Policy

Proposed 13-story Soho building designed by Morris Adjmi is first to need LPC approval after rezoning

Streetview of 277 Canal Street; © 2023 Google

February 7, 2023

Proposed 13-story Soho building designed by Morris Adjmi is first to need LPC approval after rezoning

By Devin Gannon

A New York City developer on Monday unveiled plans for the first development in Soho under new zoning rules approved by the city in 2021. United American Land (UAL) announced a proposal for a 13-story mixed-use building with 100 units of housing at 277 Canal Street, a landmarked three-story building on the corner of Broadway. The Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to begin its review process of the project this summer, as Commercial Observer first reported.
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Manhattan borough president sees the city’s vacancies as opportunities for creating new housing

Image courtesy of mari small on Unsplash

February 2, 2023

Manhattan borough president sees the city’s vacancies as opportunities for creating new housing

By Michelle Cohen

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine released a report this week outlining 171 locations in the borough he believes can be turned into more than 73,000 new homes. The report, titled "Housing Manhattanites," seeks to address Manhattan's housing shortage and answer a critical question: "Where in our borough can we build the housing that Manhattanites so desperately need?" Of these housing opportunities, Levine explained to the New York Times: "Some of it is hiding in plain sight. There has been a Post Office that has been closed. There’s an abandoned bus depot that is not being used. There’s manufacturing space which is empty. There are buildings that landlords surrendered to the city for back taxes decades ago."
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In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project

President Biden hosted a press conference in NYC to discuss the Hudson River Tunnel Project on 1/31/23; Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

February 1, 2023

In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project

By Aaron Ginsburg

President Joe Biden made an appearance at Hudson Yards on Tuesday to announce a $292 million investment for a project that would fix a century-old rail tunnel and build a new one under the river between New York and New Jersey. The $16 billion Hudson River tunnel project is just one part of the broader $30 billion Gateway Project, which includes new bridges and the expansion of Penn Station. The funding announced by Biden will go toward a $649 million project that extends the concrete casing for the tunnels between Penn Station and the Hudson River before any work on the tunnels can actually begin.
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Army Corps of Engineers releases first renderings of NYC sea walls for coastal storm protection plan

This rendering shows a 20-foot-tall proposed floodwall along the Hudson River at Huron Street in the West Village. Image: Army Corps of Engineers.

January 31, 2023

Army Corps of Engineers releases first renderings of NYC sea walls for coastal storm protection plan

By Michelle Cohen

Late last year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the $52 billion proposal that will represent the most comprehensive effort to date to protect the city from storm surges and the only existing plan for protecting the entire New York Harbor area. The Army Corps recently revealed a new series of renderings that provide a visual glance at how some of these projects might transform the New York City waterfront. Renderings show barriers, gates, sea walls, and raised promenades at Flushing Bay in Queens, at Greenpoint Public Park, and Coney Island in Brooklyn, among others, as THE CITY first reported.
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NYC will require Uber and Lyft to go fully electric by 2030

Photo by Pranay Pareek on Unsplash

January 30, 2023

NYC will require Uber and Lyft to go fully electric by 2030

By Aaron Ginsburg

All New York City Uber and Lyft rideshare vehicles must go 100 percent electric by 2030, Mayor Eric Adams announced during his State of the City address last week. The decision will affect roughly 100,000 drivers for the two rideshare platforms, which both applauded the city's announcement, as first reported by The Verge.
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NYC’s curbside composting program coming to all five boroughs

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 26, 2023

NYC’s curbside composting program coming to all five boroughs

By Aaron Ginsburg

Following the notable success of the program in Queens, curbside composting will soon expand to all of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Thursday during his State of the City address. The program will launch in Brooklyn this October, followed by the Bronx and Staten Island in March 2024 and Manhattan in October 2024. According to the mayor, the program will be the nation's largest curbside composting program.
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LIRR service to Grand Central Madison starts this week

Photo of Grand Central Madison in December 2022; Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

January 24, 2023

LIRR service to Grand Central Madison starts this week

By Aaron Ginsburg

After a month-long delay due to vent exhaust problems, Grand Central Madison will officially open this week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday. The first Long Island Rail Road train with service to Manhattan's east side is scheduled to leave Jamaica at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday and arrive at the new terminal at 11:07 a.m. As part of the initial roll-out, there will be limited shuttle service between the two stations to help commuters get familiar with the new terminal, which cost roughly $12 billion, according to the transit agency.
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NYC to open relief center for migrants at cruise terminal in Red Hook

Image via WikiCommons

January 23, 2023

NYC to open relief center for migrants at cruise terminal in Red Hook

By Aaron Ginsburg

About a week after declaring there is no more room for migrants in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams announced the opening of a fifth emergency response and relief center to accommodate the growing number of asylum seekers. The new center will open at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook in the coming weeks and serve roughly 1,000 single adult men, providing them shelter and medical, food, laundry, and reconnective services. The men will be relocated to the terminal from the Watson Hotel, which will be used to house families with children instead. An opening date for the center has not been announced yet.
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Policy

New York’s second legal weed dispensary is opening on Bleecker Street

Streetview of 144 Bleecker Street © 2023 Google

January 20, 2023

New York’s second legal weed dispensary is opening on Bleecker Street

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York's second legal recreational cannabis shop is set to open in Greenwich Village next week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday. Smacked LLC, located inside a nearly 200-year-old building at 144 Bleecker Street, will open its doors to the public on January 24 at 10 a.m. The store is the first in the state to be opened by an entrepreneur with a cannabis conviction, as part of a program to ensure equity in licensing. Owned and operated by Roland Conner, Smacked LLC will operate as a soft "popup" through February 20 and re-open as a long-term business at a later date.
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Policy

In Harlem, controversial truck depot opens on site of failed housing project

Rendering courtesy of SHoP Architects

January 19, 2023

In Harlem, controversial truck depot opens on site of failed housing project

By Devin Gannon

On the Harlem lot where a residential development with hundreds of housing units was once proposed, a truck depot opened this week. As Patch first reported, the first trucks drove on Wednesday to the stop on West 145th Street, the site of the One45 proposal. After the council member refused to support the new mixed-use development, citing gentrification and lack of affordable housing, the developer scrapped the plan in May and moved forward with one that did not require zoning changes. The depot can hold up to 200 vehicles.
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NYC signs $275M deal to provide hotel rooms for migrants

Mayor Eric Adams tours the Asylum Seeker Resource Navigation Center in Manhattan on September 15, 2022. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 18, 2023

NYC signs $275M deal to provide hotel rooms for migrants

By Michelle Cohen

Mayor Eric Adams has agreed to a $275 million contract with the Hotel Association of New York City to provide housing for at least 5,000 migrants–$55,000 per asylum-seeker–the New York Post reports. The emergency agreement between the city's Department of Homeless Services and the Hotel Association, which put in a formal bid to provide shelter amid the current migrant crisis, will include up to 55 smaller hotels, according to the association's president, Vijay Dandapani.
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MTA to install bike racks at dozens of subway and commuter rail stations

Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

January 12, 2023

MTA to install bike racks at dozens of subway and commuter rail stations

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week released an action plan to better serve the city's cyclists, including the installation of bike racks on the front of buses and outside of dozens of train stations. As part of the agency's Extending Transit's Reach plan, the bike racks will be installed on the front of M60 SBS, S79 SBS, and Q44 SBS buses, all of which are Select Bus Service routes that span across four boroughs. The city's transit agency will also work to install bike racks at the entrances of 37 subway stations that currently lack parking for bikes.
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Hochul proposes new housing targets for every locality in New York

Photo courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office on Flickr

January 11, 2023

Hochul proposes new housing targets for every locality in New York

By Devin Gannon

To spur housing development in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would require every locality in the state to meet home creation targets. During her 2023 State of the State address, the governor announced plans to build 800,000 new homes over the next decade to address the current housing crisis. The new initiative, dubbed the New York Housing Compact, requires all cities, towns, and villages to hit home creation goals on a three-year cycle.
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Tenants in 1,000+ NYC buildings experienced chronic heat problems between 2017 and 2021

Image courtesy of 6sqft

January 10, 2023

Tenants in 1,000+ NYC buildings experienced chronic heat problems between 2017 and 2021

By Aaron Ginsburg

Between 2017 and 2021, New Yorkers called 311 nearly one million times to report a lack of heat in their homes. During that same time, the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development issued only 21,610 heat violations to landlords, according to a new report from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander's office. The report found interventions by the city, including violations and emergency repairs, are effective in addressing heat complaints, but "too often fails to apply them."
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Policy

NYC’s plan to convert office space into housing could create 20,000 homes

Photo by Tomas Anton Escobar on Unsplash

January 10, 2023

NYC’s plan to convert office space into housing could create 20,000 homes

By Michelle Cohen

In December, Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to address the needs of post-pandemic New York by creating mixed-use neighborhoods in central business districts to draw more residents, businesses, and tourists. The plan advocated for the much-discussed idea of converting vacant office buildings into homes, a solution that tackles both the city's housing crisis and lagging retail growth by making zoning laws more flexible. On Monday, Adams announced a list of specific recommendations for converting underused offices into 20,000 homes for 40,000 New Yorkers over the next decade.
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MTA reopens public bathrooms at 9 subway stations

Image via WikiCommons

January 9, 2023

MTA reopens public bathrooms at 9 subway stations

By Aaron Ginsburg

At last, straphangers can experience some relief. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reopened 18 bathrooms in nine New York City subway stations to the public on Monday. The bathrooms are open at select stations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with a one-hour closure from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. for cleaning. The NYC subway system's 133 public restrooms have been closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic.
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Stuy Town tenants win lawsuit to keep apartments rent stabilized

Image via WikiCommons

January 9, 2023

Stuy Town tenants win lawsuit to keep apartments rent stabilized

By Aaron Ginsburg

More than 6,000 apartments at Manhattan's largest apartment complex will remain rent-regulated after a judge last week ruled in favor of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village tenants. State Supreme Court Justice Robert Reed determined Stuy Town landlord Blackstone Group's attempt to deregulate the apartments was unlawful, becoming the first major tenant-led effort against developers that tested the integrity of the state's 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act.
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New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 6, 2023

New compost program in Queens collected over 12.7 million pounds of waste in just three months

By Aaron Ginsburg

In just three months, the new Queens compost program collected more than 12.7 million pounds of organic waste, according to data recently released by the city's sanitation department. The program, which launched last October, enrolled every residential building in the borough in a weekly curbside composting collection. According to the department, Queens districts significantly outperformed other communities that also participate in compost collection. The data shows that New Yorkers are eager to dispose of their food and yard waste in a sustainable manner.
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Policy

Inside New York City’s first legal pot shop

All photos courtesy of GARY GERSHOFF/WIRE IMAGE.

January 4, 2023

Inside New York City’s first legal pot shop

By Devin Gannon

The first legal cannabis dispensary in the state of New York opened in Manhattan last week. Run by the nonprofit Housing Works, the store, located near Astor Place at 750 Broadway, currently offers products from six New York-based companies, including pre-rolled joints, edibles, vape pens, and flower. When sales officially launched last Thursday, the line to get into the dispensary wrapped around the corner, with eager customers waiting for hours to shop.
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Policy

NYC lost over 100,000 rent-stabilized units since 2019, according to report

Photo by Avi Werde on Unsplash

December 27, 2022

NYC lost over 100,000 rent-stabilized units since 2019, according to report

By Aaron Ginsburg

Despite a 2019 state law that largely prohibits landlords from deregulating rent-regulated apartments, the number of rent-stabilized units in New York City has dropped significantly, as first reported by The City. These findings indicate that there are potentially thousands of tenants who are currently paying rent that is more than the previously regulated amounts. These tenants also lack the rights given to New Yorkers living in rent-regulated units, like guaranteed lease renewals and restricted rent hikes.
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New York’s first legal weed dispensary will open near Astor Place

Photo of 1 Astor Place by Beyond My Ken on Wikimedia

December 22, 2022

New York’s first legal weed dispensary will open near Astor Place

By Devin Gannon

New York's first legal recreational cannabis dispensary is opening in Manhattan next week. Housing Works, a local nonprofit founded in 1990 to address the HIV/AIDS and homelessness crises, will launch sales at 1 Astor Place on December 29, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. The dispensary is the first to open of the 36 licenses approved so far by the New York State Cannabis Control Board.
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Policy

MTA to cut Monday and Friday subway service on some lines

Photo via WikiCommons

December 20, 2022

MTA to cut Monday and Friday subway service on some lines

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will modify subway service on seven lines to better accommodate post-pandemic transit ridership trends. The agency on Monday said starting next June it would increase scheduled trips on the weekends and decrease trips on Mondays and Fridays, two days where ridership recovery has been the slowest.
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NYC proposes pedestrian-friendly path on Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park

Conceptual renderings from one proposal for a reimagined Fifth Avenue. Credit: Fifth Avenue Association

December 19, 2022

NYC proposes pedestrian-friendly path on Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday released a plan that reimagines a stretch of Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park at 42nd Street to Central Park at 59th Street as a pedestrian-focused space that prioritizes safety, mass transit, and the public realm. This new vision of one of the world's most iconic tourist destinations and commercial districts is part of a broader plan to make the area more appealing to new residents and workers and builds upon the recent closure of Fifth Avenue this month for the holidays.
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Proposal calls for transforming NYC’s commercial districts into 24/7 destinations

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

December 15, 2022

Proposal calls for transforming NYC’s commercial districts into 24/7 destinations

By Aaron Ginsburg

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced a new plan to improve New York City as a place to live and work and help prepare it for a post-pandemic world. An essential part of the plan involves the reimagination of the city's central business districts, Midtown and Lower Manhattan, by transforming them into dynamic, mixed-use neighborhoods that will draw more residents, businesses, and tourists. The plan also includes proposals to transform public space by expanding preexisting pedestrian spaces and envisioning new projects for the public realm.
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$87M restoration of historic Orchard Beach Pavilion kicks off in the Bronx

View of the Upper and Lower Promenades, Cafeteria, and South Loggia, Looking South (1936); Images courtesy of Marvel/ NYC Parks/ NYCEDC

December 14, 2022

$87M restoration of historic Orchard Beach Pavilion kicks off in the Bronx

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction kicked off this week on a project to reconstruct the historic bathhouse and pavilion at Orchard Beach in the Bronx. The city's Parks Department and the Economic Development Corporation on Tuesday broke ground on the $87 million reconstruction of the 140,000 square-foot landmarked pavilion, which includes a major renovation of its historic architecture, new amenities for the community, and increased accessibility.
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