NEW YORK — (RealEstateRama) — Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer invoked the little-used “triple no” provision of the City Charter to force a City Council vote on a controversial special permit application for a development project at 42 West 18th Street in Chelsea. Immediately following the City Planning Commission’s narrow approval of the application at a meeting this morning, Brewer sent a formal letter of objection to Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and City Planning Commission Chairman Carl Weisbrod.
“One of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program’s biggest selling points was creating affordable housing wherever the city gives out special permits that allow more residential development,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “This project doesn’t include the affordable housing the law requires, and the arguments that it should be exempt are simply wrong.”
The planned development, nicknamed “Adorama” for the camera store in the site’s existing building, would result in a new building with more than 25,000 additional square feet and 26 additional residential apartments compared to the existing building. Yet despite this substantial increase in residential floor area and units, the Planning Commission did not require the project to comply with the affordable housing requirements of the new Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. The Planning Commission approved the application this morning with seven yes votes, three abstentions, and three commissioners absent.
In a Daily News op-ed published last week, Brewer explained the distinction between the Department of City Planning’s position and her own:
The Adorama special permit application does not increase the maximum permitted floor area — but it does relax height and shape rules, allowing for a significantly bigger building on the site, adding more than 20 units of housing. City planning officials claim that doesn’t matter, and that the inclusionary housing mandate should only apply if we’re increasing the maximum permitted floor area.
That’s splitting hairs. The rules spelling out mandatory inclusionary housing clearly state they must apply “where a special permit application would allow a significant increase in residential floor area.” Not an increase in maximum permitted floor area. Just an increase in floor area, period. This special permit application fits that bill, by relaxing the rules in a way that will allow the developer to construct a building with more square footage.
The City Charter’s “triple no” provision allows borough presidents to require a Council vote on land use applications where Council review would otherwise occur on an optional “call-up” basis. It can be invoked in cases where the relevant community board and borough president both recommend disapproval of a land use application but the Planning Commission approves it anyway. There have been only 21 “triple no” objections raised since 1995.
Brewer’s letter of objection is available for download here.
Contact:
Andrew Goldston | agoldston (at) manhattanbp.nyc (dot) gov | 917.960.1187
