Lincoln Restler

Mamdani signs bill restoring year-round outdoor dining in NYC

Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

September 1, 2026

Mamdani signs bill restoring year-round outdoor dining in NYC

It's official: outdoor dining is once again a year-round fixture in New York City. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday signed legislation establishing a permanent, year-round outdoor dining program that allows restaurants to keep roadway dining setups open through the winter, making permanent a pandemic-era program that served as a lifeline for businesses. The legislation amends a law under former Mayor Eric Adams that required restaurants to remove roadway dining setups from November 30 through March 31.
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New bill requires air conditioning in most NYC apartments by 2030

Credit: Thomas Layland on Unsplash

January 23, 2026

New bill requires air conditioning in most NYC apartments by 2030

By Aaron Ginsburg

It may seem ludicrous to think about turning on your air conditioner during this bitter cold, but a new bill passed this week will eventually require most New York City apartments to have one—though it will be a few years before it takes effect. Enacted last weekend, the bill requires landlords to provide air conditioning, prompted by hotter summers and rising heat-related illnesses and deaths. The bill gives landlords until 2030 to comply, after which the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will enforce the rule, Council Member Lincoln Restler, the bill’s sponsor, told Gothamist.
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Policy

New legislation would make NYC outdoor dining year-round again

Credit: Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

October 10, 2025

New legislation would make NYC outdoor dining year-round again

By Aaron Ginsburg

New legislation aims to restore New York City’s outdoor dining program to its pandemic-era scale by eliminating seasonal restrictions. Council Member Lincoln Restler on Thursday introduced Intro. 1421 to restore year-round outdoor dining, which ended following new rules and restrictions approved by the Council last year. The legislation would also allow grocery stores to apply for sidewalk cafe licenses, eliminate seasonal limits on roadway cafes, and permit certain cafes to expand their frontage with approval. The proposal seeks to scale back aspects of Dining Out NYC, the city’s current outdoor dining program. According to Restler, the seasonal schedule and stricter rules have made it difficult for many businesses to participate.
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Clark Street station reopens after hotel awning collapse

The Hotel St. George Awning before collapse. Image via WikiCommons

August 5, 2025

Clark Street station reopens after hotel awning collapse

By Aaron Ginsburg

Subway service has been restored at the Clark Street station in Brooklyn Heights following the collapse of a concrete awning on Sunday. A video posted to social media by Council Member Lincoln Restler captured the moment the 15-by-20-foot awning on Henry Street came crashing down over the station entrance. Service was suspended at the station after the Department of Buildings (DOB) had found a similar structure above another entrance unsafe. As of Tuesday morning, the vacate order was lifted, and subway service was restored.
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City Council approves Boerum Hill rezoning that will create 450 affordable housing units

Street view of 280 Bergen Street © Google

December 8, 2022

City Council approves Boerum Hill rezoning that will create 450 affordable housing units

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York City Council on Wednesday voted to approve the rezoning of nearly an entire block in Boerum Hill that will make way for 450 new housing units, roughly 50 percent of which will be fully affordable. The rezoning includes a stretch of Nevins Street to Bond Street between Wyckoff Street and Bergen Street, the last manufacturing block in Boerum Hill.
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Affordable Housing

Image via WikiCommons

November 2, 2022

Brooklyn Council Member hopes to plant 3,400 trees in his district, and wants neighbors to chip in

By Aaron Ginsburg

Brooklyn residents should expect to see a lot more greenery over the next couple of years. Council Member Lincoln Restler on Wednesday announced a plan to plant 3,400 trees in vacant street tree pits across District 33 in an effort to max out the district's street tree capacity. The city's Parks Department has committed to planting 2,200 trees over the next four years, with Restler's office calling upon the community to help fund the planting of an additional 1,200 trees.
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City Living

New bill would give non-profits priority to develop NYC-owned land over for-profit groups

Rendering of 40 Quay Street; Image: FXCollaborative courtesy of MTA.

August 15, 2022

New bill would give non-profits priority to develop NYC-owned land over for-profit groups

By Devin Gannon

A bill requiring the city to sell public land to non-profit developers ahead of for-profit organizations was introduced in the City Council last week. Sponsored by Council Member Lincoln Restler, the legislation prioritizes the selection of community land trusts (CLT), community development corporations, or other non-profit groups during the bidding process for city-owned land, which the supporters say will ensure truly affordable housing will be built on the site.
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Brooklyn officials call for end of minimum parking requirements at new developments

Photo courtesy of Mike Petrucci on Unsplash

March 1, 2022

Brooklyn officials call for end of minimum parking requirements at new developments

By Aaron Ginsburg

Brooklyn officials are calling for the end of minimum parking requirements at new construction projects in transit-rich neighborhoods. Currently, developers of most new residential developments in the borough must create off-street parking spaces for both as-of-right and rezoned projects. Officials argue parking minimums disrupt the area by adding congestion, reducing walkability, and producing more carbon emissions. While changing requirements is seen as more of a long-term goal, officials on Monday voiced a temporary solution: asking the Department of City Planning to encourage developers to include special permit applications to waive parking requirements for any residential project subject to rezoning.
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