Policy

The New York & Atlantic Railway, a little-known freight line that runs through Brooklyn and Queens, is set to receive a significant investment as part of ongoing strategies to relieve congestion in the city, the New York Times reports. Currently, the city’s rail lines only transport two percent of New York’s cargo, while trucks carry about 90 percent. One rail car can carry the equivalent of four trucks, so they could represent a previously "unsung" key to diverting truck traffic, a major contributor to the city’s ongoing battle with gridlock.
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Study for Utica Avenue subway extension launches four years after city secured $5M for it

Photo via Flickr

April 8, 2019

Study for Utica Avenue subway extension launches four years after city secured $5M for it

A study examining the feasibility of extending Brooklyn's Utica Avenue subway line has finally launched, NY1 reported. As part of the Utica Avenue Transit Improvement Study, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the city will look into extending the 3 and 4 train south of Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights to neighborhoods like East Flatbush and Marine Park. Funding for the study has been in place since 2015 when Mayor Bill de Blasio designated $5 million for it as part of his One NYC plan.
Details this way

Gov. Murphy fears New Jersey will get the short straw in congestion pricing details

Via Flickr

April 5, 2019

Gov. Murphy fears New Jersey will get the short straw in congestion pricing details

As details like discounts and transit perks are discussed in the wake of New York’s newly approved plan to levy a congestion fee on vehicles entering Manhattan’s business district south of 61st Street, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has voiced objections to the plan, saying it it could be unfair to New Jersey residents, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the New York Post, commuter rail discounts are on the way for New York City residents coming from areas–such as some in northeast Queens–not served by subways, where the MTA agreed to knock 20 percent–$45–off monthly passes for LIRR commuters entering and leaving Penn Station. The MTA will also invest $3 million for express bus service from Queens to Midtown.
What's the problem here?

Hoboken to become first city in NJ to launch electric scooter rental program

Hoboken’s Transportation Director Ryan Sharp; Photo courtesy of the City of Hoboken

April 4, 2019

Hoboken to become first city in NJ to launch electric scooter rental program

Hoboken is set to launch an electric scooter sharing program, the first in the state of New Jersey and one of the first in the tri-state area. The city's transportation department on Wednesday night passed an ordinance that allows for a six-month pilot program with companies Lime and P3GM to roll out next month. According to the law, the scooters can travel up to 20 miles per hour in bike lanes, but will not be allowed on sidewalks.
Ride this way

Policy

Average NYC Parks bathroom costs taxpayers roughly $3.6M to complete, report says

Comfort station of DeWitt Clinton Park in Hell’s’ Kitchen; via Wikimedia

April 4, 2019

Average NYC Parks bathroom costs taxpayers roughly $3.6M to complete, report says

Bathrooms in the city's parks are flush with cash. The average comfort station built by the New York City Parks Department costs taxpayers just under $3.6 million, according to a report by Yoav Gonen of THE CITY. The Parks Department spent $1.3 million on average for bathrooms in 2011. Last year, the city finished its most expensive park bathroom to date, a $4.7 million station at the Bronx's Ferry Point Park West.
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Policy

Find affordable NYC apartments you actually qualify for with this new tool

Via Creative Commons

April 4, 2019

Find affordable NYC apartments you actually qualify for with this new tool

Apartment hunting in New York City is not easy. Figuring out who qualifies for the city's hundreds of income-restricted units (what even is AMI?) is another challenge entirely. In an attempt to streamline the process of finding affordable housing lotteries, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development this week unveiled a new tool that allows users to search by borough, household size, and income to find lotteries currently accepting applications.
Explore the tool

Image: Wikimedia cc.

April 2, 2019

RPA report for BQE redesign includes ideas for sparing Brooklyn Heights Promenade

A report released today by civic think tank Regional Plan Organization highlights options for the impending Brooklyn-Queens Expressway reconstruction that would appear to upend conventional highway reconstruction policy. The new report suggests that the DOT could actually reduce the number of lanes needed when redesigning the expressway's 1.5-mile “Triple Cantilever” under the historic Brooklyn Heights Promenade, in addition to looking at congestion pricing, HOV restrictions and two-way tolling for the Verrazano Bridge. The demand management policies outlined contain both immediate benefits–like eliminating the need to block access to the historic Brooklyn Heights Promenade–and long-term rewards like reducing pollution.
Fewer highways, less traffic?

Developer can close historic Tribeca clock tower to the public to make way for penthouse, court rules

Images of the 108 Leonard’s newly restored facade courtesy of Hundred Stories PR

April 1, 2019

Developer can close historic Tribeca clock tower to the public to make way for penthouse, court rules

Update 4/1/19: The New York State Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled against a group of preservationists who sued to stop developers from turning a historic clock tower into a penthouse. According to the judge, the LPC does not have the authority to give access to the building and the agency's plan to make the 19th-century clock run electronically is reasonable. Developers had big plans for the luxury condominiums they were creating at the block-long former site of the New York Life Insurance Company at 346 Broadway (also known as 108 Leonard Street) since purchasing it from the city in 2014. The new residential project would hold 140 units starting at $1.5 million, capped by a stunning penthouse that would be priced at over $20 million. The one snag in this golden opportunity: The building's iconic Clock Tower–sometimes called New York's 'Big Ben,' which sits atop the building and was designated an interior landmark in 1987. The clock must be wound by hand, a process which requires access through, as the New York Times reports, the future penthouse. A case against the developers' plan and a subsequent appeal were both won by the opponents, saying the LPC couldn't unwind the clock's landmark status–but an appeal in the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, is still pending.
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New mansion tax will raise $365M for the MTA

220 Central Park South. Image via Vornado Realty Trust and Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

April 1, 2019

New mansion tax will raise $365M for the MTA

New York's 2020 budget was revealed this weekend; among many other items, the proposed "pied-à-terre tax" went away, but a progressive "mansion tax,"–a one-time tax on properties valued from $1 million to $25 million or more–and an attendant transfer tax when those properties sell–will reportedly raise $365 million, according to The Real Deal. The money will head straight to the MTA. The new tax will top out at 4.15 percent.
A big tax on big ticket buys

Policy

Verrazzano Bridge is now the most expensive toll in the country—but only for Brooklynites

After a fare increase that went into effect this past weekend, the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge is now the most expensive bridge to cross in the country, the New York Post reports. The cost to take the Verrazzano from Brooklyn to Staten Island is now $19, up from $17. Drivers with an E-ZPass will be charged a lower rate of $12.24, up from $11.52. Staten Island drivers, however, will be spared the price increase and only have to pay $5.50 under a new rebate program. The cost in that direction was slated to increase to $6 but at the last minute Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature put up $6 million a year to keep the tolls low for folks living on the Forgotten Borough.
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NYC becomes the first city in the country to adopt a congestion pricing program

Via Flickr

April 1, 2019

NYC becomes the first city in the country to adopt a congestion pricing program

Drivers traveling in the busiest parts of Manhattan will be charged an extra fee under a new initiative approved by state lawmakers Sunday. The first of its kind in the country, the "Central Business District Tolling" program installs electronic tolling devices on the perimeter of a zone that covers all neighborhoods south of 60th Street in the borough, with the exception of the West Side Highway and FDR Drive. While details for the program remain unclear, including how much it will cost drivers, the congestion fees will not be implemented until 2021.
Get the details

Via NYC Ferry

March 29, 2019

NYC Ferry gets a $10.37 per ride subsidy despite fewer annual riders than the subway has in a day

By Annie Doge

According to a report from the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) "Swimming in Subsidies," the three-year-old NYC Ferry transports fewer people in a year than the city's subway moves in a day. But at about $10.37 per rider, the ferry's operating subsidy is 10 times that of the New York City Transit system. And an expansion of the system was recently announced that will mean even higher public subsidies–as much as $24.75 per ride for the Coney Island route. Why the steep subsidies? First, operating costs are high due to long routes and leisure-oriented ridership. And revenue is low because fares are tied to subway and bus fares.
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Advocates credit new ‘Right to Counsel’ law with large drop in evictions

Via Flickr

March 27, 2019

Advocates credit new ‘Right to Counsel’ law with large drop in evictions

As 6sqft previously reported, in August of 2017, the city passed a Right to Counsel law which provides free legal help to low-income tenants facing eviction. In its first year the law, which will eventually guarantee representation in housing court to all low-income tenants, provided free legal services to more than 87,000 New Yorkers, and 21,955 New Yorkers threatened by eviction were able to stay in their homes. A new analysis released this week, conducted by the Community Service Society, shows that the decline in evictions happened more than five times faster in zip codes where the Right to Counsel law is currently in effect than in similar zip codes where the law is not in effect.
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Bay Ridge historic district to be considered for landmark status

Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission.

March 26, 2019

Bay Ridge historic district to be considered for landmark status

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted today to calendar the Bay Ridge Parkway Doctors' Row Historic District in the first formal step toward designation. The proposed district is comprised of 54 architecturally consistent row houses along Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood. The row of limestone-fronted houses–referred to as Doctors' Row based on both its historic and current residential demographics–is a distinguished example of the neighborhood's growth from a suburban resort community to an urban neighborhood ahead of the 4th Avenue Subway line in the early 20th century.
More about the neighborhood, this way

Policy

Landlord’s plan to use facial recognition in rent stabilized complex alarms tenants

Google Street View of Atlantic Plaza Apartments

March 26, 2019

Landlord’s plan to use facial recognition in rent stabilized complex alarms tenants

Residents at a 700-unit rent-stabilized complex in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn have expressed concern over their landlord's plan to install facial recognition technology at the building's entrance. Tenants at Atlantic Plaza Towers filed an objection with the state’s Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) agency, which oversees rent-regulated properties, in January, after learning that Nelson Management, their landlord, was seeking state approval to install StoneLock, a facial recognition system, Gothamist reports. Tenants and housing rights attorneys have expressed concerns over the far-reaching possibilities involved in this new method of digital surveillance.
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Policy

East Harlem, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Sunset Park co-ops may get state historic designation

Image via New York State Board for Historic Preservation

March 25, 2019

East Harlem, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Sunset Park co-ops may get state historic designation

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 17 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places today, sites that represent New York's rich history from Long Island through the Finger Lakes. In New York City, four nominees made the cut: the Alku and Alku Toinen buildings in Brooklyn, East Harlem Historic District, George Washington Hotel in Gramercy, and St. Luke's Hospital in Morningside Heights. Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.
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Find out how much a pied-à-terre tax would affect the value of NYC’s most expensive homes

220 Central Park South. Image via Vornado Realty Trust and Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

March 25, 2019

Find out how much a pied-à-terre tax would affect the value of NYC’s most expensive homes

Calls for a so-called pied-à-terre tax have increased since hedge fund manager Ken Griffin closed on a penthouse at 220 Central Park South for over $239 million in January, for a residence that the billionaire will be using as “a place to stay when he’s in town.” And State Budget Director Robert Mujica stated recently that a pied-à-terre tax could be combined with other revenue solutions to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $40 billion in capital needs. Owners of some of the city's highest-priced real estate, however, could face a dramatic dip in their property values if the tax plan is enacted, the Wall Street Journal reports, after an analysis that showed how the heftiest tax would be levied on a small number of houses, co-ops, and condos with market values of $25 million or more. The new tax could potentially slash the value of this handful of pricy properties by almost half.
How much is half of too much?

MTA chooses consultant to oversee L train tunnel project

Via Flickr

March 22, 2019

MTA chooses consultant to oversee L train tunnel project

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has chosen a consultant to oversee the reconstruction of the 100-year-old L train tunnel, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The agency tapped JMT of NY Inc. to review construction timelines and safety and environmental concerns for the never-been-done-before project. After Gov. Andrew Cuomo intervened earlier this year, the MTA revised its original Carnasie Tunnel repair plan to not require the L train to shut down for 15 months, but instead have construction work take place on nights and weekends. But the $1.2 million contract--which must be approved by the MTA board next week--does not include a review of the feasibility of the updated L train plan before construction is set to begin on April 27.
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Two-thirds of voters say losing Amazon deal was bad for New York

Image via NYCEDC

March 19, 2019

Two-thirds of voters say losing Amazon deal was bad for New York

According to a new poll conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, nearly two-thirds of New York state registered voters think Amazon’s decision to cancel its plans for a second headquarters in Queens was bad for New York. Sixty-one percent of the people who were polled say they would approve of the deal—in which Amazon would receive up to $3 billion in state and city incentives and create up to 25,000 jobs—if the company were to reconsider. The results are clear: “While some may have celebrated Amazon’s announcement to pull the plug, the vast majority of New Yorkers of every stripe thought it was bad for the Empire State,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
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Policy

$2.8M from Met admission fees will be allocated to 175 NYC cultural organizations

Image via Pexels

March 19, 2019

$2.8M from Met admission fees will be allocated to 175 NYC cultural organizations

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it would start charging non-New Yorkers $25 for admission and waive its pay-what-you-wish policy for the first time since 1970, most people reacted with disapproval. But there was an under-the-radar benefit to this new policy: The Met agreed to share a portion of the new revenue from admission fees with the city, to be used by the Department of Cultural Affairs in support of the CreateNYC plan. A year after the admission fees went into effect, the de Blasio administration has announced that $2.8 million in additional funding will be allocated to over 175 cultural organizations in underserved communities throughout the five boroughs.
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WeWork Food Labs will open in West Chelsea to support innovative food-related startups

A rendering of the WeWork Food Labs space. Image courtesy of WeWork.

March 15, 2019

WeWork Food Labs will open in West Chelsea to support innovative food-related startups

Coworking, office space leasing (and everything else) company WeWork has launched its second "innovation lab." WeWork Food Labs intends to nurture early-stage startups focused on the future of food. Food Labs will offer dedicated space, community, and programming to entrepreneurs who are tackling challenges in food-related industries from hospitality, consumer goods and kitchen appliances to supply chain management, agricultural technology, distribution software, robotics and more, all of which are apparently very much in need of innovation. A flagship New York City location will open in late 2019 at 511 West 25th Street adjacent to the High Line in West Chelsea.
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Policy

Rendering of 200 Amsterdam Avenue via SJP Properties/ Elkus Manfredi

March 15, 2019

Court rules against the 668-foot tower already rising at 200 Amsterdam Avenue

A state Supreme Court ruling on Thursday overruled the city’s decision to allow a permit for 200 Amsterdam Avenue, the controversial Upper West Side condo project that has been challenged by community groups and elected officials because of its oddly-shaped, gerrymandered lot. As Crain’s reports, the Board of Standards and Appeals, which approved the project last year, has been ordered to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate the permit for the project led by developers SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan, who have already started construction at the 69th Street site.
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De Blasio unveils $10B plan to flood-proof Lower Manhattan by extending shoreline into the East River

Via Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office

March 14, 2019

De Blasio unveils $10B plan to flood-proof Lower Manhattan by extending shoreline into the East River

Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled on Thursday a $10 billion plan to extend the coastline of Lower Manhattan as much as 500 feet to protect from future floods. The Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency project is the result of a study that looked at ways to build resilience in low-lying neighborhoods like the Financial District and South Street Seaport. The study found the only feasible measure for these areas would be extending the shoreline about two city blocks into the East River by adding a new piece of land at or above 20 feet from current sea level.
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Without a firehouse, thousands of Hudson Yards residents and visitors are at risk, FDNY union says

Hudson Yards via Maciek Lulko on Flickr

March 14, 2019

Without a firehouse, thousands of Hudson Yards residents and visitors are at risk, FDNY union says