The enactment of the Department of Buldings plan to permit public challenges for 30 days after it approves a developer's plans will are approved has been delayed and will not be enacted until mid-April, according to an article in yesterday's issue of The Villager by Albert Amateau.
The plans were to have been implemented March 9.
Under the plan, people who file objections to the plans after the 30-day period would have another 15 days to file an appeal with the Board of Standards and Appeals, the article said.
As part of the new process, developers will be required to provide schematic drawings of their plans that would be published on the web for public review.
Councilmember Alan Gerson issued a statement that said that by not accepting challenges after 30 days, the Department of Buildings "does not to want to know about possible errors in the approval process, errors which as we know occur far too frequently."
Councilmember Rosie Mendez, according to Mr. Amateau's article, was critical of "the way in which these rules curtail the public's right to comment on plans which may not comply with zoning," arguing that in many instances "initial observations" of deviations from zoning regulations were not made within 30 days and "under the strict provision of these proposed rules, we would not have been able to raise our objections." She said that the "challenge clock" begins at approval of the plans rather than when a permit is posted at the work site.
Assemblymember Deborah Glick said in a statement that she was concerned "that the community's right to file grievances against inappropriate development must not be hindered," and that "it would behoove the Department of Buildings to extend the comment period."
Mr. Amateau's article noted that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said that the Department of Buildings has not proposed any means of alerting interested parties when newly approved plans go online at the department Web site to begin the comment period.
The Department of Buildings held a hearing a week ago on the proposed new rules.
The plans were to have been implemented March 9.
Under the plan, people who file objections to the plans after the 30-day period would have another 15 days to file an appeal with the Board of Standards and Appeals, the article said.
As part of the new process, developers will be required to provide schematic drawings of their plans that would be published on the web for public review.
Councilmember Alan Gerson issued a statement that said that by not accepting challenges after 30 days, the Department of Buildings "does not to want to know about possible errors in the approval process, errors which as we know occur far too frequently."
Councilmember Rosie Mendez, according to Mr. Amateau's article, was critical of "the way in which these rules curtail the public's right to comment on plans which may not comply with zoning," arguing that in many instances "initial observations" of deviations from zoning regulations were not made within 30 days and "under the strict provision of these proposed rules, we would not have been able to raise our objections." She said that the "challenge clock" begins at approval of the plans rather than when a permit is posted at the work site.
Assemblymember Deborah Glick said in a statement that she was concerned "that the community's right to file grievances against inappropriate development must not be hindered," and that "it would behoove the Department of Buildings to extend the comment period."
Mr. Amateau's article noted that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said that the Department of Buildings has not proposed any means of alerting interested parties when newly approved plans go online at the department Web site to begin the comment period.
The Department of Buildings held a hearing a week ago on the proposed new rules.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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