Eric Adams

May 6, 2022

Rent Guidelines Board set to approve biggest rent hike for NYC’s stabilized apartments in a decade

Millions of New Yorkers could soon be hit with the biggest rent hike in a decade. In a preliminary 5-4 vote on Thursday, the city's Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) voted to increase rents on stabilized apartments between 2 and 4 percent for one-year leases and between 4 and 6 percent for two-year leases. If approved, the rent hikes would be the largest since 2013 when there was a 4 percent increase for one-year leases and a 7.75 percent increase for two-year leases. A final decision by the board is expected in June.
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May 2, 2022

Plan to convert vacant hotels into affordable housing backed by Mayor Adams

Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday called on Albany to pass legislation that makes it easier for New York City to convert vacant and underused hotels into affordable housing. Introduced earlier this year by Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz and State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, the bill creates an exemption to zoning rules that require developers to undergo the city's lengthy land use review process or complete major renovations for hotels to become permanent housing. While the idea of converting hotels into housing has been floated by lawmakers for years without getting off the ground, the city's growing housing and homelessness crises have renewed a push from officials.
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April 27, 2022

Adams adds record $171M in budget to fund 1,400 shelter beds for homeless New Yorkers

Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday announced an additional $171 million for homeless services in his proposed executive budget for the fiscal year 2023. The mayor says the investment will pay for 1,400 Safe Haven and stabilization beds, small-scale alternatives to traditional shelter settings, the creation of three drop-in centers, and improving ongoing outreach efforts. The investment, which City Hall says would be the largest of its kind to be made by the city, will be allocated every year beginning next fiscal year.
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April 25, 2022

Adams announces nearly $1B investment for NYC Streets Plan

City officials are continuing their efforts to ensure the safety of New Yorkers traveling the streets. Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday announced a historic $904 million investment to help fund the NYC Streets Plan and address the city's traffic violence problem by creating a safer and more environmentally friendly transportation infrastructure. Over the next five years, the investment will be used to expand bike lanes and bus lanes throughout the city and will be put towards the creation of new pedestrian spaces.
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April 21, 2022

NYC finally launches containerized trash bin pilot

Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Wednesday unveiled a new containerized waste bin that the city will eventually deploy across all five boroughs in hopes of thwarting rats, making more room on the sidewalks, and improving the overall quality of life for residents. The new bins are part of the city's Clean Curbs Pilot program, which was announced two years ago. The first bins were installed in Times Square on Wednesday.
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April 19, 2022

NYC restores alternate-side parking to clean streets and bike lanes

New York City officials announced plans to allocate millions of dollars to better clean city streets and bike lanes. Mayor Eric Adams and just-appointed Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday announced an $11 million investment for new street cleaning initiatives and better mobility for the sanitation department. Under the initiative, alternate-side parking will return in full force starting July 5. New Yorkers will have to move their cars twice per week, up from once a week during the pandemic, to clear the way for street sweepers and avoid getting a parking ticket.
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April 13, 2022

After Sunset Park shooting, Adams ‘doubles’ number of police officers on subway

Mayor Eric Adams said he will double the number of police officers patrolling the transit system after a mass shooting at a subway station in Sunset Park left over two dozen people injured. Police on Wednesday identified 62-year-old Frank James as the suspect; they believe James detonated a smoke device and began shooting on an N train during rush hour Tuesday morning. The additional deployment comes after Adams deployed 1,000 additional officers earlier this year because of a recent uptick in crime on the subway.
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April 5, 2022

Council wants additional $3.1B to build up ‘NYC Streets Plan’

The New York City Council is calling on Mayor Eric Adams to allocate an additional $3.1 billion to build more bike lanes, bus lanes, and space for pedestrians. In a response to the mayor's preliminary budget for the fiscal year 2023 published this week, the council said the mayor would not be able to fulfill his campaign promise of building 300 miles of protected bus lanes during his first term due to a lack of funding. According to the council, the increased investment would allow for 500 miles of protected bike lanes, 500 miles of bus lanes, and 38 million square feet of open pedestrian space, according to the Council's proposal.
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April 4, 2022

Adams takes aim at ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law with new campaign inviting LGBTQ Floridians to NYC

New York City on Monday rolled out a new marketing campaign in Florida inviting the state's LGBTQ community to move to the five boroughs in response to the recent "Don't Say Gay" legislation signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The five ads, which will run across digital billboards and on social media in five cities in the Sunshine State, are meant to highlight the inclusiveness of New York City and take aim at the new legislation, which bans the teaching and conversation of sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten to third grade in the Florida school system. The campaign also comes after DeSantis released an ad showing New Yorkers who moved to Florida.
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April 1, 2022

NYC sues ‘worst’ landlord who has racked up over 1,900 violations

The city this week filed a lawsuit against landlord Moshe Piller, who has accumulated over 1,900 violations for dangerous conditions across 15 buildings he owns in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday said the purpose of the lawsuit is to pressure Piller to repair his property or face "tens of millions" in civil penalties.
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March 30, 2022

NYC has cleared over 230 homeless encampments in less than two weeks

Under Mayor Eric Adams' plan to crack down on street homelessness, the city has cleaned 239 homeless encampments since the program began less than two weeks ago. On Wednesday, the mayor, along with a task force made up of officials from the city's parks, sanitation, police, and homeless services departments, said the first phase of the city's effort to remove make-shift shelters from public spaces concluded, with the second phase, which will involve recanvassing the sites identified, beginning tomorrow.
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March 30, 2022

NYC opens safe haven site in the South Bronx for homeless New Yorkers

Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday the opening of the Morris Avenue Safe Haven site in the Bronx. The new facility will expand shelter access with 80 beds as well as offer on-site medical, mental health, and substance abuse services to New Yorkers who need them. The new facility is part of Adams' Subway Safety Plan to add 500 low-barrier beds for homeless New Yorkers, with 350 of them to be made available this week.
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March 24, 2022

NYC’s unvaccinated athletes and performers are now exempt from vaccine mandate, Adams announces

New York City's unvaccinated athletes and performers will be able to compete and perform at local venues under a new order reversing part of the city's private-sector vaccine mandate. Mayor Eric Adams announced on Thursday the city will expand a current exemption that has allowed unvaccinated players and entertainers who lived outside of the city to perform or play in New York to hometown athletes and performers. The decision comes just two weeks before the start of the Major League Baseball season, allowing Yankees and Mets players who have not confirmed their vaccination status to take the field at home, as well as confirmed unvaccinated Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving to play at the Barclays Center.
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March 21, 2022

New order from Adams boosts fire safety inspections at residential buildings after deadly Bronx fire

New York City officials are working to bolster fire safety in the wake of the devasting Bronx apartment fire in January that killed 17 people. Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday signed an executive order that aims to improve coordination between the city's Fire Department and inspectors from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to identify safety violations earlier and increase fire safety compliance. The mayor said he plans to work with the City Council to pass a number of fire safety bills, including legislation that would increase fines for landlords who falsely report curing a self-closing door violation.
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March 15, 2022

NYC to roll out secure bike parking pods at five high-traffic cycling spots

Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez last Friday announced the city will be piloting a new bike parking model this spring. DOT will be testing Brooklyn-based company Oonee's "Mini," a prototype of the company's six-bike corral, at five high-traffic locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens over the next couple of months. The pilot program is part of the city's broader effort to expand secure bike parking.
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March 14, 2022

NYC to resume work on over 100 delayed parks projects this spring

Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday announced over 100 park projects halted due to the pandemic will resume work this spring. The city has invested $417 million in NYC Parks to break ground on the 104 projects, which is a 142 percent increase in new park projects compared to 2021. According to a press release, more than 86 percent of the new projects implement sustainable features like LED lighting, rain gardens, new trees, stormwater capture systems, and the use of recycled materials. Roughly 62 percent of these new projects are being installed in neighborhoods classified as underserved and are expected to be completed by the summer of 2023.
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March 10, 2022

Project transforming run-down city buildings into ‘green’ affordable housing kicks off in Queens

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced a milestone has been reached in a major project designed to improve quality of life and tackle the affordable housing crisis in Southeast Queens. Construction has begun on "Habitat Net Zero," a project that will transform 13 run-down buildings owned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) into 16 green homes for affordable homeownership.
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March 7, 2022

Study says vaccines prevented 48,000+ Covid deaths in NYC

More than 48,000 deaths, 300,000 hospitalizations, and 1.9 million cases have been prevented since the city's Covid-19 vaccination campaign started in December 2020, the New York City Health Department announced on Friday.  “COVID-19 vaccines have saved so many lives and prevented an immense amount of suffering," Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, Health Commissioner, said. "Nearly 48,000 New Yorkers will celebrate another birthday this year due to the power of vaccination."
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March 3, 2022

South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to become one of nation’s largest offshore wind ports

Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced an agreement that will transform New York City's South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into one of the country's largest offshore wind ports. As part of the deal made with the city's Economic Development Corporation, Equinor, and the Sustainable South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, L.P., the terminal will become a power interconnection site for the Empire Wind 1 project, with heavy-lift platforms being built on the 39th Street Pier for use as wind turbine staging. The terminal's transformation will help the city meet its climate goal of having 100 percent clean electricity by 2040.
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February 24, 2022

NYC reaches $2.25M settlement with notorious Crown Heights landlord duo

Mayor Eric Adams and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday announced a $2.25 million settlement against Gennaro Brooks-Church and Loretta Gendville, who attempted to illegally evict tenants at their Brooklyn property during the pandemic in violation of the state's moratorium, and reportedly ran an illegal hotel operation over the course of several years. By terms of the settlement, the property located at 1214 Dean Street in Crown Heights will be turned over to the city and transformed into affordable housing, with the previous owners paying $250,000 in fines.
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February 23, 2022

Mayor’s budget comes up short on housing and homelessness, NYC advocates say

Mayor Eric Adams released the city's preliminary budget for fiscal year 2023 last Wednesday, placing emphasis on public safety, employment, and aiding the plight of the city's youngest residents by addressing childcare and at-risk youth. While the mayor's safety-focused policy actions–prohibiting homeless people from sleeping in subway stations, for example–made headlines, advocates for equitable housing and the homeless say the proposed budget is a disappointment without a previously promised focus on those basic needs.
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February 18, 2022

NYC announces plan to stop homeless New Yorkers from sheltering on the subway

New York City will increase enforcement of certain rules in the subway system as part of a broader safety plan to address homelessness announced by Mayor Eric Adams and the MTA on Friday. The NYPD will boost their enforcement of the "rules of conduct," which includes the prohibition of lying down or sleeping in a way that interferes with others, exhibiting aggressive behavior, spitting, smoking, using drugs, and "using the subway for any purpose other than transportation," according to the 17-page plan. "No more just doing whatever you want," Adams said on Friday. "Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system, and get off at your destination."
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February 15, 2022

NYC commits $75M to Fair Fares program, makes it a permanent part of budget

Funding for New York City's Fair Fares program, which offers a 50 percent discount on subway and bus trips for low-income New Yorkers, has been secured annually for the first time ever. Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams on Monday announced an agreement to baseline $75 million in funding for the program for the upcoming fiscal year 2023 budget. Fair Fares was originally funded at $106 million in 2020, but pandemic-related budget cuts reduced funding for the program to just over $40 million.
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