The board approved Rising Ground's special education preschool at the Sinai Free Synagogue with a 5-0 vote, rejecting arguments that the program lacked a Board of Regents charter and finding it met state licensing and zoning standards. Two cannabis and auto-body-shop conversions on South Terrace Avenue were tabled to June and July pending further applicant work. A large residential tower on East Prospect got a time extension, and a contentious subdivision proposal at Summit Avenue was continued with the applicant asked to reconsider shrinking from three lots to two.
Meeting outcomes
- **550 North Columbus Avenue** — Rising Ground's AIMS Early Childhood Center (special education preschool for ages 3–5) approved 5-0 as special permit; board found the program is legitimately licensed and regulated under New York State Education Law section 4410 despite lacking a Board of Regents charter, and determined equivalency standard was met; opponents argued the organization lacked proper standing and worried about precedent for daycares in the R1 zone, but board sided with applicant on legal and public-benefit grounds.
- **140 East Prospect Avenue** — 21-story, 350-unit apartment tower with ground-floor retail approved for extension of time; motion passed with one abstention; project in Mount Vernon East TOD-1 zoning district.
- **127 South Terrace Avenue** — Cannabis dispensary conversion tabled to June meeting; two-story commercial building to be retrofitted with new flooring, doors, and partition changes; existing asphalt parking lot to be replaced; draft resolution requested but board deferred final vote.
- **133 South Terrace Avenue** — Auto body shop expansion in mixed-use building (three residential units above) tabled to July; retroactive site plan approval needed for existing ground-floor use; draft resolution deferred pending applicant submissions.