Mayor de Blasio Delivers State of the City Address

Affordable housing issues, including rent-regulation, mandatory inclusionary zoning, and more were highlighted in the speech.  On February 3, 2015 Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his second State Of The City address from Baruch College.  The Mayor spoke at length about the affordable housing crisis facing New York City and the programs his administration has begun or will propose to address the problem.


Complete Video from CityLaw Breakfast with Thomas Prendergast

On Friday, November 21, 2014, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted a City Law Breakfast featuring Thomas Prendergast, Chairman and C.E.O. of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as the guest speaker. The special sponsors for this CityLaw Breakfast were Sam Schwartz Engineering DPC and Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, LLP.



Council Subcommittee Hears Proposal for SoHo Six-Story Commercial Building [Update: Committee approves with modifications]

(READ UPDATE FROM 9/30/2014 BELOW)

Developers seek permission for three floors of retail over community objections.  On September 16, 2014, the New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing on a proposed six-story commercial building at 19 East Houston Street in the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District of Manhattan, between Broadway and Crosby Street.  The lot was incorporated into the Historic District after the Landmarks Preservation Commission expanded the … <Read More>


Variance Approved For Metropolitan College’s Bronx Campus

College sited educational facilities in an M1-1 zone.  On June 24, 2014, the Board of Standards and Appeals granted a use variance to Metropolitan College of New York, a non-profit educational institution headquartered at 431 Canal Street in Manhattan, to use the entire second floor of a new building at 459 East 149th Street at the corner of Brook Avenue in the Bronx for educational purposes.  The site is in the shape of a … <Read More>


Richard Ravitch: “So Much to Do” (Public Affairs 2014)

Richard Ravitch in his book So Much to Do states two “stubborn facts” about public transportation: public transit costs more than what private markets can provide, and “public” in public transit means politics. Ravitch ‘s readable book tells how for 50 years he has successfully helped political leaders bridge these stubborn facts of public promises and public revenues.