DDC Announces Opening of New Library Branch on Roosevelt Island

The new site is ADA-compliant and meets LEED Silver Certification standards. On January 25, 2021, NYC Department of Design and Construction (“DDC”) Commissioner Lorraine Grillo announced the opening of a new library on Roosevelt Island. The new library, located at 504 Main Street, is located near its former site. The new 5,200-square-foot library is more than double the size of the former NYPL branch.


Mayor Announces Guidelines for Upcoming Open Culture Program

The newly announced program and its guidelines will allow artists and performers of all kinds to return to work safely. On February 8, 2021, Mayor de Blasio released guidelines for the upcoming Open Culture Program. The program will open up city streets for outdoor cultural performances and events throughout the five boroughs. The new program is modeled after a prior successful initiative lead by the city, the Open Streets Program. For CityLand’s prior … <Read More>


Reducing Racial Bias Embedded in Land Use Codes

Even though the Supreme Court struck down race-based land use controls over a hundred years ago in Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917) it has long been known that zoning continues to create or increase racial and economic segregation. Today communities across the U.S. are reexamining their zoning regulations to create more equal, equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities by removing requirements, limitations, or prohibitions that disproportionately and negatively impact individuals based on race … <Read More>


East New York Affordable Housing Project Completes Phase 1

Project will result in 1,163 affordable homes. On October 20, 2020 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the completion of the initial phase of the Fountains of Brooklyn project that is being constructed on the site of the State’s former Brooklyn Developmental Center in East New York, which closed in 2015. This project is a 6.7-acre mixed-use complex that will ultimately offer 1,163 affordable homes. The first two completed buildings of the project will include 332 … <Read More>


$30 Million Investment in New Brooklyn Water Mains

Nearly seven miles of new water mains will be added to improve water distribution. On September 16, 2020, the New York City Departments of Environmental Protection and Design and Construction announced the new upgrades to the Gravesend and Sheepshead Bay areas. The $30 million project includes replacing nearly seven miles of century-old water mains, 108 fire hydrants, and installing 17 new fire hydrants. The project is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2021 and covers … <Read More>


City Planning Holds Public Hearing on 100% Affordable Mixed-Use Development in Brooklyn

The proposed mixed-use development looks to activate vacant land near the Halsey Street Subway station. On August 17, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a remote public hearing on a City application that would facilitate the construction of an eight-story mixed use development in the Ocean Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. The site is currently a vacant, trapezoidal block situated mainly along Broadway to the northeast, Hancock Street to the southeast, and Saratoga Ave to the … <Read More>