Policy

Image courtesy of Patrick J. Cashin / Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Flickr

July 18, 2023

MTA announces 5 fare-free bus routes

New York City is testing out free fares on bus routes in every borough this fall. As part of a pilot program launching in late September, five bus lines will be free to riders for between six and 12 months, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced Monday. The routes, which serve roughly 43,900 daily riders on an average weekday, were selected based on ridership, fare evasion, service quality, equity for low-income communities, and access to employment and commercial areas, according to the MTA.
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NYC looks to open two new tent shelters for migrants in Queens

The Randall’s Island tent shelter last October. Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

July 17, 2023

NYC looks to open two new tent shelters for migrants in Queens

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is looking to open two new tent shelters for migrants in Queens. According to The City, facilities will be constructed at the state-owned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village and at the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park. Both sites, which have not officially been announced yet, are projected to house roughly 1,000 adults and could open within the next two to three weeks.
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Policy

NYCHA says it needs nearly $80 billion for repairs

Image via WikiCommons

July 13, 2023

NYCHA says it needs nearly $80 billion for repairs

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's public housing agency needs more than $78 billion to make much-needed repairs to its dilapidated housing stock, according to a new 20-year assessment released Wednesday. The estimation for the apartment repairs is a whopping 73 percent higher than NYCHA's last assessment of $45.2 billion calculated in 2017. According to the agency, nearly 40 percent of NYCHA apartments require more than $500,000 in work per unit.
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July 12, 2023

New migrant shelter in Clinton Hill could serve at least 2,000 people

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is opening two more emergency shelters to accommodate the thousands of migrants that continue to arrive in the five boroughs, one of which is set to become the largest dormitory-style shelter in the city's history. Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced the opening of two more humanitarian relief shelters, one at an existing respite center at 47 Hall Street in Brooklyn, which adds additional space to serve roughly 1,400 more migrant adults, and another at the Crowne Plaza JFK Airport New York hotel in Queens, which will serve more than 330 families with children seeking asylum.
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Policy

MTA moves forward with expansion of Second Avenue Subway

Rendering of the 125th Street entrance, looking south. All renderings courtesy of the MTA

July 6, 2023

MTA moves forward with expansion of Second Avenue Subway

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is moving forward with its highly-anticipated expansion of the Second Avenue Subway. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is soliciting the first contract for the 1.5-mile extension of the Second Avenue Subway to 125th Street and unveiled new renderings of the project. The roughly $7 billion extension will connect the line's current endpoint at 96th Street on the Upper West Side to a new station at 125th Street in Harlem, with two more fully accessible stations created along the way at 106th and 116th Streets.
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NYC’s shelter system reaches a record 100,000 occupants

Image courtesy of mari small on Unsplash

June 30, 2023

NYC’s shelter system reaches a record 100,000 occupants

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's shelter system has surpassed 100,000 occupants for the first time, more than half of whom are asylum seekers, city officials announced this week. NYC is currently spending roughly $8 million a day on its shelter system, which has expanded to include 166 new emergency facilities to accommodate the surge in asylum seekers that began in the spring of 2022. The city is expected to spend more than $4 billion on its shelter system by 2024, according to the New York Times.
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Private firm unveils Penn Station redesign plan, claims it’s $1B cheaper than MTA’s

Renderings courtesy of ASTM, PAU, and HOK

June 29, 2023

Private firm unveils Penn Station redesign plan, claims it’s $1B cheaper than MTA’s

By Aaron Ginsburg

A private development firm unveiled a proposal for rebuilding Penn Station that is $1 billion cheaper than what is proposed by the MTA. ASTM North America on Wednesday revealed details of their $6 billion renovation of the transit station, which involves keeping Madison Square Garden in its current location, wrapping it in a massive stone facade, and creating a more unified train hall. The firm's unveiling of the comprehensive plan comes days after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that Penn Station's renovation will move forward with the preliminary design process without the development of several office towers.
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Elizabeth Street Garden can become affordable senior housing development, court rules

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

June 28, 2023

Elizabeth Street Garden can become affordable senior housing development, court rules

By Devin Gannon

An affordable housing development can be built on the site of Little Italy's Elizabeth Street Garden, an appellate judge ruled on Tuesday, ending a decade-long battle between housing advocates and garden supporters. The project, dubbed Haven Green, will bring 123 rentals for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income seniors, along with 37 apartments for formerly homeless seniors, to one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods.
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NYC’s congestion pricing program gets final federal approval

Photo by Jesús Mirón García on Pexels

June 27, 2023

NYC’s congestion pricing program gets final federal approval

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's congestion pricing program is officially moving forward. The Federal Highway Administration on Monday approved the Central Business District Tolling Program, the nation's first congestion pricing plan, which will charge drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours between $9 and $23 for non-commercial vehicles and between $12 and $82 for trucks. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says the program could begin as early as May 2024.
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NYC gains three landmarks related to history of jazz

Image courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

June 27, 2023

NYC gains three landmarks related to history of jazz

By Aaron Ginsburg

Three buildings across the city with significant ties to the history of jazz are New York City's newest individual landmarks. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday voted to designate Minton's Playhouse in Harlem, the former Queens home of Dizzy Gillespie, and a Hamilton Heights apartment building where jazz greats Duke Ellington and Noble Lee Sissle once lived. The three buildings not only have vital ties to jazz music but stand out for their architectural significance, according to the commission.
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Policy

Hochul drops office towers from Penn Station renovation plan

By Devin Gannon

The renovation of Penn Station will move forward without the construction of several skyscrapers, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday. The governor's plan to overhaul the busy transit hub originally called on the developer Vornado to redevelop 18 million square feet of the Midtown West neighborhood, including 10 new high-rise office towers, with the tax revenue generated helping fund the station overhaul. Now, Hochul says funding from the state and federal government makes it possible to move forward with the renovation without any development proceeds.
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NYC to install outdoor e-bike charging stations at dozens of NYCHA buildings

Image courtesy of Cory Doctorow on Flickr

June 26, 2023

NYC to install outdoor e-bike charging stations at dozens of NYCHA buildings

By Aaron Ginsburg

Hundreds of safe e-bike and scooter charging and storage stations will soon be installed across New York City's public housing buildings as a way to prevent battery fires. Mayor Eric Adams, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday announced plans to install 173 outdoor stations at 53 NYCHA developments starting next year, with a total of 327 stations planned. The announcement comes just days after a fire at an e-bike repair shop in Chinatown killed four people and injured several others. The initiative is funded through a $25 million emergency grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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Plan for better bus service to LaGuardia Airport rolls forward

Photo by Tdorante10 on Wikimedia

June 26, 2023

Plan for better bus service to LaGuardia Airport rolls forward

By Aaron Ginsburg

The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week approved $30 million in funding to plan and design better bus service to LaGuardia, officially kicking off a project to improve mass transit options to the Queens airport. Recommended by an expert panel in March, the plan involves scrapping the controversial AirTrain and instead improving the existing bus service and adding a new non-stop airport shuttle.
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Adams vetoes NYC Council bills expanding rental assistance

Image courtesy of robertotmn on Flickr

June 23, 2023

Adams vetoes NYC Council bills expanding rental assistance

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Eric Adams has vetoed four City Council bills that would expand access to New York City's housing voucher program. Adams on Friday vetoed bills Intro. 229, Intro. 878, Intro. 893, and Intro. 894, claiming the legislation package, which was passed by the council last month, would cost the city an exorbitant amount of money and "make it harder" for homeless New Yorkers to find housing. The Council passed the legislation package late last month with a vote of 41 to 7, enough support to override the veto.
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NYC Council bill would require broker fees be paid by ‘hiring party’

Photo by Rachel Martin on Unsplash

June 23, 2023

NYC Council bill would require broker fees be paid by ‘hiring party’

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council will once again take up the issue of broker fees, a unique-to-New York system that allows real estate brokers to charge prospective tenants a one-time fee, usually between one month's rent and 15 percent of the total annual rent. Council Member Chi Ossé on Thursday introduced legislation that would shift the payment of broker fees to the party who hired them, which is often the landlord or building management company. The bill is similar to guidance issued by the state in 2019 that briefly banned broker fees, which was ultimately struck down by the court.
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Policy

NYC’s stabilized apartments to see rent hike for second year in a row

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

June 22, 2023

NYC’s stabilized apartments to see rent hike for second year in a row

By Aaron Ginsburg

Rent will increase for the roughly two million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments for the second year in a row. On Wednesday, the Rent Guidelines Board, the nine-member panel responsible for adjusting rent for the city's rent-stabilized apartments, voted 5 to 4 in favor of raising rents on one-year leases by 3 percent and on two-year leases by 2.75 percent for the first year and 3.2 percent for the second year. The rent increases apply to leases starting October 1, 2023.
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Policy

Greenwich Village block named for LGBTQ rights activists Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer

Image courtesy of Darren McGee/ Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

June 21, 2023

Greenwich Village block named for LGBTQ rights activists Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer

By Aaron Ginsburg

A Greenwich Village intersection has been co-named after the couple who won a historic battle in the U.S. Supreme Court for gay marriage rights. In a ceremony on Tuesday, the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Washington Square North, right behind Washington Square Park's Arch, was renamed "Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer Way" in honor of the couple who lived on the corner for 43 years. In 2010, Windsor, who died in 2017, sued the U.S. government over a federal policy that barred same-sex married couples from claiming the estate of deceased spouses, which led the Supreme Court to grant same-sex married couples the same right to federal benefits as heterosexual married couples, according to Patch. Tuesday's ceremony coincided with what would have been Windsor's 94th birthday.
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Policy

June 21, 2023

Elevated pathway connecting the High Line and Moynihan Train Hall opens

By Devin Gannon

A new elevated pedestrian path connecting the High Line to Moynihan Tran Hall opens to the public this week. The 600-foot-long High Line-Moynihan Connector consists of two bridges, one full of lush landscape that runs along West 30th Street and another made of Alaskan yellow cedar wood that is suspended over Dyer Avenue. Officially opening on June 22, the $50 million project connects Manhattan West's public plaza to a pedestrian pathway at West 31st Street, allowing commuters to easily and safely access the train station and the rest of Midtown West.
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Electric bikes and scooters now allowed in NYC parks

Photo courtesy of Shinya Suzuki on Flickr

June 20, 2023

Electric bikes and scooters now allowed in NYC parks

By Devin Gannon

Starting Tuesday, electric bikes and scooters will be allowed inside New York City parks. As part of a yearlong pilot program overseen by the city's Parks Department, e-bike and e-scooter riders can use greenways and park drives, including the Central Park and Prospect Park loops. The pilot will run through May 31, 2024.
Details here

Adams ends NYC’s 90-day shelter rule for homeless New Yorkers

Mayor Eric Adams issued emergency rules eliminating the 90-day length-of-stay requirement for New Yorkers in shelters to be eligible for housing vouchers. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

June 16, 2023

Adams ends NYC’s 90-day shelter rule for homeless New Yorkers

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Eric Adams on Friday ended a rule that had required unhoused people to spend at least 90 days in shelter before qualifying for rental assistance vouchers. The emergency rule change expands eligibility for the vouchers, called CityFHEPS, which will in turn house more New Yorkers and free up space in the shelter system for asylum seekers. The move by the mayor comes a few weeks after the City Council passed a comprehensive set of bills expanding rental assistance, including the end of the 90-day rule. Adams criticized the rest of the package, citing budget costs, but did not say if he plans to veto the legislation.
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NYC sets first-ever minimum wage for delivery workers

Image courtesy of Elvert Barnes on Flickr

June 14, 2023

NYC sets first-ever minimum wage for delivery workers

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City has established the first minimum wage in the country for app-based delivery workers. Starting July 12, workers will be paid at least $17.96 per hour plus tips, with an increase to $19.96 per hour by April 1, 2025, Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protections announced this week. The new policy comes two years after the City Council passed legislation designed to improve labor conditions for delivery workers.
Details here

Historic FDNY buildings in the Bronx designated as NYC landmarks

Fire Alarm Telegraph Bureau, Bronx Central Office; Photo courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission

June 13, 2023

Historic FDNY buildings in the Bronx designated as NYC landmarks

By Devin Gannon

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday designated two Bronx buildings associated with New York City's fire department as individual landmarks. Not only are the Engine Company 88/ Ladder Company 38 firehouse in Belmont and the Fire Alarm Telegraph Bureau, Bronx Central Office in West Farms architecturally significant, but they represent a period of evolution and growth for the city's fire department. The new landmarks also recognize a piece of Bronx history that has largely gone underappreciated.
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NYC delays enforcement of new Airbnb short-term rental rules

Photo via CC

June 13, 2023

NYC delays enforcement of new Airbnb short-term rental rules

By Aaron Ginsburg

Following a lawsuit filed this month by Airbnb, New York City will delay enforcing new restrictions limiting short-term rentals within the five boroughs. The Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) said it will not begin issuing fines to hosts until September 5, pushed back from a July start date, according to a court filing. The agency, which has already delayed the enactment of the new rules twice, currently has a staff vacancy rate of more than 50 percent, preventing it from effectively enforcing the law, as Gothamist reported.
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Policy

New York lawmakers fail to reach a deal on housing

Photo of New York State Capitol by wadester16 on Flickr CC

June 9, 2023

New York lawmakers fail to reach a deal on housing

By Aaron Ginsburg

Despite New York lawmakers claiming they reached a deal on a comprehensive package of housing proposals, the state legislature has failed to pass any meaningful bills during this legislative session, as first reported by the New York Times. Negotiations between state Democrats and Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday fell apart as the two bodies failed to reach a deal before the end of the legislative session on Friday. Lawmakers blamed Hochul for opposing their housing proposals, including those that protect tenants from eviction and major rent hikes, and the governor claimed lawmakers never presented her with any housing bills to approve.
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Policy

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