The Silence is Deafening (In Defense of the BSA)

Numerous neighborhood blogs and advocates have bellowed far and wide about the supposed developer-friendly bias of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (from Brownstoner today: "a group that historically has bent over back to accommodate developers."). What they fail to note in their complaints, however, is the fact that the BSA is legally bound to reach their decisions based on the laws of New York City, specifically the Zoning Resolution (a ridiculously complex document if there ever were one). And, those laws must recognize the United States' laws about private property rights, which tend to lean heavily toward property owners (in these cases, developers).

Given the uproar that we saw regarding BSA decisions such as 360 Smith Street and the Williamsburg "Finger" building, the silence about the BSA's recent decision to NOT grant extra townhouses to 580 Carroll Street is deafening. In what is being termed as a "death blow" to the project, the BSA basically told the developers that they should have done more due diligence before their construction, which would have made their claimed "unforeseen circumstances" clear. The BSA should be applauded for seeing through this argument, but alas, there was scant coverage of the decision, sharing a post at Curbed:

"The BSA took some time to think about it, but came back earlier this week with another unanimous no for the developers. And it sounds like this one might be final."

Image from NYC.gov