Policy

Proposal divides Columbus Circle into three zones: Conquest, Slavery, and Immigration

Photo via

September 1, 2017

Proposal divides Columbus Circle into three zones: Conquest, Slavery, and Immigration

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Just two days after Mayor de Blasio spoke publicly of his idea to add contextual plaques to controversial statues around the city instead of razing them, Public Advocate candidate and Columbia University history professor David Eisenbach has proposed a completely different plan. In reference to City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito's call to remove Central Park’s Columbus statue based on accounts that the explorer enslaved and killed indigenous people, Eisenbach suggested an alternative where Columbus Circle would be divided into public educational "plazas." As reported by DNAinfo, these would include three parts of the Circle for "Conquest, Slavery, and Immigration." Instead of taking down the monument, he believes this would "tell the story of Columbus’ legacy, the good, the bad, and the ugly."
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City will convert long-vacant Greenpoint Hospital into hundreds of affordable housing units

View of the vacant hospital complex, via Google Street View

August 31, 2017

City will convert long-vacant Greenpoint Hospital into hundreds of affordable housing units

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It's been 35 years since the Greenpoint Hospital shut its doors, since which time the city has tried and failed to convert the vacant 146,100-square-foot complex into affordable housing. But Mayor de Blasio, explaining that the "the need for affordable housing in Greenpoint and Williamsburg is too high to leave even one stone unturned," will now seek proposals from developers to transform the site into anywhere between 300 to 600 below-market rate apartments and supportive housing, along with green space, commercial space, and a relocated 200-bed shelter and clinic (h/t DNAinfo).
The past and future of the site
Foreclosure moves ahead at Billionaires’ Row supertall 111 West 57th Street
August 30, 2017

Foreclosure moves ahead at Billionaires’ Row supertall 111 West 57th Street

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Things have been shaky for 111 West 57th Street since it came to light last month that construction on the world's will-be skinniest skyscraper was stalled at just 20 stories after Property Markets Group's Kevin Maloney and JDS Development’s Michael Stern were sued by real estate investment corporation and owner AmBase. Trying to salvage their $66 million investment, Ambase filed an injunction to stop lender Spruce Capital from seizing the $1 billion project, but yesterday a Supreme Court judge ruled that a strict foreclosure could move forward, meaning AmBase will likely lose its majority ownership, according to Crain's. On the flip side, the developers will now be able to proceed with construction on the 1,421-foot Billionaires' Row tower, whose units started going into contract earlier this month.
The full story
City workers missed over 17,000 hours of work due to subway delays this year

Photo courtesy of Roman Kruglov’s Flickr

August 30, 2017

City workers missed over 17,000 hours of work due to subway delays this year

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New Yorkers employed by the city have missed 17,143 hours of work because of transit delays and malfunctions, according to the Daily News. A new analysis by the Independent Budget Office (IBO), shows that city workers are on track to miss nearly 26,000 hours of work for the entire year, an increase of almost 30 percent from previous years. The report found the incident that caused the most city workers to be late happened in January when city workers lost a total of 1,075 hours after water spilled onto the tracks at West 4th Street-Washington Square station.
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De Blasio suggests adding contextual plaques to controversial city statues

Mayor de Blasio via Wiki Commons (L); Columbus Circle’s Christopher Columbus statue via Eden, Janine and Jim/Flickr

August 29, 2017

De Blasio suggests adding contextual plaques to controversial city statues

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Peter Stuyvesant and Christopher Columbus might stick around if Mayor de Blasio's "plan B" regarding controversial statues takes shape, according to the Post. In response to a proposal from City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to remove Central Park’s Columbus statue based on accounts that he enslaved and killed indigenous people he met during his explorations, the Mayor said that many of the monuments in question may receive plaques that put their history in context instead of being completely razed. This came just moments after he announced that he'll still be walking in the Columbus Day Parade as it's about "ethnic pride." He also urged concerned parties "to take a step back" and not "prejudge" before an official city commission is assembled to review such monuments.
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‘Citymapper’ app translates confusing MTA alerts into easy-to-read alternative directions

Graphic via Citymapper

August 28, 2017

‘Citymapper’ app translates confusing MTA alerts into easy-to-read alternative directions

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With subway disruptions and delays becoming a part of daily life in New York City, even lifelong New Yorkers sometimes have trouble finding alternative routes when their F train switches to a different line. Thankfully, there’s now an app that aims to make commuting in NYC a little less confusing. Citymapper, a transportation software start-up based in the UK, uses artificial intelligence to recommend new routes in response to MTA alert statuses. As CityLab reported, the app’s “bot” reads the complicated message from the authority and uses the relevant information to offer a clearer route change to avoid the problem.
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The ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station will finish on time, Amtrak says

Photo via Kev Harb via Flickr

August 25, 2017

The ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station will finish on time, Amtrak says

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The emergency Penn Station repairs that began in July will be completed on time with regular operating service resuming on Sept. 5, Amtrak announced Thursday. After delays and a few train derailments, Amtrak closed 21 tracks at Penn earlier this summer. Nearly seven weeks of the eight scheduled weeks of repair work for this “summer of hell” have been completed thus far.
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Jewish rights group wants Peter Stuyvesant monuments removed over anti-semitism

Monument to Peter Stuyvesant in Stuyvesant Square via edenpictures via photopin

August 25, 2017

Jewish rights group wants Peter Stuyvesant monuments removed over anti-semitism

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Earlier this week, the de Blasio administration said it would give "immediate attention" to a proposal from City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to remove Central Park's Christopher Columbus statue based on accounts that the explorer enslaved and killed many indigenous people. And it looks like Peter Stuyvesant might be next on the chopping block. The Post reports that Jewish rights group Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center is "demanding Mayor de Blasio scrub all traces of the anti-Semitic Dutch governor from city property" as part of the city's 90-day review of symbols of hate. Not only do they want monuments of him removed, but his name erased on everything from the public Stuyvesant High School to Stuyvesant Square Park to the entire neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Find out the full history
Congressman introduces bill that would offer tax credits to rent-burdened Americans

Photos via Wikimedia (l) and Pixbay (r)

August 25, 2017

Congressman introduces bill that would offer tax credits to rent-burdened Americans

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Rep. Joeseph Crowley announced federal legislation this week that aims to create two refundable tax credits for low- and middle-income renters. For rental households across the U.S. with incomes of $125,000 or less, the Rent Relief Act would provide them with one of two tax credits, if the bill becomes law. According to the Democratic congressman, who represents part of the Bronx and Queens in New York’s 14th congressional district, roughly 111 million Americans live in rental housing, with about two-thirds of all households in New York City currently renting, twice the national average.
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De Blasio considering removal of Christopher Columbus statue near Central Park

Photo via

August 23, 2017

De Blasio considering removal of Christopher Columbus statue near Central Park

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"Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure for many of us, particularly those that come from the Caribbean," said Puerto Rican-born City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. According to DNAinfo, Viverito is calling on the city to consider removing the Columbus Circle statue of the Italian explorer as part of their larger 90-day review of "symbols of hate." She first introduced the proposal on Monday at a rally in East Harlem to remove another controversial statue, that of Dr. James Marion Sims, who achieved his title as the father of modern gynecology by performing experiments on slaves without consent and without anesthesia. Columbus, honored for discovering the Americas, is also believed to have enslaved and killed many of the indigenous people he encountered. In response, the Mayor's office said the proposal will receive "immediate attention." But of course, not everyone is happy about it.
Both sides of the debate
Cuomo calls de Blasio’s millionaires tax plan ‘dead on arrival’

Photo © Governor Andrew Cuomo/Flickr

August 23, 2017

Cuomo calls de Blasio’s millionaires tax plan ‘dead on arrival’

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As the dilemmas of New York City's subway system continue, so does the public feud between Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio. Cuomo on Tuesday called de Blasio’s plan for the wealthiest New Yorkers to fund the MTA’s emergency action plan “dead on arrival” because of Republican opposition in Albany. As the Daily News reported, Cuomo’s remarks come just a day after de Blasio said he does not "believe in" congestion pricing, an idea the governor said he will be pushing for in January.
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Loss of affordability at Coney Island’s Trump Village highlights issues with the city’s Mitchell-Lama program

Photo of Trump Village West via Trump 4 West

August 21, 2017

Loss of affordability at Coney Island’s Trump Village highlights issues with the city’s Mitchell-Lama program

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Built by Donald Trump’s father, Fred, in 1964, Trump Village in Coney Island features seven 23-story towers with 3,700 co-op and rental apartments. To pay for the $70 million project, which would total $564 million today, Fred Trump used Mitchell-Lama, a government program that granted financial incentives in exchange for setting aside affordable housing. The typical rental contract lasts 20 years, and after that, landlords can opt-out of the program. As Crain’s reported, Trump Village became one of the first co-ops to exit the Mitchell-Lama program in 2007, letting residents sell their apartments for whatever the market allowed. Owners of 38,000 Mitchell-Lama apartments, representing 28% of the program's housing, have left in the past 20 years. But as the value of these apartments, which were once affordable, keeps rising, New Yorkers looking for affordable housing there, and other former Mitchell-Lama apartments, may be out of luck.
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Watch The Shed, an 8-million-pound structure, glide effortlessly alongside the High Line
August 18, 2017

Watch The Shed, an 8-million-pound structure, glide effortlessly alongside the High Line

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The Shed courtesy of Diller Scofidio +Renfro, via The New York Times Construction of The Shed, a six-level flexible structure that can adapt to different art forms and technologies, continues to progress where the High Line meets Hudson Yards. While the building, an independent non-profit cultural organization, has an expected opening date of 2019, the massive eight-million-pound structure can now slide along the High Line for five minutes on a half-dozen exposed steel wheels that measure six-feet in diameter (h/t NY Times). The Shed, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Rockwell Group, features a movable shell on rails that sits over the fixed base of the building, allowing for it to change size depending on the type of event.
See the Shed slide
MTA will ‘modify’ Times Square subway mosaics that resemble the Confederate flag

Image via Wiki Commons

August 18, 2017

MTA will ‘modify’ Times Square subway mosaics that resemble the Confederate flag

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The day after Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo announced plans to review and remove controversial public Confederate structures and markers throughout the city, the MTA says it will do the same. Well, sort of. Over 90 years ago, station architect Squire J. Vickers installed mosaics resembling the Confederate flag at the 40th Street entrance for the 1, 2, 3 trains to honor early New York Times owner and publisher Adolph S. Ochs, who had "strong ties to the Confederacy" and was buried with a Confederate flag when he died in 1935. But yesterday, MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz told Gothamist, "These are not confederate flags, it is a design based on geometric forms that represent the 'Crossroads of the World' and to avoid absolutely any confusion we will modify them to make that absolutely crystal clear."
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De Blasio and Cuomo announce plans to eradicate ‘symbols of hate’ in New York

Image via Alisdare Hickson/flickr

August 17, 2017

De Blasio and Cuomo announce plans to eradicate ‘symbols of hate’ in New York

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After a violent weekend led by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, New York officials have announced plans to review and remove controversial public structures. Mayor de Blasio said on Wednesday the city will conduct a 90-day review of “all symbols of hate on city property,” by putting together a panel of experts and community leaders who will make recommendations for items to take down (h/t NY Post). On Wednesday, Governor Cuomo called upon the United States Army to reconsider its decision to keep the street names that honor Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, two Confederate leaders, at Fort Hamilton. Cuomo also announced the removal of the busts of Lee and Jackson from CUNY’s Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx.
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Stuyvesant Town goes green: How the 70-year-old complex is reinventing itself in a modern age

Photos courtesy of Stuyvesant Town

August 16, 2017

Stuyvesant Town goes green: How the 70-year-old complex is reinventing itself in a modern age

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"Think of us as a 1947 Cadillac retrofitted with a Tesla engine," says Marynia Kruk, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village's Community Affairs Manager. Though the 80-acre residential complex's 110 red brick, cruciform-shaped buildings were constructed 70 years ago this month, their imposing facades are hiding an intense network of systems that, since 2011, have allowed the development to reduce its on-site carbon emissions by 6.8 percent, equal to over 17 million pounds of coal saved. To put this in perspective, that's roughly the same savings as 3,000 drivers deciding to bike or take the train for an entire year or planting a forest of 400,000 trees. This massive sustainability push, along with new ownership (Blackstone Group and Canadian investment firm Ivanhoe Cambridge bought the complex for $5.3 billion in October 2015), updated amenities, and an affordable housing commitment, is driving Manhattan's largest apartment complex into the future, and 6sqft recently got the inside scoop from CEO and General Manager Rick Hayduk and Tom Feeney, Vice President of Maintenance Operations, who is spearheading the green initiative.
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NYC law guaranteeing a lawyer for any tenant facing eviction is the nation’s first of its kind

Mayor Bill de Blasio announces findings on tenant representation last August. Image: nyc.gov

August 14, 2017

NYC law guaranteeing a lawyer for any tenant facing eviction is the nation’s first of its kind

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6sqft reported last year on a new bill that would guarantee a lawyer for all low-income residents facing eviction. On Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed that bill into law, guaranteeing legal representation for low-income residents who face eviction (h/t Citylab). The legislation is the nation's first that provides right to counsel in housing matters. The new law is the result of efforts of activists and organizers that began in 2014.
Find out more about the new law
Cuomo to offer a congestion pricing plan to fund transit repairs

Photo via Lucas Klappas on Flickr

August 14, 2017

Cuomo to offer a congestion pricing plan to fund transit repairs

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With New York City’s subway system currently in a state of emergency, public officials and advocates have been developing ways to pay for its urgent repairs. According to the New York Times, Governor Cuomo is planning to release a congestion pricing plan as a way to provide a dedicated source of funding for the transit system, as well as a way to reduce traffic on some of the country’s busiest streets. Ten years ago, Mayor Bloomberg pushed for a similar plan, charging drivers $8 to enter the most congested parts of Manhattan during peak commuting hours, but the legislation faced resistance and was never brought to a vote.
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The Village’s Twin Peaks: From a quirky ‘Swiss-chalet’ to a landmarks controversy

102 Bedford Street in 2015 (left) via Wiki Commons, and as of today, via GVSHP

August 10, 2017

The Village’s Twin Peaks: From a quirky ‘Swiss-chalet’ to a landmarks controversy

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Few buildings capture the whimsy, flamboyance, and bohemian spirit of early 20th century Greenwich Village as does the building known as "Twin Peaks" at 102 Bedford Street. Described as a "wonderfully ludicrous mock half-timbered fantasy row-house castle" by architecture critic Paul Goldberger, the present incarnation of the building was born in 1925 as a radical remodeling of an 1830 rowhouse into a five-story artists’ studio apartment building. In the mid 20th-century, the building became even more iconic with a cream and brown paint job that mimicked its Alpine cottage inspiration. However, a more recent paint job stripped away this history, resulting in a controversial landmarks battle.
The whole story
Cuomo gives Con Ed one year to repair the subway’s power system

Photo © Governor Andrew Cuomo/Flickr

August 10, 2017

Cuomo gives Con Ed one year to repair the subway’s power system

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Just in the past month, power problems caused 32,000 subway delays, prompting Governor Cuomo to direct "Con Edison to take significant and immediate actions to improve the subway's power reliability and prevent future service failure," according to a press release. Less than two months after declaring a "state of emergency" for the subway system, Cuomo's given Con Ed and the MTA one year to identify and repair the problems, the most comprehensive power review ever done, leaving them on the hook to inspect 470 manholes, 1,100 boxes, and 221 power substations at street level and 1,100 energy distribution rooms, 300 signal relay rooms, 15,000 track circuits, 11,000 signals, 13,750 insulated joints, 11,000 trip stops, 220 interlockings, and 1,800 switch machines below ground. The cost? It's not yet been officially calculated, but Con Ed chairman John McAvoy says it's likely to be tens of millions of dollars.
Get all the info
City Council unanimously approves Midtown East rezoning plan

Conceptual image depicting all of the proposed sites of the East Midtown rezoning fully built out, via CityRealty

August 10, 2017

City Council unanimously approves Midtown East rezoning plan

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After five years, the City Council approved a rezoning for Manhattan’s Midtown East on Wednesday, by a 42-0 vote. The proposal will rezone roughly 78 blocks, running from East 39th Street to East 57th Street and from Third Avenue to Madison Avenue, clearing the way for 6.5 million square feet of office space in the area. A new updated zoning code is expected to incentivize new, dense development, allowing Midtown to compete with other booming business districts in the borough like Hudson Yards and the Financial District. As the New York Times reported, this change which lets developers build to a higher floor area ratio could result in new supertall towers.
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NYPL’s historic Rose Main Reading Room is officially an interior landmark!
August 8, 2017

NYPL’s historic Rose Main Reading Room is officially an interior landmark!

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In May, State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger drafted a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission asking them to designate the Rose Main Reading Room (one of the largest uncolumned interior spaces in the world) and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room at the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 5th Avenue as interior landmarks. Though the LPC has been criticized in the past for their backlog of potential landmarks, they quickly put the request on their schedule and just this morning voted unanimously in favor of the designations, which protect the spaces' murals, decorative plasterwork, metal and woodwork, light fixtures, windows, doors, balconies, built-in bookcases, and decorative elements.
Get the full scoop
U.S. Army won’t remove Confederate street names in Brooklyn

General Lee Avenue and Robert E. Lee’s former home on Fort Hamilton, via Jeremy Bender/Business Insider

August 8, 2017

U.S. Army won’t remove Confederate street names in Brooklyn

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Despite a push from advocates and politicians, the United States Army decided to keep the names of two streets in Brooklyn that honor Confederate generals. The streets, General Lee Avenue and Stonewall Jackson Drive, can be found in Fort Hamilton, the city’s last remaining active military base. Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, along with U.S. Reps Jerrold Nadler, Nydia Velazquez and Hakeem Jeffries, had written to the Army in June asking them to consider changing the street names. As the Daily News reported, the Army said the names will stay because they remain an “inextricable part of our military history.”
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De Blasio wants to tax rich New Yorkers to fund subway repairs

Image Public Domain

August 7, 2017

De Blasio wants to tax rich New Yorkers to fund subway repairs

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Continuing this summer’s subway saga, Mayor de Blasio announced a plan on Sunday that would tax the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers to fund the system’s much-need repairs and renovations. The proposal, which requires Albany’s approval, would also provide half-price MetroCards for low-income straphangers. As the New York Times reported, the “millionaires tax” would increase the tax rate of the city’s wealthiest residents to 4.4 percent from roughly 3.9 percent for married couples with incomes over $1 million and for individuals who make more than $500,000 annually.
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A giant, undulating 3-D billboard will debut in Times Square this month

Image via Radius Displays

August 3, 2017

A giant, undulating 3-D billboard will debut in Times Square this month

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Real New Yorkers will do anything they can to avoid the chaos of Times Square, but debuting in less than a week is a technological marvel that might draw even the most Midtown-adverse out of their Uptown or Downtown havens. As CityRealty first reports, Radius Displays, a leading digital sign producer, has plans to introduce a massive 3-D video display in the ad-drenched stretch this month. The billboard, which they are billing as "unlike anything else in Times Square, or indeed the world,” will not only span an impressive 2,600-square-feet but be made up of thousands of individual panels capable of creating mind-boggling Inception-like effects.
more details here
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