City Planning Commission Praises Riverside Center
By Dan Rivoli
Members of the City Planning Commission approved the Riverside Center development at a meeting Oct. 27, praising the project as vibrant and beneficial addition to the Upper West Side.
The commission came to a near unanimous 12 to 1 vote in favor of the five-building, 3-million-square-foot residential and commercial development planned for West 59th Street to West 72nd Street, from West End Avenue to the river. Read more
PUBLIC ADVOCATE BACKS RIVERSIDE PROJECT
By Dan Rivoli
Bill de Blasio, the public advocate, is now advocating in favor of Riverside Center. De Blasio gave his conditional support a day after the City Planning Commission approved the mega-development with a near unanimous vote.
De Blasio praised the mixed-use retail and residential project for adding affordable housing, creating jobs and, perhaps most importantly, a new school. Read more
Confusion, Fear Puts Hitch in Plan for Residential ‘Hotel’
By Dan Rivoli
For Fine Times, the developer that wants to open a “residential” hotel on West 68th Street, the latest Community Board 7 meeting was anything but.
The company faced pushback, during the Oct. 6 meeting, on its plan to restore the historic, Beaux Art-style row house that it owns and convert it into a “residential” hotel. In return for the restoration, Fine Times, a luxury rental company with 26 buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn, would have been able to operate a private, residential club—never before done in New York City. Read more
BREWER’S EARLY STANCE ON RIVERSIDE CENTER
By Dan Rivoli
Council Member Gale Brewer reiterated her strong support of changing the Riverside Center development at the City Planning Commission’s Sept. 15 public meeting.
Brewer testified that the commission should heed the recommendations offered in a comprehensive report that Community Board 7 issued in July. Read more
Stringer Pans Riverside Plans
By Dan Rivoli
Borough President Scott Stringer rejected Extell Development’s plans for the Riverside Center development Aug. 30.
The proposed five-building, 3-million-square-foot development would create too much burden on the Upper West Side, the borough president’s report concludes. Stringer likened it to the Riverside South plan, which laid out the blueprints for the redevelopment of the land between West 59th Street and West 72nd Street, from West End Avenue to the river. Riverside Center is the last undeveloped parcel of land in Riverside South. Read more
Court Backs Fordham
By Dan Rivoli
Fordham University recently cleared a court hurdle in expanding its Lincoln Center campus.
A state Supreme Court judge dismissed complaints August 16 from a nearby condominium that believed approval of Fordham’s expansion should be rescinded. Read more
Community Board Rejects Riverside Center Proposal
By Dan Rivoli
Community Board 7 adopted its own plan for the Riverside Center development July 22, essentially voting down Extell Corporation’s proposal.
The 42-page plan, which board members voted to approve 36 to 2, demands that Extell make drastic revisions to their five-building residential and commercial development. This megaproject would be constructed on top of a parking lot that spans West 59th Street to West 61st Street, between West End Avenue and the highway. Read more
Competing Visions for Riverside Center
Differences focused on housing, school and auto showroom
By Dan Rivoli
For the last few years, many Upper West Side residents have known that an 8.2-acre commercial and residential mega-development would be built on a plot of land near the Hudson River, west of Columbus Circle. Read more
Push to Shape Riverside Center
Community Board 7 has outlined its most pressing concerns for the imminent development of Riverside Center in a letter to the City Planning Commission. The board reviewed and approved the letter at its Feb. 2 Full Board meeting and, after minor revisions, the letter was sent to the Planning Commission for consideration Feb. 8.
The residential and commercial project is being developed by Extell Development Company on the plot of land along the Hudson River, from West 59th to 61st streets. As Extell waits for approval of its building plans from City Planning, the board hopes that the city will consider the core principles outlined in its letter. Read more
SAVING BACKYARD ‘DOUGHNUTS’
After three Upper West Side private schools applied for backyard expansions, Council Member Gale Brewer is seeking a zoning change to save space known as the “doughnut.”
The doughnut is the collective backyards of a block, which forms a rectangle of green space. But in the search for more space, Chabad, the Dwight School and York Prep tried to expand into their own backyards, much to the chagrin of nearby residents and the community board.
Doughnuts “represent a wisely planned and designed natural amenity,” Brewer wrote in a letter to Amanda Burden, chair of the City Planning Commission. “We need to preserve the open spaces behind our row house neighborhoods.”
Noting that it is unlikely the “doughnuts” can be protected through legislation, Brewer asked to meet with City Planning Commission staff to discuss ways to prevent development of the space.
