meet and develop a 197a plan... that would in effect become the planning document for the neighborhood,” Mr. Avella told The Observer Monday.
“Every neighborhood would put together its own plan that would go into the community document, the borough document, and the city document… It gives real power to every neighborhood so every citizen has a say in what happens.” read more »
Coney Island Developer Snubbed By Coney Island Development Roundtable
A panel of experts convened by the Municipal Art Society will meet tonight to discuss the forthcoming transformation of Coney Island.
Noticably missing from the debate: Thor Equities developer Joseph Sitt, whose controversial plan to soon raze and reconstruct the Brooklyn beach community's amusement district includes a proposed rezoning to allow high-rise luxury condos along the boardwalk.
"The panel organizers offered the one developer slot to Taconic," explained MAS spokesman Brian Connolly, referring to Taconic Investment Partners, which itself is planning a slew of residential development around, but not inside, the carnival-ride and arcade zone.
Details on the Sitt-less event after the jump. read more »
"A Hornet's Nest"
Well, the call to arms is still in force, though DDDB has since (they say yesterday) e-mailed an update revising its talking points. "It was clarified to us, or they changed their minds, that they are not going to present a plan, but their principles," DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein told us. Vanessa Gruen, MAS director of special projects, said, "We do not have an alternative plan. I don't know why they have been characterizing it that way." read more »
More after the jump.
Across the Atlantic
