Press Conference at the Central Park Mall. Image credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.

Central Park has not been car-free for over a century, but things will change come summer. On April 20, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Central Park will become completely car-free. The announcement came right before Earth Day 2018. Starting this June, the iconic greenspace’s Center Drive, Terrace Drive, East Drive, and West Drive will be permanently closed to cars. These closings follow the closure of Prospect Park’s entire loop drive in January. CityLand previously covered Prospect Park’s closings here. (read more…)

Image credit: Office of the Mayor.

De Blasio Administration will focus on reducing rat population through different extermination measures. On April 17, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new rat extermination plan for the NYCHA’s ten most rat-infested developments. The extermination plan is part of the Mayor’s $32 million Neighborhood Rat Reduction Program to reduce rat populations in the most infested City neighborhoods: ­­­­­­­Grand Concourse in the Bronx, Chinatown, East Village, and Lower East Side in Manhattan, and Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. This plan is also furthers the de Blasio Administration’s goal to preserve and strengthen public housing. (read more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image Credit: New York City Mayoral Photography Office

New laws focusing on vacant land throughout the City aims at identifying and reporting lots and buildings that could be used for affordable housing. On January 8, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed two bills into laws that focus on how vacant land, both public and private, across the city could be used to further accelerate the production of affordable housing. The new laws will advance the Mayor’s Housing New York 2.0 plan to build 300,000 affordable homes in the City. The new laws will require the City and Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) to conduct a census-like report on vacant property throughout the City. (read more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

Plan anticipates creating or preserving 20,000 homeownership opportunities by 2026. On December 11, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced two new programs, Open Door, which aids first-time homeowners buy a condo or coop, and HomeFix, which helps New Yorkers make capital improvements to their homes. These two programs will reach at least 2,100 households in eight years. These programs are part of the Mayor’s 300,000 affordable housing plan. (read more…)

Edna Wells Handy. Image Credit: Spencer Tucker.

The new Compliance department will be responsible for the compliance training for NYCHA’s employees. On November 20, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of Edna Wells Handy to the New York City Housing Authority’s Executive Compliance Department as Acting Chief Compliance Officer. For the first time in its history, NYCHA is creating an Executive Compliance Department. (read more…)