New program will provide free school lunches to more than 200,000 additional students. Photo: Department of Education.

New data matching system identifies children eligible for free lunch. On September 7, 2017, the NYC Department of Education rolled out a new initiative: Free School Lunch for All. In New York City, almost 800,000 students out of 1.1 million were estimated to have qualified for free school lunch. The new program will provide free school lunches to more than 200,000 additional New York City students, so that all students will receive a nutritional meal every school day.

P.C. Richard & Son Building. Image credit: DCP.

Proposed zoning protections expect to preserve the residential area between Union Square and Astor Place from rapid developments. On February 28, 2018, Manhattan Community Board 3 unanimously voted to include proposed zoning protections for the 3rd/4th Avenue corridors between East 8th and 14th Streets in Manhattan. The corridors are one of the areas between Union Square and Astor Place that will be impacted by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Tech Hub Plan. The protections are one of the conditions for approval of the 14th Street Tech Hub. The plan calls for the development of a 21-story tech hub at 124 East 14th Street, currently the P.C. Richard & Son building.

New York City Large Scale Redevelopment Since Hudson Yards

Wednesday, March 28, 2018, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

MTA President Patrick Foye at the 150th CityLaw Breakfast.

MTA President Patrick Foye spoke at this morning’s 150th CityLaw Breakfast at New York Law School. Foye was introduced for Professor Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law, with remarks by Dean Anthony W. Crowell.

Nora Machine is one of the world’s most advanced tunnel-boring machines. Photo: NYC Water.

The DEP commences the largest repair project in the history of the New York City’s water system. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has since 1992 been monitoring two leaking sections of the Delaware Aqueduct—one in the Orange County town of Newburgh, and the other in the Ulster County town of Wawarsing. The leaks release an estimated 20-30 million gallons of water per day.  All of the data gathered shows that the leak rate has remained constant and the cracks have not worsened since DEP began monitoring the two leaks in 1992.  In 2010, the City announced a plan to address the leaks by building a permanent 2.5 mile bypass tunnel around the leaking section of the aqueduct in Newburgh. The 2.5-mile bypass will be constructed 600 feet below the Hudson River—from Newburgh on the West Shore to Wappinger Falls on the East Shore. 

NYC HPD

The revised Section 421-a offers new opportunities for affordable housing. The 421-a property tax exemption began in 1971 as an incentive for developers to develop badly needed housing in New York City. When the real estate market rebounded in the 80s, the program was amended to condition tax abatements on the construction of affordable housing units. The program expired in June 2016. In its place, the State Legislature passed the “Affordable New York” program in 2017.