The Dangler House being demolished on July 21st. Click for link to video. Image Credit: Council Member Chi Ossé/Twitter.

On July 21, 2022, the Jacob Dangler House at 441 Willoughby Avenue in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, was demolished less than two weeks after the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing to consider its designation as an Individual Landmark. Despite the attempt by Landmarks to save the Dangler House by commencing the designation process, the Commission has been criticized for not acting quickly enough. Could Landmarks have actually done more? (more…)

Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law.

Since January 1, 2017, when Governor Andrew Cuomo led the celebration to open the Second Avenue Subway, much has happened. A pandemic undermined subway ridership, Governor Cuomo resigned, and a new governor and mayor took office. And now the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway has begun. This will provide the next chapter of the wonderful book by Philip Mark Plotch’s on the Second Avenue Subway, Last Subway: the Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City (Cornell U. 2020). (more…)

Professor Annette Gordon-Reed, speaking at the 169th CityLaw Breakfast. Image Credit: CityLand

Annette Gordon-Reed, our friend and colleague for 17 years at New York Law School, has just published On Juneteenth (Liveright 2021), a personal and readable story of her growing up in Texas in the 1970’s.  Gordon-Reed grew up in Conroe, Texas where her family regularly celebrated Juneteenth. Gordon-Reed was the first Black child to integrate a White elementary school in her city. Through her personal story Gordon-Reed annotates and re-calibrates the conventional story of slavery in the United States, and the history of Texas as taught in her public school and as portrayed in novels and movies. (more…)

Current Congressional district map for New York City. Image Credit: New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reappointment.

The Redistricting Schedule

On November 2, 2021, New York State voters will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment revising the redistricting process to be based on the 2020 census. If the constitutional amendment is approved, the changes will take effect on January 1, 2022. This amendment is necessary to address delays in the census created by the pandemic and to accommodate New York State’s change from a September primary to an earlier June primary for both federal and state elections. These changes compressed the time needed to complete the redistricting. Without these changes, it is possible that the new districts will not be ready in time for the political process to function. (more…)

Rendering of the proposed new building at 250 Water Street, which will replace a parking lot. Image Credit: NYC LPC

Zoning is under attack in New York City. Not here or there, in this location or that, but the concept itself. This has been the long game of the city’s real estate interests, and after a decade of raids those interests have launched a full assault on several fronts. The historic city should expect no quarter. (more…)