A 19-story residential project proposed in Noho heads to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission next month.
When the city rezoned Soho and Noho in 2021, most of the 56-block plan overlapped with historic districts. That meant, despite the zoning changes allowing more residential space in the neighborhoods, new development within most of the rezoning area would still need sign-off from Landmarks.
Which is why a plan for a parking lot in Noho is heading to the commission for approval.
Edward J. Minskoff Equities wants to build a 195-foot project at 375 Lafayette Street, currently home to a parking lot that can accommodate up to 200 vehicles. The developer is seeking to build between 200 and 210 housing units, with 50 to 53 affordable to those earning, on average, 60 percent of the area median income. The proposal also includes up to 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
The apartment would be split into two buildings, which allows the developer to avoid paying higher construction wages that kick in at 150 units for projects looking to receive the property tax break 485x.
A building of this kind is permitted under the district’s M1-5/R9X zoning, but because the site falls within an area known as the Noho Historic District Extension, the developer must secure Landmarks approval to move forward.
The process has been a bumpy one.
Last week, Community Board 2 recommended that Landmarks reject the project unless the developer reduces its bulk and makes other changes. The board cited a lack of “harmony” with most of the buildings in the district. The position echoed criticism from Village Preservation, which called the proposed building “dramatically out of scale.”
It also questioned why estimates for the project’s unit count hadn’t increased, despite a density bump from the Universal Affordability Preference (provided under the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity). The city previously projected, when the site had a floor area ratio of 9.7, that 212 residences would be built. Now, with a proposed FAR of 10.8, the unit count is still within that range.
On social media, Open New York blamed NIMBYs for “blatantly weaponizing ‘preservation’ to block housing on a surface parking lot.”
The fight over this project is playing out as the city is starting to see the housing ballot measures — which are largely aimed at speeding up approvals and preventing City Council members from unilaterally killing housing projects — play out.
Last week the city announced the first project to go through the new Expedited Land Use Review Procedure. The 84-unit housing project in the Bronx will undergo a 90-day review, instead of the usual 200-plus day Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
This week, the threat of an appeals board reversing the City Council’s rejection of a project was also put to the test. Ahead of a Tuesday vote on a 248-unit project in her district, Council member Vickie Paladino indicated she would likely vote yes on the project in order to preserve some influence over the development — rather than have it sent to the three-person appeals board. (The three-person board can’t make changes to an application, but it can scrap modifications made by the City Council.)
“Make no mistake — if I vote no the developers have no reason to work with us from that point on,” she says in a Facebook video over the weekend. “It will be entirely between them and the Borough President and Mayor. And I do not want us to give up that remaining leverage.”
She also indicated that she expects to run into similar conundrums going forward.
“Since these ballot props passed, my office has been inundated with calls from developers looking to build here,” she said. “Every single empty lot in the district is now up for grabs. And I will not be able to stop much of it.”
But the Council also approved two new historic districts in Brooklyn on Tuesday, and other neighborhoods could follow suit to, say, sidestep City of Yes for Housing Opportunity or ensure further scrutiny from Landmarks.
As for the Lafayette Street project, the commission is slated to consider the proposal on March 10.
What we’re thinking about: Will you be attending the first rental ripoff hearing this week? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The rental ripoff hearings won’t be a large production but will feature one-on-one (largely private) testimony between tenants and city officials. The first is scheduled for Thursday.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Sideya Sherman as the new chair of the City Planning Commission and director of the Department of City Planning. Sherman most recently served as the chief equity officer and commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice. She also previously worked for NYCHA, the Municipal Art Society and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Mamdani reappointed Eric Enderlin as president of the Housing Development Corporation and Edith Hsu-Chen as executive director of DCP.
— The NYPD says it is investigating a snowball fight that broke out in Washington Square Park on Monday. Gothamist reports that officials released photos of two people wanted for allegedly assaulting an officer.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Tuesday was $12.5 million for a 3,491-square-foot condominium unit at 25 Columbus Circle in Lincoln Square. Adam Modlin and Andrew Nierenberg had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $53 million for a 12,172-square-foot development site at 118 Tenth Avenue in Chelsea. The Real Deal reported on the sale by Benny Barampov to Toll Brothers.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $9.5 million for a pre-war cooperative unit at 875 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side. Elana Schoppmann with Compass has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 10,910-square-foot, six-story multi-family project at 16 West 129th Street in North Harlem. STUDIO C Architecture filed the permit on behalf of Etai Vardi of Trademark Development Group.
— Matthew Elo
