NBA is making a play for tower at Farlev site.

The city Planning Commission is considering a change in the zoning regulations that could pave the way for a 1-million-square-foot tower to house the NBA near the Farley Post Office.

The application was filed March 5 by 9th & 33rd Associates and Schulweis Realty Inc. It calls for building a 31-story, 480-foot-high building over the West Side Yard of the Long Island Railroad on a portion of the "super-block" between West 31st and West 33rd Street on the west side of Ninth Avenue.

"It was mailed off to the community boards which have 45 days to comment," said commission spokeswoman Jennifer Chait.

Tishman Speyer Properties would reportedly develop the property. The NBA would close its Secaucus, N.J. office and bring the jobs to New York according to a report in the New York Post. The NBA currently has a 150,000 SF headquarters at Olympic Tower on seven floors overlooking St. Patrick's Cathedral and an NBA store at 666 Fifth Avenue.

Harvey Schulweis, of Schulweis Realty, said he could not comment on the zoning application or about reports that the tower would house NBA offices. A spokesman for Tishman Speyer Properties also would not comment on the report.

"[The company] does not comment on pending negotiations," the spokesman said.

According to the zoning application filed with the Planning Commission, owners of the site have been working on development plans since 1990. The commission approved a special permit for the site, and then later granted several extensions.

"The delays were first caused by litigation, then by market conditions and then, most recently, by negotiations with the (Metropolitan Transit Authority) and Amtrak over the conditions imposed under the special permit," the application states.

The latest renewal is scheduled to expire July 2, but under current zoning regulations, cannot be renewed. The application before the Planning Commission addresses this issue.

Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, welcomed the addition of a new office tower on the site.

"It would be terrific to have Tishman Speyer in the district for the first time," Biederman said. "Maybe that site will help other sites to get developed."

Brookfield Financial Properties owns the southern portion of the block, land that abuts the Schulweis property. Brookfield has talked about building new Madison Square for Cablevision, but would reportedly need the company's property and the land owned by Schulweis to complete the project, according to published reports.