New Bill Caps Power of Board of Bureaucrats

An upsetting decision from a board of bureaucrats has led neighbors and local lawmakers to challenge the very law of the land.

That is, the laws of land use. As of now, a group of six unelected officials comprising the Board of Standards and Appeals are empowered to decide who can build what—and where—through a process of special permission seeking.

A recent by the BSA to allow the construction of a home at the corner of that Bayside Hills say would be into a small lot, to wonder how strictly they were sticking to their own criteria for granting permission.

To garner permission in the form of a "variance,” had to prove that existing zoning created a "hardship," on the owner. Council Member Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, testified that the owner of the home, Denis Forde, created his own hardship in buying the adjacent house, and subdividing the lot to build—while knowing that the standard zoning would not accommodate a second home.

The BSA could not be reached to comment.

“Our City’s charter put the Council, not an unelected board, in charge of land use decisions,” said Halloran.  “These laws would give the land use authority in New York City back to the City Council, and would increase the vital role that Board plays in the process.”

Halloran has introduced a bill would give the Community Board and Borough President the power to appeal BSA decisions.  If local Community Board or Borough President opposed a project that was later passed by the BSA, the community could appeal before the City Council. Currently, the BSA decision is final, according to Halloran.

“Residents should have the right to appeal decisions by the Board of Standards and Appeals to the City Council when they believe a wrong has been committed,” said Council Member Mark Weprin, D-Oakland Gardens, who is co-sponsoring the legislation.

Both Halloran and Weprin sit on the City Council’s Land Use Committee.

Additional reporting by Nathan Duke.