City wins adult use case

City amended law to obstruct loopholes. In 1993, adult establishments had proliferated within the city, growing from only nine in 1965 to 177 in 1993. A 1993 Planning Department study, precipitated by this increase, concluded that adult uses produced secondary negative impacts like increased crime, property value depreciation and a reduction in commercial activity in areas where the uses were heavily concentrated. This study became the basis of a 1995 citywide zoning amendment that prohibited … <Read More>


Sanitation garage construction wins court approval

Environmental study and site choice for Brooklyn garage upheld. The City filed a condemnation action in October 2003 for three lots comprising a 2.46-acre site bounded by Park, Nostrand and Flushing Avenues and Warsoff Place in Clinton Hill, to be used for the eventual construction of a new Sanitation truck storage garage to serve Brooklyn Community District 3.

The site had been subject to a June 2000 application by Sanitation and the Department of Citywide … <Read More>