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Land Use, Housing & Zoning
Application for Certification under ZR Section 81-774(A) for transfer of floor area from the Ambassador Theater to property at Block 1017, Lots 1, 4, 9 and 57.
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, September 8, 2022, the following resolution passed with a vote of 37 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, Ambassador Theatre LLC (the owner of the Ambassador Theatre, located at 219 West 49th Street, Manhattan, Block 1021, Lot 15) and 726 Eighth LLC (the owner of the property located at 740 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan, Block 1017, Lot 1) is applying for a certification from the City Planning Commission, pursuant to Zoning Resolution (“ZR”) Section 81-744(a), to approve the transfer of floor area from the Ambassador Theatre to the Receiving Site (Block 1017, Lots 1, 4, 9, and 57); and,
WHEREAS, ZR §81-744(a) provides that unused development rights may be transferred from theaters listed in ZR §81-742 to receiving sites within the Theater Subdistrict of the Special Midtown District; and
WHEREAS, The Certification is required to confirm that the listed theater provides the specified assurances for continuance of legitimate theater use and that a contribution is made to the Theater Subdistrict Fund of $24.65/SF of transferred floor area; and
WHEREAS, The Receiving Site Zoning Lot (Block 1017, Lots 1, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 57) has a total lot area of 64,050 SF; and
WHEREAS, The Receiving Site Zoning Lot’s maximum base FAR is 10 in both the C6-4(MiD) and C6-5(MiD) zoning districts, allowing a total maximum floor area of 640,503 ZFA before any bonus or transfer; and
WHEREAS, 227,304 ZFA from the Receiving Site Zoning Lot will be transferred to the development site (Block 1017, Lot 1); and
WHEREAS, The Receiving Site (Block 1017, Lots 1, 4, 9 and 57) has a lot area of 40,703 SF, allowing a maximum of 81,407 SF to be transferred to the Receiving Site from the Granting Site (Ambassador Theatre), and this Certification is for a transfer of 81,407 SF of floor area; and
WHEREAS, The Development Site (Block 1017, Lots 1) with a lot area of 33,078 SF will be permitted to have a total of 639,498 SF of development rights which includes 330,786 ZFA for the base lot, 227,304 ZFA from the other lots within the receiving site zoning lot and the 81,407 SF transferred from the Ambassador Theater; and
WHEREAS, The Development Site (Block 1017, Lots 1) with 639,498 SF of development rights would be able to develop on their site the equivalent of 19 FAR almost twice the 10 FAR permitted by the zoning resolution; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the certification and transfer of 81,407 square feet of floor area from the granting site to the receiving site that will ensure the continued maintenance and use of the Ambassador Theatre, and be it further
RESOLVED, Community Board Five urges the Applicant and Owner of 726 Eighth LLC to present the design of the building to the land use committee for review and comment.