Rooftop Additions Threaten East Village
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In two separate instances, GVSHP and our allies are fighting notorious developer Ben Shaoul in his efforts to get around development restrictions to add floors to historic East Village properties.
At 315 East 10th Street in the proposed East 10th Street Historic District, GVSHP has discovered that Shaoul is seeking Department of Buildings permits for an addition atop this 1847 home in a row of nearly pristine structures which line the north side of Tompkins Square Park. Because the proposed district has been calendared by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the city has the power to stop the permits from being issued if they act quickly enough. GVSHP and allied groups have alerted the LPC to this threat and urged them to take action to stop it. Unfortunately, though the LPC calendared this and the nearby proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District this spring, they are yet to move ahead with a hearing or designation, and have let other similar alterations and demolitions in the proposed districts move ahead. We hope they won’t make the same mistake here.
At 514-16 East 6th Street, Shaoul is asking the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to overturn a decision declaring additions to the two buildings to be illegal and requiring they be dismantled. GVSHP joined community activists and Councilmember Rosie Mendez in getting the original determination that the additions violated housing and buildings regulations, and in securing zoning changes in 2008 which strictly limited new development on these blocks. However, now Shaoul is claiming hardship and asking the BSA to allow him to keep the illegal rooftop additions, even though they now also violate the new zoning regulations for the area.
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Rooftop additions at 514-16 East 6th Street |
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Next: 12/27/11
Previous: 10/26/11 |
