Members of public protesting proposed Manhattan facility. Image Credit: John McCarten/City Council
Council received extensive testimony and differing perspectives on Borough Based Jails. On September 5, 2019, City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses held a public hearing regarding the City’s application to close Rikers Island and create a Borough Based Jail System. The proposed sites are 124-125 White Street in Manhattan, 745 East 141St Street in the Bronx, 126-02 82nd Avenue in Queens and at 275 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
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Replacement facility needed because P.S. 51’s current building will be converted into housing as part of previously approved mixed-use project. On June 29, 2010, the City Council approved the New York City School Construction Authority’s proposal to build a 630-seat replacement public school facility for P.S. 51 on the north side of West 44th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Manhattan. The School Construction Authority will build the new facility on a lot occupied by a vacant warehouse and the 16,000 sq.ft. playground of P.S. 51’s current 276-seat building, which is located on the south side of West 44th Street. The new facility will include a 3,000 sq.ft. rooftop play area in addition to a 12,000 sq.ft. street-level playground behind the school. P.S. 51 needed a new building because its current facility on West 45th Street will be converted into housing as part of Gotham Organization Inc.’s affordable housing project, which was approved in March 2010. 7 Cityland 21 (March 15, 2010). The project will span the majority of the block and create 1,250 residential units, 600 of which will be permanently affordable.
During the public review of Gotham’s project, Manhattan Community Board 4 and the parents of P.S. 51 students stated that the original site plan for the new school included a small street-level playground. They expressed concerns about the lack of recreational space in the proposed facility and about the potential negative impacts on the students from the construction of Gotham’s redevelopment. Parents argued that the completed project would create shadows on the street-level playground and asked the (more…)
Council unable to override Mayor’s veto. The proposed sites of three marine waste transfer stations were approved after the City Council failed to get sufficient votes to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto.
The Department of Sanitation had sought separate site selection approvals through ULURP applications to construct four new marine transfer stations. The four transfer stations were a component of Mayor Bloomberg’s 20-year Solid Waste Management Plan, which at the time of the applications was still pending approval before the City Council. (more…)
Image credit: New York City Council.
On January 20, 2022, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced the selections for the City Council’s various committees.
For the land use related committees, the appointments are as follows: (more…)
An Open Street in Morris Park, Bronx last year. Temporarily restricting vehicular access provided pedestrians with places to walk, cyclists to move, and children to play. Image Credit: CityLand
The program began as a way to provide more public space during the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 29, 2021, the City Council voted to pass Int. 1933-A, a bill to make a permanent Open Streets program. The Open Streets program closes streets for a given time period to provide pedestrians and cyclists with open street space free of vehicular traffic. (more…)
