Fines mitigated when violation cured

Homeowner parked construction vehicles, unlicensed cars and construction material in residential district. Rachel Masica parked in the driveway of her residence at 316 Bement Avenue, Staten Island, a commercial dump truck, two Volkswagens without license plates, and, on the front lawn, a trailer. Masica stored a backhoe in her backyard under a tent, along with construction material, combustible wood, ladders, plywood, heavy-duty construction equipment, ladders, and wood planks. The Department of Buildings charged Masica with … <Read More>


NYC Mayoral Candidates Land Use Policy Recap

The Mayoral Election will help shape the City’s land use and housing policymaking decisions. Between now and June 20th, early voting is available for the NYC Primary, in which New Yorkers will help decide who will be the next Mayor of New York City. Over the course of their campaigns, mayoral candidates have developed and shared their positions on a variety of land use and housing issues including developing affordable housing, handling the eviction and <Read More>


Reducing Racial Bias Embedded in Land Use Codes

Even though the Supreme Court struck down race-based land use controls over a hundred years ago in Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917) it has long been known that zoning continues to create or increase racial and economic segregation. Today communities across the U.S. are reexamining their zoning regulations to create more equal, equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities by removing requirements, limitations, or prohibitions that disproportionately and negatively impact individuals based on race … <Read More>


City Seeks To Manage TV & Movie Shoots

City processes encourages the numerous movie and TV shows using New York City as a backdrop. New York City is currently experiencing a golden age of television and movie-making. The advantages to such a booming industry seem undoubtedly positive, but some argue that daily life can be marred by the constant displacement due to filming on local streets. Residents of specific communities claim that the negatives outweigh the positives when films use a particular location … <Read More>


Scooters, Hoverboards, and Bicycles; What’s Legal?

New Yorkers enjoy many new forms of transportation such as electric scooters, electric bicycles, hoverboards, skateboards, in-line skates, electric wheelchairs, and more. The laws governing these forms of transportation are confusing and mostly unenforced, if they are even enforceable. State laws and regulations on vehicle and roadway usage typically trump conflicting local laws, except in New York City, where the New York City Council has been given much authority to promulgate laws and regulations on … <Read More>


Rent Stabilization: Preserving Low and Middle-Income Housing

Rent regulation is not a new issue for New York City. But the headlines in June 2015 were far larger and the reactions more contentious than at any time in recent memory. For the first time in its 46-year history, the Rent Guidelines Board decided that there would be no increase in rents for one-year renewals on rent-stabilized apartments; it also limited increases on two year renewals to two-percent. Not surprisingly, tenants hailed the decision … <Read More>