Height questions stymie new East Village hotel

A new boutique hotel in the East Village is slated to open this fall, despite questions about its height. The new development at 3rd Street and Bowery was originally proposed as a dormitory, which allowed its former owners to build it to 16 stories, taller than surrounding buildings. The city, when it realized the development may not become a dormitory, issued a stop-work order. Now, the developers who want to make it into a hotel can only work on the lower floors as the city decides whether to allow the development to the full 16 stories. more [New York]