NOTICE OF DEMOLITION WORK:

On Friday May 19, the Demolition Contractor will start demolition of the existing buildings at 160 Van Cortlandt Park South. Demolition will take approximately 6 weeks, and work will occur within DOB approved working hours of 7AM to 6PM.

On Tuesday, 4/11/23 representatives from Tishman Speyer provided detailed information on frequently asked zoning questions with regards to their project:

• Was there a zoning lot merger?
• No – prior to the sale, the property formerly owned by the Archdiocese (Block 3271, Former Lots 150 and 175 (the “Archdiocese Property”) was a pre-existing zoning lot under paragraph (b) of the definition of “zoning lot” in ZR Section 12-10:  “a tract of land, either unsubdivided or consisting of 2 or more lots of record, located in a single block,  under common ownership, which, on December 15, 1961, or any applicable subsequent amendment thereto, were in common ownership.
• In anticipation of the bifurcated sale of the Archdiocese Property to Tishman Speyer (“TS”) and the New York City School Construction Authority (“SCA”), the Archdiocese Property was reapportioned into two (2) separate tax lots: Lot 160 (the “SCA Parcel”) and Lot 150 (the “TS Parcel”).   However, there was no separate zoning lot subdivision so the SCA Parcel and TS Parcel remain a single zoning lot.

• What is the purpose of the Zoning Lot Development and Easement Agreement (“ZLDA”) between the SCA and TS?
• Although ZLDA’s are often executed when two separate zoning lots are merged in order to transfer floor area (or development rights) from one parcel to the other, they are also executed when there are multiple development sites on a pre-existing zoning lot, as is the case here.
• The ZLDA allocates development rights between the SCA Parcel and TS Parcel and grants a number of permanent easements benefitting the SCA Parcel and burdening the TS Parcel:
• The ZLDA grants SCA a permanent easement providing access to the courtyard on the TS Parcel to allow the SCA to construct and maintain portions of the school facing the courtyard.
• The ZLDA grants SCA a permanent easement for light and air over a portion of the TS Parcel.
• The ZLDA grants SCA a permanent perpetual easement over 2,500 square feet (“sf”) of the TS Parcel to be used by the SCA for a grade separated play area (below image from the ZLDA illustrates the location of the playground easement)
• The ZLDA also grants reciprocal easements and licenses for construction and maintenance of the respective buildings.

• Were development rights transferred between SCA and TS? If so, please share details.
• The lot area of the SCA Parcel is 21,809 sf.  In an R7-1 district, the maximum floor area ratio (“FAR”) for community facility uses is 4.8.  Accordingly the SCA Parcel, considered as if a separate zoning lot, generates 104,683.2 sf of community facility floor area (=21,809 sf * 4.8).  The ZLDA allocates 103,645 sf of community facility floor area to the SCA Parcel, leaving 1,038.2 sf of additional floor area available for the TS Parcel.  This amount is less than 1 percent of the floor area generated by the SCA Parcel and is not utilized by the TS parcel.
• The amount of floor area proposed for the residential building on the TS Parcel is 263,984 sf, which is less than the 270,059.6 sf of development rights allocated to the TS Parcel under the ZLDA.

• Was the lot coverage figure provided during the CB presentation reflective of the whole block or just TS Parcel?
• For purposes of last month’s presentation, we provided an average lot coverage ratio for the residential building on the TS Parcel based on the lot area of just the TS Parcel.
• Total Lot Coverage of Residential Building (35,812 sf) / Lot Area of TS Parcel (56,047 sf) = 63. 9%
• For zoning purposes, lot coverage is calculated separately for “corner lot” portions of zoning lot (i.e., portions within 100 feet of a corner) and for “interior lot” and “through lot” portions of the entire zoning lot.
• For interior and through lot portions, the maximum lot coverage permitted is 65%.  For the interior and through lot portions of the TS Parcel, the lot coverage of the residential building is approximately 16,954 sf and the lot area is approximately 33,070 sf, resulting in a lot coverage of 51.3%.
• Accordingly, the residential building uses less lot coverage that what would be permitted on the TS Parcel if it were a single zoning lot, which we understood to be CB’s concern.
• For corner lot portions, the maximum lot coverage permitted is 100%.  For the corner lot portions of the TS Parcel, the lot coverage of the residential building is approximately 18,858 sf and the lot area is approximately 22,977 sf, resulting in a lot coverage of approximately 82.1%.
• We do not have the SCA’s zoning calculations for the school, but even assuming the SCA maximizes the footprint of the school, the total lot coverage of both buildings would continue to comply with zoning requirements.
• The lot coverage of the corner lot portions of the residential building and the school would total to approximately 37,600 sf and the lot area of the corner lot portions of the zoning lot would total to approximately 41,730 sf, resulting in an estimated lot coverage of approximately 90.1%, which is less than the maximum permitted 100%.
• The lot coverage of the interior and through-lot portions of the residential building and school would total to approximately 20,010 sf and the lot area would total to approximately 36,128 sf, resulting in a lot coverage of approximately 55.4%, which is less than the maximum permitted 65%.
• Note that these are estimates based on assumptions what the SCA intends to construct on the SCA Parcel.

• What is the Declaration of the Zoning Lot Restriction document?
• The Declaration of Zoning Lot Restrictions is one of several zoning exhibits required by the DOB for new building permits.  It is a form document describing a zoning lot that is comprised of multiple tax lots and executed by the owners.  It can be used to confirm a pre-existing zoning lot, as was the case for the TS/SCA zoning lot.

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On 3/23/23 the developer Tishman Speyer presented to the BxCB8 Land Use Committee on updates to their project at 160 Van Cortlandt Park South.  Please find the presentation here, and a link to a recording of the meeting here.