Eric Adams

May 25, 2023

Citing influx of migrants, Adams looks to suspend NYC’s right to shelter rule

Citing the arrival of thousands of migrants in the city, Mayor Eric Adams wants to suspend a decades-old rule guaranteeing shelter to anyone. Adams on Tuesday filed an application with a judge asking to alter the city's right to shelter rule, which guarantees any homeless person looking for shelter access to temporary housing. The mayor is looking to rewrite the rule, which has been in place for 40 years, to allow the city to suspend the right for homeless adults when it "lacks the resources and capacity to establish and maintain sufficient shelter sites," according to Gothamist.
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May 15, 2023

NYC’s historic Roosevelt Hotel becomes arrival center for asylum seekers

A historic hotel in Midtown that has been closed since the start of the pandemic will become the city’s first arrival center for migrants, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Saturday. Located at 45 East 45th Street, The Roosevelt Hotel will serve as a “centralized intake center” for all arriving asylum seekers, providing them with legal, medical, and reconnection services and up to 175 rooms for children and families starting later this week. The new shelter is the ninth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center opened by the city; more migrants are expected to arrive in New York after the end of the pandemic-era rule Title 42, which let the U.S. quickly expel migrants without documentation.
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April 20, 2023

NYC will repair 400 vacant rent-stabilized apartments to house homeless New Yorkers

New York City will invest up to $10 million to provide homeless New Yorkers with newly repaired, rent-stabilized homes. As part of the new "Unlocking Doors" program, the city will invest up to $25,000 for urgent renovations at 400 rent-stabilized homes that have fallen into disrepair and are unavailable for rent. The city will then match households with City Fighting Homeless and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers with the new apartments.
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April 13, 2023

New York City hires its first-ever ‘rat czar’

New York City has finally found the rat vanquisher it's been looking for. Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city's first-ever director of rodent mitigation, also referred to as the "rat czar." Corradi, who will earn $155,000, will work with city government agencies, community organizations, and private sector companies to effectively reduce the rat population across the five boroughs.
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March 30, 2023

NYC to launch new hybrid ferry to Governors Island

New York City's first-ever public hybrid-electric ferry will set sail next summer. Revealed on Wednesday by Mayor Eric Adams and the Trust for Governors Island, the new vessel uses a hybrid propulsion system that drastically reduces air pollution, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 600 tons per year, according to a press release. The ferry will start carrying passengers between Lower Manhattan and Governors Island in the summer of 2024.
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March 27, 2023

Adams proposes NYC’s first composting mandate

For the first time ever, New York City residents will be required to separate their organic waste from their other garbage or face fines. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday proposed NYC's first composting mandate, a new policy that will require New Yorkers with yards to separate yard waste, which are biodegradable materials like leaves, flowers, twigs, and grass clippings, into a separate bin for pickup by the NYC Department of Sanitation. Residents who fail to do so will have to pay fines similar to the penalties for failing to recycle properly.
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March 22, 2023

7-mile Harlem River Greenway expansion connects Randall’s Island to Van Cortlandt Park

New York City is expanding the Harlem River Greenway to the Bronx. Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced plans for a seven-mile continuous walking and biking path linking Randall's Island and Van Cortlandt Park. The new greenway aims to reconnect Bronxites to the Harlem River waterfront, which has been largely inaccessible since the construction of the Major Deegan Expressway in the 1930s.
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March 22, 2023

NYC to lift ban on e-bikes in city parks this summer

New Yorkers will soon be able to ride electric bikes and scooters in New York City parks legally. As part of a pilot program starting this summer, the city's Department of Parks and Recreation will drop its current ban on certain electric vehicles on park drives and greenways, lifting a rule that conflicts with state laws. The pilot program is one part of a plan unveiled by Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday aimed at promoting the safe usage of e-bikes and other electric micro-mobility devices and preventing fires caused by lithium-ion batteries.
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March 15, 2023

City breaks ground on $1.6B project to protect Gowanus Canal from pollution

New York City on Wednesday broke ground on one of two new underground storage tanks that will prevent pollution of Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. The $1.6 billion project will prevent up to 12 million gallons of sewer overflow from entering the canal during rainstorms and flooding events. The first tank, bounded by Nevins Street, Butler street, and Degraw Street, will hold up to eight million gallons of sewage waste and include 3.6 acres of public open space on the waterfront.
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March 13, 2023

NYC’s redesign of Broadway blocks into pedestrian-friendly stretch begins

New York City will begin its transformation of an iconic stretch of Broadway into a pedestrian-friendly corridor this week, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday. The work is part of the first phase of "Broadway Vision," a plan to make the chaotic and crowded streets between Madison Square and Herald Square safer by banning cars on some blocks and creating more space for pedestrians. As part of the first phase, the city will add two new plazas, shared streets, and a two-way bike lane on Broadway from West 25th Street to West 32nd Street.
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January 26, 2023

NYC’s curbside composting program coming to all five boroughs

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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January 23, 2023

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

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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December 19, 2022

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

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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December 15, 2022

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

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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December 9, 2022

Adams unveils plan to create 500K new homes by 2032

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday unveiled a new, three-part strategy to tackle the city's affordable housing crisis. Dubbed "Get Stuff Built," the plan aims to address the housing crisis by accelerating the creation of new housing, setting a "moonshot" goal of creating 500,000 new homes over the next decade.
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November 16, 2022

NYC’s first professional soccer stadium will open in Queens

New York City's first professional soccer stadium will be built in Queens, officials announced Wednesday. The major mixed-use development is proposed for Willets Point, across the street from Citi Field. In addition to a 25,000-seat stadium for the New York City Football Club, the 23-acre project also includes a hotel, thousands of affordable housing units, and a new public school. As first reported by the New York Times, the stadium is expected to be completed by 2027.
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November 15, 2022

Adams announces overhaul of NYC’s housing voucher program

New York City officials are fighting the city's looming housing crisis with a few major policy changes. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced new housing reforms that will help homeless New Yorkers easily transition from the shelter system into affordable and supportive housing and give them access to housing in higher-income neighborhoods that have previously been out of reach for lower-income families.
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November 7, 2022

2,600 supportive housing units in NYC remain vacant despite new developments

The city has delivered on its promise to create more housing for homeless and mentally ill New Yorkers but has had trouble actually filling the units, according to a new report. Data released by the city last week obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed that 2,600 supportive housing units are still vacant despite New York City's urgent housing crisis and despite Mayor Eric Adams' pledge to streamline the application process for these apartments, as first reported by the New York Times.
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October 27, 2022

Finalist proposals unveiled for new climate change center on Governors Island

Mayor Eric Adams and the Trust for Governors Island on Wednesday unveiled the three finalists for the city's global competition to design a state-of-the-art research institution on Governors Island dedicated to climate solutions. The so-called Center for Climate Solutions will create 7,000 permanent jobs, approximately $1 billion in economic impact, and develop innovative ways for New York City and the rest of the world to address the climate crisis, according to the city. The winning design team will be announced next year.
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October 18, 2022

NYC to fight ‘plague of rats’ by pushing back trash pick-up to 8 p.m.

New York City wants to adjust the time of day trash can be put out as a way to curb rat infestations and improve overall cleanliness. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a proposal to push back the window New Yorkers can put out their trash for collection from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The city says this policy change will make the streets cleaner, ease traffic and pedestrian flow, and reduce the number of rats drawn to trash. The proposed rules are open to a public comment period through November 10, with final rules set to take effect on April 1, 2023.
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October 3, 2022

NYC to transform vacant public spaces into rest hubs for food delivery workers

New York City will soon provide a place for food delivery workers to rest, charge devices, and take shelter from the elements. Mayor Eric Adams and Sen. Chuck Schumer on Monday announced a new pilot program that transforms existing and underused structures across the city, like vacant newsstands, into "Street Deliveristas Hubs." The first of its kind in the nation, the program aims to reach the city's 65,000 app-based delivery workers.
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September 20, 2022

NYC will provide free high-speed internet and cable to most NYCHA tenants

Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced the launch of "Big Apple Connect," a program that will provide free high-speed internet and cable television to roughly 300,000 New Yorkers living in more than 200 of the city's public housing developments by the end of next year. The program is the result of a partnership between the city's Office of Technology and Innovation and Optimum.
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September 12, 2022

NYC clears water for drinking at the Jacob Riis Houses after false alarm over arsenic results

Positive test results showing dangerous levels of arsenic in an East Village public housing complex were false. Environmental Monitoring and Technologies Inc., the testing firm that originally reported unsafe levels of arsenic at the Jacob Riis Houses, said there had been "trace levels" of arsenic introduced into the original testing samples analyzed on August 26, resulting in a false positive test, as Gothamist reported. The city on Saturday announced the tap water was cleared for drinking following new tests of the original water sample.
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