Land Use—BSA Determination That Development Complied With "Open Space" Requirement of the NYC Zoning Resolution Upheld—Deference to Administrative Agency—Dissent Asserted That Statute Was Clear and Deference Unwarranted

The New York Court of Appeals (court) addressed the issue of "whether an area must be accessible to the residents of every building on a zoning lot containing multiple, separately owned buildings in order to constitute 'open space' within the meaning of the NYC Zoning Resolution (ZR), following amendments to the statute in 2011." The NYC Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), which "is responsible for administering the (ZR), has interpreted the definition of open space to encompass rooftop gardens accessible to a single building's residents as long as the residents of each building on the zoning lot receive at least a proportionate share of open space."