Rhinelander Avenue in Morris Park, Bronx, one of many streets open to pedestrians and cyclists under the Open Streets program. Image Credit: CityLand

The plan will aim to add 100 miles of open streets, widened sidewalks and protected bike lanes. Note: This article has been updated to continuously reflect the added streets as those announcements are made. Please continue to check back for further updates.

On April 27, 2020, the Mayor’s Office announced a plan along with Council Speaker Corey Johnson to implement street closures, sidewalk widening, and the addition of bike lanes as part of the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The plan aims to close off streets to cars to provide more space for social distancing for pedestrians and cyclists as the weather gets warmer and more people are expected to go outside.  (more…)

Rendering of proposed flood resiliency infrastructure./Image Credit: DDC, Parks, DOT, DEP, and Mayor’s Office of Resiliency/CPC

The agreement was announced two days before the City Council’s approval of the project’s land use applications. On November 12, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Council Member Margaret Chin, and Council Member Keith Powers reached an agreement on community investments and commitments relating to the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, the City’s flood protection plan for Lower Manhattan. The agreement addresses the concerns raised by local elected officials and the community throughout the public review process for the project’s two land use applications. Following the announcement of the agreement, the City Council approved the project’s land use applications on November 14, 2019. For CityLand’s coverage on the land use applications, click here. (more…)

Cover of the Where We Live Draft Plan. Image Credit: NYC Mayor’s Office

New Fair Housing Litigation Unit will use “secret shoppers” to test the housing market for discrimination and hold bad actors accountable. On January 7, 2020, the Office of the Mayor released the Where We Live NYC Draft Plan for public review. Where We Live NYC is a comprehensive plan to advance opportunity for New Yorkers by promoting fair housing and undo intentional policies and practices of segregation and inequity. The Draft Plan analyzes the state of the City’s fair housing and lays out a five-year action plan. New Yorkers can visit the Where We Live NYC website to read the plan and offer feedback to shape the final report here. (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

The proposed reformations increase transparency and community involvement, and impose new safeguards to protect against systemic abuse. On July 8, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a series of reformations to the procedures used in removing limitations on potential uses, or deed restrictions, from formerly City-owned property. The proposed reformations would require parcels to meet stricter criteria to be deemed eligible for their deeds to be modified, and they would increase the levels of transparency and community engagement in the deed-modification process.

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