Owner fined $60,800 for hotel use

Upper West Side residential building converted to hotel. On May 29, 2014, a Department of Buildings inspector cited the owner of a residential building, located at 258 West 97th Street, Manhattan, with illegally converting the building into a hotel for temporary lodging. The building was originally divided into apartment units for three or more families to live independently from one another. The owner converted the building into temporary one-room and two-room lodging. The Buildings … <Read More>


Pedestrian bridge project allowed

Court rejected argument that the new bridge would have significant environmental impact. The City proposed to build a pedestrian bridge in Clara Coffey Park in East Midtown, which would span the FDR Drive at Sutton Place South and East 54th Street. The bridge will occupy about 25 percent of the current Clara Coffey Park and is part of the City’s plan to link the entirety of the Manhattan waterfront.


Ranked-Choice Voting: Coming to a Ballot Box Near You

NOTE: This CityLaw article was previously published on CityLand on March 8, 2021 and is being reposted ahead of the NYC Primary election on June 22, 2021. For more information about the election and where to vote visit www.voting.nyc.

Registered voters in the Democratic and Republican parties will, on June 22, 2021, be asked to participate in one of the most important primary elections in New York City’s history—with an entirely new voting system. New … <Read More>


Fines enforced against building owner

Tenant advertised apartment for transit use on Airbnb; building owner charged. On May 2, 2019, Building Inspector Botticelli, in response to a complaint, visited 280 Mulberry Street, Manhattan, owned and operated by 280 Mulberry Realty, LLC. Inspector Botticelli was given access to apartment 2E by four guests from France staying there who had gained access to the apartment by making a reservation on Airbnb.com from April 26 – May 6, 2019. The tenant of apartment … <Read More>


Owner fined for tenant’s violation

Tenant used property as an illegal short-term rental. On April 12, 2019, the owner purchased a single-family dwelling with a rear building at 13-15 Christopher Street in the West Village in Manhattan.  The tenant had been advertising the property on Homeaway.com, a vacation rental website owned by the Expedia Group. At the time of the purchase, the owner claimed not to have knowledge of the illegal transient use. On May 10, 2019, Buildings issued a … <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>