In the News: Tetsu Reviews

February 21, 2018 Arts & Culture, Crime, Real Estate, Restaurant/Bar News

••• Roe Corporation, which had hoped to build a 45-story building at 267 Broadway has put the parcel on the market. The lede says that the plans have been approved by the city, but further down, the article states otherwise. My understanding has been that Roe may need a variance to build that high. Renderings of the design are here. (UPDATE: See James’s comment for info on the zoning.) —Real Deal

••• The New York Times quite liked Tetsu, giving it two stars: “What Tetsu does differently is to put away the luxury ingredients that are so central to Masa’s experience and image. At last, New York has a chance to see just how good Mr. Takayama is when he isn’t hiding behind truffles and caviar.”

••• The New Yorker, meanwhile, called Tetsu “remarkably hit-or-miss” and “the best sushi restaurant in Tribeca.”

••• More thefts in the Tribeca Trib police blotter, and this: “A police officer observed a group of four men and one woman putting graffiti on a commercial building. When the officer attempted to apprehend them, one of the men and the woman maced him, one of whom also flailed his arms, grabbed the handcuffs and pulled the officer’s shield off. The woman, 21, a resident of Princeton, NJ, and the man, 20, from Jackson, NJ, were arrested; the others fled.”

••• “The artist and musician Rammellzee created a vast and eclectic body of work, from graffiti to sculptures to paintings to elaborate costumes, which he wore when assuming any of a variety of cosmic characters. But much of his art never made it to galleries, instead remaining in his renowned Tribeca loft, nicknamed the Battle Station. But on May 4, Rammellzee’s artwork and artifacts will come into view in a retrospective at Red Bull Arts New York [in Chelsea] that will showcase the versatility and theatricality of this hip-hop pioneer.” —New York Times

••• Tribeca’s own Ivan Kosnyrev digs into the story of the Keith Haring mural at 260 W. Broadway. Apparently, at some point, an owner of the apartment decided to finish the unfinished part of the artwork. —Medium

 
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6 Comments

  1. James
    February 21, 2018 • 11:08 am

    Zoning issues were dealt with by variance, but zoning approval is still pending, presumably requiring verification of the plans for compliance by the examiner: http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/BScanJobDocumentServlet?requestid=3&passjobnumber=121191450&passdocnumber=01&allbin=1001472&scancode=ES399437840

    Plan examination disapproved on 2/15, presumably pending zoning compliance verification and for other reasons:

    http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/BScanItemsRequiredServlet?rqidpriortoa=on&rqiditemstatus=open&passjobnumber=121191450&allisn=&allbin=1001472&requestid=4

  2. A.
    February 21, 2018 • 12:49 pm

    James: Can you explain the 267 situation in lay terms?

    • James
      February 21, 2018 • 4:19 pm

      The developer bought unused air rights from a neighboring property in order to build higher than otherwise allowed by the zoning rules (the “Zoning Resolution”) on his lot. When air rights are purchased in this manner, the two zoning lots are “merged” into one entity in order to further along the transfer of air rights from one portion of the merged lot to the other.

      Department of Buildings enforces both the Building Code and the Zoning Resolution.

      The developer filed a request in 2017 for an interpretation of how DOB would examine their application to build a tower on this merged lot–which is now sitting at the intersection of a wide street and a narrow street–from a zoning rules perspective. Would DOB agree that the height and bulk of the proposed building complied with the zoning rules and limits, under a reasonable interpretation?

      DOB agreed to the interpretation of the purposed method of calculation, so a full variance from the zoning resolution would need not be sought from the Board of Standards and Appeals (which is above the DOB), provided the developer’s plans do show a building that meets zoning when the plan examiner reviews the specific proposed design.