Policy

After receiving an endorsement from the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council (HTC) for his long-shot presidential campaign in June, Mayor Bill de Blasio has asked the city's planning council to look into the process for implementing a city-wide special permit for hotel development, as Crain's first reported. If adopted, new hotel projects throughout the five boroughs would have to undergo the city's land-use review process, ULURP—something that the HTC has long advocated for.
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City updates housing lottery policy to ease process for immigrants and low-income New Yorkers

Via Creative Commons

August 21, 2019

City updates housing lottery policy to ease process for immigrants and low-income New Yorkers

New Yorkers applying for affordable housing no longer need to provide credit scores or social security numbers, making it easier for low-income and undocumented immigrant households to qualify, the city announced Wednesday. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development expanded the guidelines of its affordable housing lottery policy to allow applicants to show 12 months of positive rental history instead of a credit check run by a landlord. This erases the need for adult household members to provide a social security number or an individual tax identification number.
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City sues landlords for listing rent-stabilized Hell’s Kitchen apartments on Airbnb

412 West 46th Street. Image via Google Street View.

August 16, 2019

City sues landlords for listing rent-stabilized Hell’s Kitchen apartments on Airbnb

. The city has named the owners of three Hell's Kitchen buildings in a lawsuit filed this week in Manhattan Supreme Court for operating illegal short-term rentals in rent-stabilized apartments, the New York Observer reports. The city says the owners of 410 and 412 West 46th Street and 452 West 36th Street have neglected their buildings, harassed tenants to get them to move out, deregulated units and kept units vacant to rent out on a short-term basis. Tenants of one building were left without gas or a roof for six months in 2015 due to a fire; the other two are awash in building code violations.
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Policy

City releases plan to transform Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction into desirable transit hub

Rendering by WXY Architecture & Urban Design

August 16, 2019

City releases plan to transform Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction into desirable transit hub

The city released on Thursday its preliminary vision to revitalize Brooklyn's third busiest transit station. Council Member Rafael Espinal Jr. and Borough President Eric Adams, along with the city's Economic Development Corporation, laid out a plan to transform Broadway Junction, which connects six residential neighborhoods via five subway lines and six bus routes, into an accessible, attractive hub. The plan falls under the East New York Neighborhood Plan, a rezoning approved by the city in 2016.
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How brands owned by Stephen Ross have responded following the fallout from Trump fundraiser

Via Flickr

August 15, 2019

How brands owned by Stephen Ross have responded following the fallout from Trump fundraiser

After Related Companies CEO Stephen Ross's plan to host a fundraiser for President Donald Trump leaked to the public last week, there were calls to boycott organizations owned by his company. Much to the disappointment of many millennials, Ross's company owns Equinox, SoulCycle, and PureYoga, as well as foodie favorites Momofuku and Milk Bar. In response to the quick backlash, some of the brands released statements separating themselves from the Hamptons fundraiser, which raised millions of dollars for Trump's reelection campaign. Others announced plans to donate proceeds to charity.
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Policy

LPC approves 14-story complex behind East New York’s landmarked Empire State Dairy building

Revised rendering from August by Dattner Architects via LPC

August 14, 2019

LPC approves 14-story complex behind East New York’s landmarked Empire State Dairy building

Update 8/14/19: The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved Dattner Architects' plan to construct a 14-story building behind the Empire State Dairy. According to Brownstoner, the architects removed the cantilever element from the project's previous design and plan to preserve the chimney, instead of demolishing it. The new tower will replace two existing, but not landmarked, buildings, and include over 330 affordable apartments. An affordable housing developer on Tuesday presented plans to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a new building that would cantilever over the Empire State Dairy building in East New York. HP Brooklyn Dairy Housing Development Fund Company, part of the nonprofit Housing Partnership Development Corporation, wants to construct a 14-story tower on top of the early 20th-century factory, located at 2840 Atlantic Avenue. Landmarked in 2017, the factory is notable for its architectural style and decorative tile murals. Dattner Architects created the designs for the proposed complex shown in the new renderings. The new construction would be a major change for the property, which was purchased by the developer for $16.75 million last year.
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New bill may bring hostels back to New York City

Image via CC.

August 13, 2019

New bill may bring hostels back to New York City

New York City could make hostels legal under a bill, set to be introduced this week in the City Council, that would permit the super-budget accommodations to operate again after a state law made them illegal, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill would provide hostels with their own separate department and classification under city law. The city's hostels all but disappeared after a 2010 law covering multiple dwellings took aim at short-term rentals.
Will hostels thrive in the Airbnb era?

Apple and the New Museum launch free augmented reality art walks in Central Park

John Giorno’s “Now at the Dawn of My Life”; all images courtesy of Apple and New Museum

August 12, 2019

Apple and the New Museum launch free augmented reality art walks in Central Park

Ready to experience a new dimension of Central Park? Apple has partnered with the New Museum to launch free, guided walks of the Park highlighting a series of site-specific, augmented reality artworks. Artists Nick Cave, Nathalie Djurberg, Hans Berg, Cao Fei, John Giorno, Carsten Höller and Pipilotti Rist—most of whom are working in AR for the first time—were tapped to transform the park into a virtual, interactive gallery of sorts, as part of the experiential project called Apple [AR]T Walk, which kicks off from the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue.
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Thousands of Lower Manhattan tenants may be owed six years’ worth of back rent

Via Flickr

August 12, 2019

Thousands of Lower Manhattan tenants may be owed six years’ worth of back rent

In June, the state's Court of Appeals found that apartments at two Lower Manhattan buildings had been unlawfully deregulated by landlords who had collected millions of dollars in benefits under a 1995 tax program. Now, as The City reports, thousands of former or current tenants in the area may be owed up to six years in back rent from landlords who received the tax breaks for years.
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Council member wants free subway and bus rides for New Yorkers on major holidays

A Brooklyn council member wants straphangers to ride the city's transit system for free on a handful of major holidays. Council Member Justin Brannan, who represents the 43rd District, will introduce next week a non-binding resolution that requests the Metropolitan Transportation Authority offer free subway and bus rides during six holidays, as the New York Post first reported.
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NYC extends cap on Uber, Lyft for another year

Via Flickr

August 8, 2019

NYC extends cap on Uber, Lyft for another year

The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission voted on Wednesday to extend the cap on for-hire vehicle licenses for one year and reduce the time drivers can travel without passengers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The cap on licenses, the first of its kind in the country, was first introduced last year as part of a pilot program aimed at regulating the growing for-hire vehicle industry as well as reducing traffic and pollution.
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‘Waterfront Planning Camp’ invites New Yorkers to help the city improve 520 miles of NYC waterfront

Image courtesy of the Department of City Planning.

August 7, 2019

‘Waterfront Planning Camp’ invites New Yorkers to help the city improve 520 miles of NYC waterfront

The Department of City Planning (DCP) on Wednesday invited New Yorkers of all ages to help shape the city's next Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, starting with a “Waterfront Planning Camp” event on Governors Island. In an effort to get community input and feedback on how to make the city's 520 miles of waterfront better, the DCP is hosting a free Waterfront Planning Camp on Governors Island at Nolan Park, Saturday, August 17th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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14th Street busway pilot program will begin next week after judge gives project green light

Image via Flickr

August 7, 2019

14th Street busway pilot program will begin next week after judge gives project green light

The city is set to begin a 14th Street busway pilot on August 12 after a judge lifted a temporary injunction on the project, Streetsblog reported. The busway had most recently been delayed after several block associations along the street filed a lawsuit against the project, claiming that the city failed to conduct an environmental review for the work. State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower reviewed a traffic analysis submitted by Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Eric Beaton and found that the traffic, health, and safety impacts of the project fall within the city’s routine traffic management work, thereby allowing the project to move forward.
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New York’s first fleet of self-driving cars launches at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Photo courtesy of Optimus Ride

August 6, 2019

New York’s first fleet of self-driving cars launches at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

New York's first fleet of self-driving vehicles has officially landed in Brooklyn. Six autonomous vehicles will roll into the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Wednesday, shuttling passengers in a loop around the 300-acre industrial site for free. Optimus Ride, the Boston-based technology company behind the fleet, will run the autonomous shuttle between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on weekdays, between the NYC Ferry stop at Dock 72 and Cumberland Gate at Flushing Avenue.
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De Blasio secured mortgages for his Park Slope homes from bank tied to dubious deal with city

A mortgage for the mayor’s home at 384 11th Street came from Wall Street Morgage Bankers

August 5, 2019

De Blasio secured mortgages for his Park Slope homes from bank tied to dubious deal with city

The mortgages secured by Mayor Bill de Blasio for his two Park Slope homes came from a bank linked to a firm that received millions of dollars from the city in a controversial housing deal. The Daily News reported on Monday that the founder of the bank that gave the mortgages to de Blasio is Abraham Podolsky, the brother of Jay and Stuart Podolsky, whose firm sold 17 buildings to the city for $173 million earlier this year. Critics have questioned the deal with the Podolsky brothers, who are known for owning poorly maintained properties, and City Comptroller Scott Stringer called on City Hall to release the deal's appraisals.
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Policy

MTA board members are wealthier and whiter than straphangers

Via Flickr

August 1, 2019

MTA board members are wealthier and whiter than straphangers

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has the power to increase fares and approve service changes, looks nothing like the straphangers who use the transit system it oversees. A report released this week by the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany found MTA board members are richer, whiter, and more likely to live outside of New York City than riders.
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After local condo board sues, judge rules that Central Park West bike lane can go forward

Via Public Domain

August 1, 2019

After local condo board sues, judge rules that Central Park West bike lane can go forward

Earlier this week, a group of Upper West Side residents from the Century Condominium filed a suit against the city for its plans to install a protected bike lane on Central Park West, attempting to cease its construction immediately. As 6sqft previously reported, the bike lane plan consists of installing a northbound protected lane from 59th Street to 110th Street–eliminating 400 parking spots in the process (another point of contention for the plaintiffs). But yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Lynn Kotler ruled against their request for a “temporary restraining order” and expressed skepticism over their claims that the bike lane would bring “immediate and irreparable harm to the neighborhood,” as Streetsblog reported. Work crews will continue putting in the bike lane—which doesn’t actually involve any construction, just painting street markings—until city lawyers and plaintiffs reconvene in court on August 20.
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Real estate investors buy $1.2B worth of NYC market-rate rentals with plan to make them affordable

The River Crossing building in Harlem; Photo by CTC Creative

July 31, 2019

Real estate investors buy $1.2B worth of NYC market-rate rentals with plan to make them affordable

A group of real estate investors is buying 2,800 New York City rental apartments for $1.2 billion. But instead of keeping with the industry's custom of converting affordable units into market-rate homes, L+M Development Partners and its partner Invesco Real Estate plan on returning a chunk of those units to long-term regulation. The venture involves the purchase of five former Mitchell-Lama buildings in Manhattan, with four in Harlem and one on Roosevelt Island.
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Image via Wiki Commons

July 31, 2019

Chelsea Hotel owners have sent nearly $60,000 to de Blasio in attempt to gain favor for construction

It’s been several years since Ira Drukier and Richard Born took over as owners of the historic Chelsea Hotel with plans to turn it into a luxury hotel. The rent-stabilized tenants who remain in the hotel even as it’s been turned into a construction zone have filed multiple complaints with the city, hitting the new owners with violations and a lawsuit. But The City has uncovered a link between those complaints and Drukier and Born’s donations to Mayor de Blasio’s political funds. Over the course of less than a year—from August 2018 to June—18 checks totaling $57,400 were sent to de Blasio’s presidential campaign from either the owners or people associated with them. The checks started coming soon after city building inspectors began responding to tenant complaints about hazardous living conditions.
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Policy

NYC financed a record number of affordable homes for seniors and homeless New Yorkers this fiscal year

Via Creative Commons

July 31, 2019

NYC financed a record number of affordable homes for seniors and homeless New Yorkers this fiscal year

New York City added a record number of supportive housing units and affordable homes for homeless New Yorkers and seniors this fiscal year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday. While the total number of affordable units preserved or created is down to 25,299 this fiscal year from last year's 32,444, the city said it still expects to meet the mayor's goal of creating 300,000 affordable homes by 2026.
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Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

July 31, 2019

Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's fight against two high-rise towers in Crown Heights continues this week with the opening of a new educational exhibit. The display is part of the garden's larger "Fight for Sunlight" campaign opposing a proposal from developers to amend the area's current zoning and build two 39-story towers across the street. The garden argues the proposed towers on Franklin Avenue would obstruct necessary light from shining on the garden's 23 greenhouses, nurseries, and growing spaces, putting rare plants at risk.
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Ranking the city’s most dangerous intersections for NYC cyclists

Image via Flickr

July 29, 2019

Ranking the city’s most dangerous intersections for NYC cyclists

Just days after Mayor de Blasio unveiled a new plan to make the city’s streets safer for cyclists, another fatal accident occurred when a 30-year-old cyclist was struck near the intersection of Third Avenue and 36th Street in Sunset Park around 9 a.m. this morning. As Streetsblog reported, the incident brings the year’s death toll up to 18—nearly double what it was all of last year. Redesigning intersections is a component of De Blasio’s new $58 million initiative, which says it will ramp up NYPD enforcement at the 100 most crash-prone intersections and renovate 50 intersections. While the Department of Transportation hasn’t yet disclosed what those intersections will be, home-search platform Localize.city has created a list of the top ten most dangerous intersections for cyclists.
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Trump’s labor relations board continues fight against Scabby the Rat

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July 29, 2019

Trump’s labor relations board continues fight against Scabby the Rat

The giant inflatable rodent set up by unions outside of New York City construction projects is getting challenged in court. An advice memo from the general counsel at the National Labor Relations Board says inflatables, including famed Scabby the Rat, should be illegal for unions to use in protest. As Gothamist reported, Peter Robb, the President Donald Trump-appointed general counsel for the NLRB, said the big balloons like Scabby are "coercive" and "unlawful."
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A weed dispensary is opening in Williamsburg

Via Google Street View

July 26, 2019

A weed dispensary is opening in Williamsburg