Mayor Signs E-Bike Fire Safety Bills, Announces E-Bike Safety Plan

On March 20, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced a new plan to address lithium-ion battery fires and powered mobility device safety. Following an increase in fires due to faulty or refurbished batteries, both the Mayor’s Office and City Council have worked to develop solutions to improve fire safety and reduce avoidable fires while promoting methods of micromobility that thousands of New Yorkers, including delivery workers, depend on daily. 


City Celebrates Groundbreaking for Gowanus Canal Overflow Protection Project

On March 15, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia celebrated the groundbreaking for the first of two underground storage tanks that will protect the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The two tanks will collect sewer overflow during storms and prevent that overflow from entering the Gowanus Canal. The project will also include the creation of 3.6 <Read More>


City Announces Roadmap for Citywide Composting Program

The program expands on a Queens pilot program that diverted 12.7 million pounds of compostable material from landfills. On February 1, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch* revealed a new roadmap for the creation and implementation of a citywide composting program. The program will be the nation’s largest and will roll out over the next 20 months. 


City Expands Cloudburst Resiliency Program to Four New Neighborhoods to Prevent Stormwater Flooding

Storm events like 2021’s Hurricane Ida highlight the importance of implementing stormwater mitigation measures in flooding-prone areas. On January 9, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced the expansion of the Cloudburst Program, a program to construct clustered stormwater management projects in flood-prone communities. The program will expand to Corona and Kissena Park in Queens, Parkchester in the Bronx, and East New York, Brooklyn. Through the program, work has already started in South Jamaica and St. Albans <Read More>


Mayor Appoints New Board of Standards and Appeals Chair and Vice Chair

On December 30, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced the appointment of Shampa Chanda as the new Chair of the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) and Salvatore Scibetta as the new Vice Chair. The Board of Standards and Appeals hears individual applications for exceptions and changes to zoning regulations that may overly restrict specific properties where a broader change to the zoning text and map is unnecessary. 


City Announces Lawsuits Against Two Landlords and One Settlement for Building Code Violations, Dangerous Conditions

On January 6, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix announced the filing of two lawsuits against Alma Realty Corp. and Empire Management America Corp. for the failure to fix thousands of code violations which created dangerous living conditions for tenants. Additionally, the city announced a settlement with Sentinel Real Estate Corporation to establish a timeline for repairs.