Former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, speaking at a CityLaw Breakfast on January 23, 2019, powerfully argued that the time has come to close Rikers Island, New York City’s notorious jail located on an island in the East River. Judge Lippman’s remarks echoed the 2017 recommendations of the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform which Judge Lippman chaired. Judge Lippman spoke at the breakfast in a question and … <Read More>
Search Results for: Queens
Occasional Profiles of Former City Law Fellows: Frank St. Jacques ‘11
While in college at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Frank St. Jacques dreamed that one day he would live in New York City. He did not know then that it would ultimately lead him to becoming a land use attorney at a national law firm, Akerman LLP.
Sixth Unit Triggered Rent Laws
Owner of a five family house added unit intended for residential use. Nicolae Gogarnow, the owner of a five family house in Queens, lived on the first floor of the house. The house had five residential units, a commercial space that partially occupied the first floor, and an additional unoccupied space on the first floor. Owner Gogarnow filed a petition to evict one of the tenants, Rosalia Silvia. Silvia defended by claiming that she had … <Read More>
Extra Payment for Repair Work Denied
Contractor sought compensation for repairing damages caused during an additional work contract. In 2009, Sanitation entered into a $161 million contract with Prismatic Development Corporation to improve the North Shore Marine Transfer Station in Queens. Prismatic, following Sanitation’s plans and specifications, installed a new deck and concrete overlay on the Transfer Station’s exterior ramp. The concrete overlay later developed extensive cracking. Sanitation conceded that an error in the design documents provided by Sanitation to Prismatic … <Read More>
Needed: Large Venues for Large Protest/Rallies in New York City
Peaceful protests, protected by the First Amendment, are fundamental to our constitutional system and to democracy. Peaceful protest marches and rallies have been instrumental in bringing about significant change in racial, gender, LGBTQ and economic equality; reproductive rights; climate policy; capital punishment; housing; criminal justice, and voting rights. Yet in recent years appropriate venues have been unavailable for large peaceful protests, raising the question of whether City practices inappropriately limit the exercise of First Amendment … <Read More>
Trespass Damages Of $750,000 Upheld
Land developer’s construction of building encroached upon neighbors’ land. Britton Property, Inc., a developer, constructed a new six-story residential building located on Britton Avenue, in Elmhurst Queens. Britton installed 17 steel I-beams, a roof cap, and a brick façade that physically encroached on surrounding properties and the properties’ airspace. Britton’s architectural plans provided for the beams to be installed temporarily on the surrounding properties, but Britton failed to remove them.