I was motivated to respond to an article by Robert Kuttner on The American Prospect website that in general argued that a tax-subsidized project was facing impending collapse which could provide an opportunity for affordable housing. I have no problem with the author disliking Hudson Yards and he wouldn’t be the first or only one to do so. I believe, however, that the American Prospect piece contains misinformation on the Hudson Yards project. This article … <Read More>
Commentary
Commentary: Remote Hearings are Over – What Happens Now?
On June 23, 2021 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders, which are set to expire today will not be renewed. One of the provisions within the emergency order adjusted the requirements of the Open Meetings Law to allow public hearings to be held remotely via telephone or video conference or other similar service. As of Friday, June 25th, the Open Meetings Law will again require all meetings to be held in-person.
COMMENTARY: Joan Davidson and the J.M. Kaplan Foundation
If all the charitable foundations everywhere in the United States were lined up according to impact, the J.M. Kaplan Fund would be in the top ten. The J.M. Kaplan Fund was established in 1945 by Jacob M. Kaplan and was led for thirty years by J.M.’s daughter, Joan K. Davidson. Joan was a fixture in New York City’s political, charitable, and civic world, and she used her ideas and enthusiasms to make New York City … <Read More>
Commentary: City Club of New York Opposes LPC Approval of New South Street Seaport Tower
On Tuesday, May 4, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved by a 6-2 vote an application for a new residential tower at 250 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District. This was the third time the Howard Hughes Corporation had presented the project, and this time, after the architects at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill made a few tweaks to the design, the LPC determined that the building was appropriate.
COMMENTARY: The BQE’s Cantilevered Bridge Demands Urgent Action
On June 1, 1988, while I was commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation the underside of the elevated FDR Drive fell to the roadway below and killed a Brooklyn dentist who was driving into Manhattan to pick up his wife. The next day on Friday, June 2, 1989, the New York Times reported his death:
Comment on Peyton v. NYC BSA
On December 17, 2020, by a 4-3 decision and over a strong dissent, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Appellate Division in Peyton v. NYC Board of Standards and Appeals, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 07662. The decision is an unseemly show of deference to the Board of Standards and Appeals, a body that is widely viewed as captive to the real estate industry, on a pure question of law as to … <Read More>