CityLaw Profile: Elizabeth Glazer, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice

On March 11, 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Elizabeth Glazer as the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, an office formed to advise the Mayor on criminal justice issues, public safety, bail reform, policing, and incarceration rates. Glazer took on the City role after serving as Governor Andrew Cuomo’s chief advisor on criminal justice. She came to the de Blasio administration with a wealth of experience in criminal justice and public … <Read More>


New York City Adding and Converting Facilities to Alleviate Pressure on Hospital System

USNS Comfort and Billie Jean King Tennis Center to be utilized as Corona outbreak strains hospital system. On March 31. 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, Queens will be converted into a temporary hospital facility. The facility will hold up to 350 patients and will treat COVID non ICU patients beginning on April 7th, 2020. The conversion of this facility is intended to relieve … <Read More>


City Planning Holds Hearing on Nine-Story Mixed-Use Building in Bensonhurst

The applicants propose to bring eleven affordable housing units under the City’s Workforce Option to Bensonhurst. On March 4, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application to rezone part of a low-density residential zoning district in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The applicant, SUW 4 LLC, proposes to rezone the northwest corner of 60th Street and Bay Parkway, which is a 10,108 square foot vacant lot. Under the current zoning, only three- to … <Read More>


Citywide Policy Adjustments Made by Agencies and Industries Responsible for Housing

COVID-19 outbreak has forced NYCHA and DHS to take extra precaution. Throughout the City and State, agencies and industries responsible for housing individuals, are taking measures and adopting policies to address the COVID-19 health crisis. The policies and measures generally focus on preventing the spread of disease, isolating infected individuals and answering questions on how compromised services would operate. In the hospitality industry many have also implemented policies regarding the refunds and the cancellation of … <Read More>


Developers Must Set Aside Affordable Retail Space in City-Funded Developments

The law will help provide more opportunities for small businesses to remain in the City. On February 23, 2020, Introduction 1408-B was enacted into Local Law 35 of 2020. Introduction 1408-B requires developers to set aside affordable retail space for non-chain retailers within large City-funded affordable housing developments. The requirement will apply to certain affordable housing developments of at least 750,000 square feet that receive $15 million or more in City funds. The law, sponsored … <Read More>


Public Hearing on Contested Industry City Expansion

Despite two years of discussion, Industry City ownership unable to convince Council Member Menchaca and Community Board 7 to support expansion. On February 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for four land use actions to expand bulk and use requirements for Industry City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Industry City is a 5.3 million square feet mixed-use complex comprised of sixteen buildings with commercial, manufacturing, and community facility uses. … <Read More>