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    Neutral Ground

    The Great Lawn Revisited

    By Norman Siegel

    Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gather to protest nuclear arms, on the Great Lawn of Central Park in New York, June 12, 1982. Since the election of President Donald Trump, New York City has been host to many protests hostile to his agenda, with the women’s march drawing about 400,000 participants on Jan. 21, 2017. (Keith Meyers/The New York Times)

    Corey Kilgannon of the New York Times wrote about the use of the Great Lawn in Central Park for OZYFEST, “a splashy weekend long event on July 20 and 21 with multiple stages and top tickets selling for $400.” (NY Times, 7/13/19) Portions of the Great Lawn will be closed to the public for nine days in order to accommodate the festival.  The use of the Great Lawn to facilitate a commercial venture raises the following questions:  What and who is the Great Lawn intended to serve?  The first amendment to the U.S.  Constitution provides for first amendment protest rallies on the Great Lawn.  Have such rallies been permitted in recent years: If not, why not?

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    Tags : Norman Siegel
    Date: 07/17/2019
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    Charter Revision: More on Council Member Term Limits

    By Ross Sandler

    Ross Sandler, Center for New York City Law Director

    Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission released its report on September 4, 2018 with three recommendations that will be on the ballot on November 6, 2018: downward adjustment of campaign contribution limits for City elected officials to reduce the influence of large contributors; a new commission to encourage greater civic engagement; and term limits and appointment procedures for community boards. All are worthy of concern, but none reach the level of major charter change.

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    Date: 10/15/2018
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    Charter Revision: Let’s Discuss Ending Term Limits For Council Members

    By Ross Sandler

    Image credit: New York City Council.

    Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council, in creating competing charter revision commissions, avoided endorsing the central reason why the City could benefit from charter revision: ending term limits for council members. Term limits arguably may have had a healthy impact on the mayoralty, but not so with the council. Two four-year terms for council members resulted in instability of council membership and leadership and a lack of institutional discipline that has produced a council weaker than it should be.

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    Tags : charter, charter revision, City Council, mayor
    Date: 07/02/2018
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    City Comptroller’s Response to Airbnb Guest Commentary

    By Scott Stringer

    Image credit: NYC Office of the Comptroller.

    [The following guest commentary is a response to Airbnb’s commentary published here.]

    New Yorkers are facing a growing affordability crisis, and over the years my office has examined many factors that have proven to contribute to the burden of rising prices – including, most recently, a report on the impact of Airbnb on New York City rental prices.

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    Tags : affordable housing, Airbnb, City Comptroller, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, housing
    Date: 05/23/2018
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    Guest Commentary: The Truth about Airbnb, Housing, and New York City

    By Josh Meltzer

    Image credit: Airbnb

    NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer recently released a report on Airbnb in New York City that is wrong on the facts, wrong on the methodology and wrong in its conclusions.

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    Tags : affordable housing, Airbnb, City Comptroller, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, home sharing, homesharing, housing
    Date: 05/21/2018
    (2) Comments

    Designation Should Not Mean Demolition

    By Jeffrey Kroessler

    Jeffrey A. Kroessler

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission has calendared the AT&T Building at 550 Madison Avenue for a public hearing. As well it should. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the skyscraper with a distinctive Chippendale top was the first post-modern addition to the skyline when completed in 1984. It is as emblematic of its time as the Woolworth Building (Cass Gilbert, 1913) and the Chrysler Building (William Van Allen, 1930).

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    Date: 02/12/2018
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