City Council

October 18, 2019

NYC Council approves plan to replace Rikers Island with four new jails

The New York City Council on Thursday approved a plan that would close the notorious Rikers Island complex and replace it with four smaller jails across the city. The nearly $9 billion proposal, released by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017, pledges to shutter Rikers in 10 years by dramatically reducing the city's jail population. It involves housing inmates in new facilities in Lower Manhattan, the South Bronx, Downtown Brooklyn, and Kew Gardens that are better integrated with the surrounding communities, as well as located closer to court systems.
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Policy

Report suggests looking to zoning to speed up subway accessibility; map shows which lines lag

Photo via Carl Mikoy / Flickr cc

September 30, 2019

Report suggests looking to zoning to speed up subway accessibility; map shows which lines lag

By Michelle Cohen

Despite recent progress–and a federal lawsuit–only 23 percent of New York City's 493 subway and Staten Island Railway (SIR) stations are fully ADA-accessible, a statistic which puts the city dead last among the country’s 10 largest metro systems for accessibility of its transit stations. The MTA has made a commitment to funding accessibility in its much-discussed Capital Plan, but hundreds of stations are still without without plans for ADA access. On Friday Speaker Corey Johnson and the City Council released a report showing that the use of zoning tools to incentivize or require private development projects to address subway station access could speed up progress toward the goal of system-wide ADA access–and simultaneously cut public expense. The report, and an interactive map, show the current system, future plans and what the use of zoning tools could accomplish.
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NYC Council approves pilot program for air-conditioned ‘pet harbors’ outside of Brooklyn shops

Via Flickr

July 24, 2019

NYC Council approves pilot program for air-conditioned ‘pet harbors’ outside of Brooklyn shops

By Devin Gannon

Pets in Brooklyn may soon be able to wait more securely outside for their owners. The New York City Council on Tuesday approved a bill that asks the city to create a program for "pet harbors" on sidewalks next to commercial establishments. This will allow pet owners, for a fee, to leave animals in the climate-controlled, enclosed container, for no longer than an hour as they shop or get a cup of coffee.
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Policy

Plan approved to replace Elizabeth Street Garden with affordable senior housing development

Rendering courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

June 27, 2019

Plan approved to replace Elizabeth Street Garden with affordable senior housing development

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan to replace a community garden in Little Italy with an affordable housing complex for seniors. The project, first introduced by Council Member Margaret Chin in 2012, will rise on the site of Elizabeth Street Garden, a quirky green space created in 1991 by Allan Reiver, who owns the gallery next to the garden. The complex, dubbed Haven Green, will include 123 affordable apartments and ground-floor retail. Originally, developers agreed to keep 8,000 square feet of public space at the site, but on Wednesday Chin said she reached an agreement to incorporate more open space at Haven Green through a courtyard next door.
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The Clinton Hill block where Notorious B.I.G. grew up has officially been named after the famous rapper

Images via New York City Council on Flickr

June 11, 2019

The Clinton Hill block where Notorious B.I.G. grew up has officially been named after the famous rapper

By Alexandra Alexa

Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of people gathered at St. James Place in Clinton Hill on Monday to honor the legacy of Christopher Wallace, better known as Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls. As amNY first reported, the block between Fulton Street and Gates Avenue—where the famous rapper grew up—will now also be known as "Christopher 'Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace Way." Biggie's mother, Voletta Wallace, was present at the event and she remembered the last time she saw a huge crowd on the street, the day Biggie was murdered 22 years ago. “It was a sad day,” Wallace said, “and when I saw the crowds, tears came to my eyes and I said to my friend, ‘My son was well-loved.’” This time around, seeing everyone gathered there for the unveiling brought "happy tears" to her eyes.
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Celebrities

NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park

Photo of Hart Island via Flickr

May 31, 2019

NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park

By Devin Gannon

One of the country's largest burial ground may become a city park. The New York City Council is considering making Hart Island, an island located off of the Bronx coast where roughly one million people have been buried since the Civil War, more accessible to visitors. Because the city's Department of Correction (DOC) currently maintains the site and hires inmates from Rikers Island to bury bodies there, access remains restricted. During a hearing Thursday, the City Council introduced a package of legislation aimed at improving Hart Island, including one bill that would transfer control of the land from the DOC to the city's parks department.
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Policy

NYC Council votes to close mechanical void loophole

Rendering of 50 West 66th Street; courtesy of Binyan Studios/ Snøhetta

May 30, 2019

NYC Council votes to close mechanical void loophole

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council on Wednesday voted to close a zoning loophole that has allowed developers to fill multiple floors of a tower with mechanical equipment without counting the floors as part of the building. The so-called mechanical void loophole enabled taller residential towers, and therefore higher, more expensive units, without actually creating more housing. The amendment approved by the Council will count mechanical voids taller than 25 feet as zoning floor area, as Crain's reported.
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Policy

NYC Council approves 17 tenant protection bills, including one that closes ‘Kushner loophole’

Via Flickr

May 9, 2019

NYC Council approves 17 tenant protection bills, including one that closes ‘Kushner loophole’

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council on Wednesday passed a package of 17 bills intended to protect tenants from landlord abuse. The legislation includes closing the so-called "Kushner loophole," which had allowed landlords to file false paperwork with the city's Department of Buildings. The bill comes a year after President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's family's firm, Kushner Companies, was found to have falsely claimed it had no rent-regulated tenants in dozens of buildings it owned when it actually had hundreds.
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Policy

NYC Council approves JPMorgan’s 70-story Midtown East tower

Via Flickr

May 9, 2019

NYC Council approves JPMorgan’s 70-story Midtown East tower

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council on Wednesday approved the first supertall to be constructed under the Midtown East rezoning. JPMorgan Chase will build a new 70-story headquarters at the site of its current offices at 270 Park Avenue. The rezoning, adopted by the city in 2017, affects more than 70 blocks around Grand Central Terminal and encourages the construction of taller, more modern office towers in the neighborhood. Designed by Norman Foster's Foster + Partners, the 1,400-foot building is set to become one of the tallest structures in the city and the tallest office building by roof height.
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Policy

Staten Island intersection is renamed to honor legacy of the Wu-Tang Clan

Photo by Jeff Reed, courtesy of NYC Council/Flickr

May 6, 2019

Staten Island intersection is renamed to honor legacy of the Wu-Tang Clan

By Alexandra Alexa

Following a unanimous New York City Council vote back in December, The Wu-Tang Clan was made a permanent part of New York City on Saturday when the Park Hill neighborhood of Staten Island was renamed The Wu-Tang Clan District. As CNN first reported, city officials, fans, community members, and several Wu-Tang members gathered for the unveiling of the new street sign—located at the corner of Targee Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, where the music video for "Can It All Be So Simple" was filmed—that makes it official. "I never saw this day coming," Ghostface Killah said in a speech at the event. "I knew we were some ill MCs, but I didn't know that it'd take it this far."
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Celebrities

Proposed law forces big NYC buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030

By Devin Gannon

New York City is ramping up its fight against climate change with a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from high-rise buildings by 40 percent over the next decade. The City Council is expected to pass on Thursday an eight-bill legislative package that has been called its own version of the Green New Deal. The most ambitious bill of the lot requires NYC buildings 25,000 square feet or bigger to meet new standards to reduce greenhouse gas outputs by upgrading them with energy-efficient technology.
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City’s plans to allocate $500M to affordable senior housing not progressing as anticipated

Image via Wikimedia Commons

April 11, 2019

City’s plans to allocate $500M to affordable senior housing not progressing as anticipated

By Alexandra Alexa

Last June, the city committed $500 million toward a plan to construct 1,000 new apartments for low-income senior citizens, but now almost a year later those plans are moving forward much slower than expected, Politico reports. The plan had identified six potential sites—two at New York City Housing Authority properties Kingsborough Houses in Brooklyn and Morris Houses in the Bronx, and four on other city-owned lots—but so far the city has only requested developer proposals for one of those sites.
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NYC Council Members to introduce legislation that limits security deposits and broker fees

Via CityRealty

February 13, 2019

NYC Council Members to introduce legislation that limits security deposits and broker fees

By Devin Gannon

A package of legislation being introduced in the City Council on Wednesday aims to make renting in New York City more affordable. The bills, drafted by Council Members Keith Powers and Carlina Rivera, would limit broker fees and security deposits each to one month's rent, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The bills come after a report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer released last summer found that New Yorkers paid over $507 million in security deposits in 2016.
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Policy

Amazon will fight efforts to unionize by NYC workforce

A rendering of One Court Square in LIC, where Amazon will temporarily move this year; via NYCEDC

January 31, 2019

Amazon will fight efforts to unionize by NYC workforce

By Devin Gannon

During a heated City Council hearing on Wednesday, Amazon said it will oppose efforts by its New York City workforce to unionize. Speaker Corey Johnson asked Brian Huseman, the public policy vice president for Amazon, if the company would allow workers to unionize while remaining neutral during the process. Huseman responded, "No, sir," establishing a tense tone for the rest of the hearing, the Daily News reported.
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Policy

Council bill would require NYC developers to disclose relationships with public officials

Via Wikimedia

January 9, 2019

Council bill would require NYC developers to disclose relationships with public officials

By Devin Gannon

Real estate developers would be required to disclose prior relationships with politicians before signing any deals with the city under a new bill being introduced Wednesday by Council Member Ben Kallos. The legislation would also make developers reveal their ownership interests and their Minority Women Business Enterprise status. "Well-connected developers should not be getting sweetheart deals on the taxpayer's dime," Kallos said in an email.
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Policy

City Council votes to name NYC streets after Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and Woodie Guthrie

Via Flickr

December 27, 2018

City Council votes to name NYC streets after Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and Woodie Guthrie

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council last week unanimously voted to co-name streets in honor of three NYC music icons, Notorious B.I.G., the Wu-Tang Clan, and folk singer Woody Guthrie, Gothamist reported. If the bills are signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the block in Brooklyn where B.I.G. grew up will be called Christopher Wallace Way, after the rapper's birth name, Staten Island's Vanderbilt Avenue and Targee Street will be known as the Wu-Tang Clan District, and Woodie Guthrie Way will be found on Mermaid Avenue, marking where the singer lived in Coney Island.
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Policy

Via CityRealty

November 30, 2018

NYC Council to grill city leaders on Amazon deal

By Devin Gannon

Citing concerns about the closed-door deal that drove Amazon to choose Long Island City as home for its second headquarters, the New York City Council announced it will host three hearings to question both city leaders and company exeuctives. Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the first hearing will take place on Dec. 12 to look at how the deal happened, as the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. "One of the major perversions of this is that was all done behind closed doors, with nondisclosure agreements, and without the public or elected officials who weren't including feeling like they had any say," Johnson told the WSJ.
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Policy

City Council approves 80 Flatbush development in Downtown Brooklyn

Rendering of the 986-foot tower (left) and revised 840-foot tower (right) via Alloy Development and Luxigon

September 27, 2018

City Council approves 80 Flatbush development in Downtown Brooklyn

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council voted on Wednesday to approve 80 Flatbush, a five-building mixed-use development planned for Downtown Brooklyn, Curbed NY reported. The approval comes after negotiations last week between Alloy Development and Council Member Stephen Levin, who represents the area, which led to a shorter, less-dense complex. After the developers agreed to cut the height of two buildings, one from 986 feet to 840 feet and another from 560 to 510 feet, the Council's subcommittee on zoning voted in favor of the project.
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Real Estate Trends

September 21, 2018

Plan for eight-story hotel next to historic Merchant’s House Museum faces major setback

By Michelle Cohen

In June, a petition was filed in New York Supreme Court to prevent the construction of an eight-story hotel next door to the historic Merchant’s House Museum in the East Village. Now, Curbed reports, the proposal to build the hotel was unanimously rejected Thursday by the City Council’s subcommittee on zoning and franchises. The 186-year-old townhouse belonged to hardware merchant Seabury Tredwell, who bought the 10,000-square-foot residence for $18,000 in 1832.
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NYC Council legislation and electric buses may aid L train shutdown agony

Via Wikimedia

September 13, 2018

NYC Council legislation and electric buses may aid L train shutdown agony

By Michelle Cohen

Several bills were passed in New York City Council on Wednesday to help address the inconvenience and traffic chaos expected during the planned 15-month L train tunnel closure for repairs due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, slated to begin in April 2019. The legislation calls for information centers in both Brooklyn and Manhattan, complaint investigation resources, and the fast-tracking of a new electric bus fleet, Curbed reports.
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Transit

NYC Council passes one-year cap on Uber and Lyft

Via joiseyshowaa on Flickr

August 9, 2018

NYC Council passes one-year cap on Uber and Lyft

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council approved on Wednesday a package of legislation to regulate for-hire vehicles, like Uber and Lyft, making New York the first major city to cap new licenses. The legislation will stop issuing licenses to for-hire vehicles for one year, as the city studies the growing industry. And a minimum wage, which could start at $17.22 an hour, will be established for app-based drivers, which no city has done before.
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Via CityRealty

August 7, 2018

De Blasio signs bill forcing Airbnb to disclose names and addresses of hosts

By Devin Gannon

Update 8/7/18: Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday signed into law a bill that cracks down on the number of illegal Airbnb listings in New York City. Taking effect in February 2019, the new law requires the company to disclose the names and addresses of its hosts. The information will be turned over to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. The New York City Council passed a bill on Wednesday that requires Airbnb and other home-sharing sites to provide the names and addresses of its hosts to the city. Under state law, it remains illegal in most buildings to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days unless the permanent tenant is there. Just hours before the council unanimously voted for this legislation, an Airbnb host from Brooklyn, Stanley Karol, sued the city in federal court for fining him $30,000 after speaking out against the bill. "I believe that the City has sought to silence me, by not only saddling me with massive fines, but also making me feel unsafe in my own home," Karol said.
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NYC commits $500M in plan to build thousands of affordable apartments for seniors on unused land

Photo via Wiki Commons

June 13, 2018

NYC commits $500M in plan to build thousands of affordable apartments for seniors on unused land

By Michelle Cohen

As part of the new city budget, New York City has committed $500 million toward a plan to construct thousands of new apartments for low-income senior citizens on vacant public housing land, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new units would also free up existing NYCHA units currently occupied by seniors for people currently on wait lists for housing.
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Luxury condos may be off the table at Crown Heights armory after City Council hearing

Rendering of the Bedford Courts development planned for the Bedford-Union Armory; image: BFC Partners/Bedford Courts

November 15, 2017

Luxury condos may be off the table at Crown Heights armory after City Council hearing

By Michelle Cohen

Amid growing opposition, the proposed Crown Heights Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment project began its evaluation by the City Council at a hearing Tuesday on land use applications filed by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), amNewYork reports. The massive armory, once housing for the National Guard, became city property in 2013. The EDC plans to sell the property to developer BFC Partners for the creation of 56 condos, of which 20 percent would be income restricted. The remaining market rate condos would help pay for the rest of the project, which would be leased by BFC Partners and would include 330 rentals (165 affordable), office space and a recreation center. Critics say the city is setting a dangerous precedent by leasing public land for private use, especially when market-rate condos are included. The de Blasio administration has championed the recreation center and housing, but the plan has has come under fire by neighborhood advocacy groups and has had an uphill battle in achieving the City Council approval it needs.
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$2.75 congestion fee proposed for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street

Image via Pexels

June 5, 2017

$2.75 congestion fee proposed for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street

By Michelle Cohen

Image via Pexels Advocacy group Move NY has suggested that the city impose a congestion charge on motorists driving on Manhattan's most crowded streets. Similar proposals haven't fared well in the state legislature–but the group cites a 1957 state law that says cities with a population of over a million can toll their own roadways and bridges. The Wall Street Journal reports that Move NY will offer the City Council's transportation committee a new proposal today under which the city would impose a $2.75 charge on automobiles entering Manhattan's central business district below 60th Street. The fee for trucks would be higher; for-hire vehicles including taxis would pay a congestion surcharge based on trips within the zone.
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