Mayor Announces New $65 Million Medical Facility in Flushing

Mayor de Blasio announced the city’s contribution to new multi-million dollar healthcare facility as latest achievement of pledge to reduce health disparities in the City. On July 18, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans for a new 77,000 square-foot facility as part of the Mayor’s Caring Neighborhoods Initiative. The state-of-the-art facility, named Healthview, will serve as a primary care access point that provides medical, dental, mental health, and patient support services. It is projected … <Read More>


Owner Fined $1200 for SRO Use

Owner leased space to non-profit providing services under contract with the State Department of Mental Health. The current certificate of occupancy for a three story building located at 101-36 104th St., Queens, provided for three residential units, one per floor. The owner of the building leased the third floor to Promoting Specialized Care and Health, a non-profit. The non-profit, under contract with the New York State Department of Mental Health, provides assistance to individuals with … <Read More>


Three-Quarter Housing: Council Seeks to Address Blight [UPDATE: City Council Approves Legislation]

UPDATE: On February 1, 2017, the City Council voted 47-0 to approve four bills that would help protect tenants of three-quarter houses in New York City. During the vote, Council Member Donovan Richards called three-quarter houses a wide spread problem that would not be cured by the bills and that the City would need to track progress on the issue to determine future responses. Council Member Ritchie Torres called predatory operators of three-quarter houses the … <Read More>


Prison Reform: The Monitor’s First Report in the Nunez Case

Recently the City got some good news about Rikers Island, a change from the bad news of recent years. On August 2, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio, together with Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte, announced that for the first six months of 2016 the frequencies with which staff used serious force on inmates and inmates seriously assaulted staff dropped by nearly half over the past year. Overall uses of force and assault numbers were also down … <Read More>


Council Hears Testimony on Amendment to Noise Control Code

Proposed law would restrict activities conducted on construction sites located in close proximity to a school while classes are being held.  On June 25, 2015, the City Council Committee on Environmental Protection held a public hearing on Intro 420, which would restrict the level of permissible noise emitted from construction sites located within 75 feet of either a public or private school.  The proposed law would prohibit construction noise above 45 decibels during normal … <Read More>


CityLaw: Three Policy Questions for Nonprofit Property Tax Exemptions

A long-standing feature of American tax policy is the exemption granted to nonprofit organizations, the largest of which is the exemption from local property taxes. The exemption, with origins back to the 18th century, is widespread. Among the 50 states, 17 state constitutions mandate property tax exemptions for charitable organizations, 25 authorize the legislature to give exemptions, and eight do not address the issue. New York State establishes two classes of exemptions for nonprofits:  … <Read More>