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Land Use, Housing & Zoning

September 2006, Land Use & Zoning Committee

N060310 ZCM application by 23rd Street Development LLC for a special Permit by the City Planning Commission pursuant to Section 74-711 of the Zoning Resolution to grant bulk and use waivers for non-conforming use and modifications of ...

N060310 ZCM application by 23rd Street Development LLC for a special Permit by the City Planning Commission pursuant to Section 74-711 of the Zoning Resolution to grant bulk and use waivers for non-conforming use and modifications of height, setback and rear yard requirements for a new 21 story residential condominium building located on the North side of West 23rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in the Ladies Mile Historic District.

WHEREAS, The 23rd Street Development, LLC has applied for a special permit from the City Planning Commission pursuant to Section 74-711 of the Zoning Resolution to grant bulk and use waivers for non-conforming use, as well as modifications of height, setback and rear yard requirements for a new 21-story residential condominium building located at 35-37 West 23rd Street and 39-41 West 23rd Street on the north side of West 23rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in the Ladies' Mile Historic District; and

WHEREAS, The bulk of the proposed new building violates zoning regulations for the following:

WHEREAS, The bulk of this new building encroaches:

WHEREAS, The bulk of the proposed new building significantly destroys the continuity of the elegant decorative historic street wall and despoils the special aesthetic character of the Ladies' Mile Historic District streetscape; and

WHEREAS, The sizable and numerous spatial encroachments of the bulk of the new building negatively impacts the open space in the vicinity; and

WHEREAS, The adjacent midblock structures are 6 stories to the east, 9 stories to the west and overall average of 12 stories for the buildings in the vicinity; and

WHEREAS, This oversized 21-story midblock building is uncharacteristic for the district and its height will cast deep new shadows across the neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, The applicant's three dimensional drawing fails to show the more relevant and important blocks of the district between 5th and 6th Avenues that would best demonstrate the incongruous relationship between the proposed building and the surrounding neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, The applicant's building height study claims that 57% of midblock buildings are taller than either buildings on their corner, these midblock buildings cited in the study average 12 stories tall with 2 to 5 story buildings at the corners with the actual building heights curiously missing from the study; and

WHEREAS, The negative impact on the surrounding buildings in the immediate vicinity of the site by the substantial encroachment will result in diminished access to light and air; and

WHEREAS, Even if this building were located on the end of the block where the average is 12 to 15 stories, it would still far be incongruous to the neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, The nonconforming residential use is not consistent with the existing use patterns, since all other adjacent residential units provide for live/work uses, and the only emerging residential uses in the vicinity are the buildings surrounding Madison Square Park (per zoning changes in 1960) and the recently rezoned residential corridor which runs up both side of 6th  Avenue, where 7 new residential end of block towers have been built or are currently under construction; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five sees no public benefit gained by granting these bulk and use waivers; and

WHEREAS, The only reason given by the applicant for requesting these bulk and use waivers is to maximize the square footage of the new building; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five sees significant advantages to additional hotel space or other as-of-right commercial uses in the district; and

WHEREAS, The New York City Zoning Resolution under Chapter 4 Special Permits by the City Planning Commission - General Provisions - empowers the Commission to grant special permits in specific districts for waivers of bulk and use regulations provided that the disadvantages to the community are outweighed by the advantages derived by the community from the grant of such special permit, and that any adverse effects on the light and air in the neighborhood will be minimized by appropriate conditions governing location of the site and design; and

WHEREAS, The City Planning Commission must set forth each required finding for the grant of a special permit for the  modification of bulk or use regulations, and each finding must be supported with substantial evidence and the required findings have not been met to the satisfaction of Community Board Five; and

WHEREAS, The New York City Zoning Resolution code 74-711 empowers the City Planning Commission to grant a special permit for waivers of use and bulk regulations with the stipulation that the Commission substantiate the following findings:

WHEREAS, Such substantiated findings are not supported with credible evidence and cannot be reached since this building violates the bulk and spirit of the Ladies' Mile Historic District; and

WHEREAS, 42nd Street, another wide cross street within Community Board Five, is comprised of tall end of the block buildings with low rise historic theater buildings located midblock, achieved through conformance with the underlying principles of the zoning resolution and  City Planning Commission Guidelines; and

WHEREAS, In May 2005 Community Board Five recommended denial of this application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission due to the building's extreme modern architecture and its incompatible character with one of New York's most renowned historic districts; therefore be it resolved

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application requesting a special permit for bulk and use waivers for the proposed new building.

The above resolution passed with a vote of 22 in favor, 8 opposed, 2 abstentions.

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