Parks’ Rules on Vending Upheld

Parks’ rules limited where vendors of expressive material could sell their wares in City parks. The Parks Department adopted “Expressive Matter Vending Rules” which restricted the sale of “materials or objects with expressive content, such as newspapers, books, or writings, or visual art such as paintings, prints, photography, or sculpture.” The new rules limited the sale of expressive materials to 100 specifically designated spots in Union Square Park, Battery Park, High Line Park, and Central … <Read More>


City Defeats Bike Rider’s Claim

On June 2, 2016, Peter Deutch was riding his bicycle North-bound on East Drive in Central Park, Manhattan. East Drive is a three-lane roadway in Central Park with the left lane reserved for pedestrians, the middle lane designated for cyclists, and the right lane for motor traffic. Deutch collided with a flatbed truck owned by Hellman Electric Corporation that was driving directly to his right in the motor traffic lane. Deutch fell under the truck’s … <Read More>



Speed of Subway Trains Challenged

Subway trains at the Spring Street station twice struck passengers lying on the tracks on separate occasions. How fast should subway trains be moving when they enter a station? The faster the subway trains go, the more people the trains can carry and the quicker people will get to their destinations. Even a slowdown of a few seconds per train can slow the entire system. Speed is so important to the mission of the Transit … <Read More>


$5k fine for falling ice upheld

Ice fell from tall crane following ice storm. On December 17, 2019, a citizen complained that ice was falling from Central Park Tower, a 98-story building at 217 West 57th Street in Midtown, Manhattan.  Upon arrival, the Department of Buildings officer witnessed ice formations on crane and hoisting equipment operated by Lend Lease Construction. With the assistance of the New York Police Department, the Buildings officer closed the streets around the crane and hoist … <Read More>


The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway: Time is Running Out

One year ago, in January 2020, the Expert Panel assigned by Mayor Bill de Blasio to study the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway issued its Final Report. Mayor de Blasio in 2019 appointed the seventeen-person Expert Panel* of which I was a member, following the angry rejection of New York City DOT’s plan for reconstructing the section of the BQE adjacent to Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn. City DOT presented its plan publicly September 2019. The … <Read More>