Rockefeller Center will see massive crowds throughout the holiday season, prompting city officials to expand pedestrian protections around the area. Image Credit: CityLand

Elected officials have previously called attention to dangerous crowd sizes in the area during the holiday season. On November 22, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced a temporary expansion of the pedestrian space around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall for the holiday season. The area between 5^th and 6^th Avenues from 48^th to 52^nd Streets will be affected. (more…)

Rendering of a portion of the East Midtown Greenway. Image Credit: NYC EDC/Stantec

The 1.5 acre stretch of open space, to be completed by 2022, is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway initiative to create continuous loop around perimeter of Manhattan. On November 22, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio and top agency officials celebrated the commencement of construction of a new waterfront public open space, the East Midtown Greenway, which will stretch between East 53^rd Street to East 61^st Street. The East Midtown Greenway project is a piece of a larger project, Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The Manhattan Greenway Project’s goal is to create accessible public waterfront space and safe bicycle pathways along the outer edge of Manhattan. (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…)