144 North 8th Street (aka The Finger Building)
Photo: A Test of Will

Remember all those buildings that were grandfathered under the old zoning – it turns out that they only had 2 years to complete work, after which time their DOB permits expired. That two years was up in May, 2007. And because the zoning changed, the permits cannot be renewed without a variance.

Last month, CB 1’s land use committee had an appetizer in this regard – a request to extend the permit for 20 Bayard Street1 (part of the famous Karl Fischer Row, and marketed, ironically, under the slogan “It is illegal to get this high”). This month – next Monday, to be exact – we get to the main course. Yes, we’re talking about the Finger Building. This will be the first time that the public actually gets a say about this project – up until now, they have been operating “as of right” (if you define “as of right” to mean “we’ll make up our zoning”).

Also on the agenda next week is a similar variance for 55 Eckford Street, which looks to be one of the Tahoe buildings Gowanus Lounge loves so much.

Where: CB1 Public Hearing. 211 Ainslie Street.
When: Monday, 10 September 2007. 6:30 pm.

1. Whose website is too annoying and flash-bloated to actually link to.↩