2018-99-BZ CEQR #18-BSA-143M APPLICANT – Sheldon Lobel, P.C., for Shawn Hope, owner. SUBJECT – Application May 25, 2018 – Variance (§72-21) to permit the construction of a five-story and basement, two-family building contrary to ZR §23-32 (Minimum Lot Area or Lot Width for Residences). R7A zoning district. PREMISES AFFECTED – 275 Pleasant Avenue, Block 1708, Lot 25, Borough of Manhattan. COMMUNITY BOARD #11M Application granted ACTION OF THE BOARD – on condition. THE VOTE TO GRANT – Affirmative: Chair Perlmutter, Vice-Chair Chanda, Commissioner Ottley-Brown, Commissioner Sheta and Commissioner Scibetta……………………………….5 Negative:…………………………………....…………0 THE RESOLUTION – WHEREAS, the decision on behalf of the Manhattan Borough Commissioner, dated April 27, 2018, acting on Department of Buildings (“DOB”) Application No. 122132101 reads in pertinent part: ZR 23-32; ZR 23-33: New Building Application filed for undersized lot is contrary to ZR 23-32 and does not comply with ownership requirement of ZR 23-33, therefore this application is referred to the BSA; and WHEREAS, this is an application under ZR § 72- 21 to permit, within an R7A zoning district, the construction of a five-story plus basement two-family residence that does not comply with the minimum requirement for lot area and lot width, contrary to ZR §§ 23-32 and 23-33; and WHEREAS, a public hearing was held on this application on December 4, 2018, after due notice by publication in The City Record, with a continued hearing on February 26, 2019, and then to decision on the same date; and WHEREAS, Vice-Chair Chanda and Commissioner Ottley-Brown performed inspections of the subject site and surrounding neighborhood; and WHEREAS, the subject site is located on the west side of Pleasant Avenue, between East 115th Street and East 114th Street, in an R7A zoning district, in Manhattan; and WHEREAS, the site has approximately 13 feet of frontage along Pleasant Avenue, a depth of 74 feet, 941 square feet of lot area and is currently vacant; and WHEREAS, the applicant proposes to develop the site with a five-story plus basement Use Group 2 two- family residential building containing 3,512 square feet of floor area and a floor area ratio (“FAR”) of 3.73; and WHEREAS, in the subject zoning district, no residence is permitted on a zoning lot with a total lot area of less than 1,700 square feet and total lot width of 2018-99-BZ CEQR #18-BSA-143M history of common ownership, seeks the subject relief; and WHEREAS, the applicant states that the site was previously developed with a residential building and provided historic Sanborn fire insurance maps of the immediate area evidencing that the subject site was occupied by a residential building from at least 1896 to 1939 and has been vacant since at least 1951; and WHEREAS, the applicant submits that, aside from the minimum lot width and lot area requirements, the proposed development is otherwise compliant with applicable zoning regulations; and WHEREAS, the applicant states, pursuant to ZR § 72-21(a), the narrowness, small size and vacancy of the subject site are unique physical conditions that create practical difficulty and unnecessary hardship in developing the site in compliance with the underlying district regulations; and WHEREAS, in support of this assertion, the applicant submitted a uniqueness study of all lots located within 1,000 feet of the premises (the “Study Area”) illustrating that of the 251 other lots in the Study Area, ten lots (approximately 4 percent) have lot widths of less than 15 feet and one lot (0.4 percent) is narrower than the subject site, with a width of 12’-6.5”; 11 lots (4 percent) have less than 1,200 square feet of lot area and three lots (1 percent) have less lot area than the subject site; three lots (1 percent) have both lots widths of less than 15 feet and lot area of less than 1,200 square feet, and only one lot in the Study Area (0.4 percent) has a lot width of less than 15 feet, lot area of less than 1,2

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