160 Imlay Gets More Time on the Variance Clock

Frankly we’d forgotten what the status of 160 Imlay Street was until Curbed unearthed a recent update from a New York Law School blog called Cityland. To refresh: In 2003, developer Bruce Batkin received a variance from the city’s Bureau of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to convert the old industrial building to 150 apartments after arguing that there was no way to make a reasonable return by sticking to zoning-mandate use of manufacturing. The ruling was challenged by the Red Hook-Gowanus Chamber of Commerce, but the pro-industry group fumbled by failing to actually name the developer in the suit, which created a whole separate tangent of legal challenges. The State Supreme Court dismissed the suit on error of omission but then the Court of Appeals reversed the decision and sent the case back to Supreme Court. (Confused yet?) In April 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the suit could continue and two months later vacated (i.e. voided) the variance, arguing that the developer should have submitted feasibility studies for as-of-right uses other than just manufacturing in order to make the case for economic hardship. In 2008, the Second Department (another level of the appeals process apparently) reversed the Supreme Court ruling, finding instead that the developer did need to be named in the suit and that it did not have provide feasibility studies for other allowed uses. In 2009, Batkin washed his hands of the matter, getting bought out by Bruce Federman. Since BSA variances need to be used or renewed every five years, the developer applied for an extension in February and was granted one on May 1. Given how strong the residential market is right now, we’re still betting on residential here and we’d put our money on rentals rather than condos given the commercial financing environment.
160 Imlay Changes Hands; Future Still Uncertain [Brownstoner]
160 Imlay Finally Gets the Go-Ahead [Brownstoner]
Christie’s Makes a Winning Bid for Red Hook [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
160 Imlay Street Back on Track [Brownstoner]