280 East Burnside Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps

Landlord attempted to evict tenant who owned a pitbull as an emotional support animal. On December 8, 2017, Javada James moved into a rent-controlled apartment located at 280 East Burnside Avenue in the Bronx.  Ms. James signed a two-year lease which contained a conspicuous provision prohibiting pets on the premises without landlord consent.  In December 2017, in an exchange of emails Ms. James notified the building’s landlord that she owned a female pitbull named “Bella,” and that she was medically in need of an emotional support animal. The landlord took no action with respect to the pet until after Ms. James notified the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development about the building’s lack of hot water and heat.

HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. Image Credit: William Alatriste/NYC Council

HPD launches ShareNYC, a pilot program to help developers finance affordable co-living housing. Co-living housing units supported by the City are headed for New York. On November 1, 2018, the City’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development announced ShareNYC, an initiative to encourage the development of affordable, shared housing units on privately owned sites with the support of City funds. Developers will be permitted to enter bids for financing which will be provided through a combination of loan programs, tax incentives, and tax credits.

Building on left demonstrates current issue with excessive mechanical voids. Image Credit: NYC CPC

Developers were using excessive mechanical spaces to increase the height of their buildings. On May 29, 2019, the City Council voted to adopt the Residential Tower Mechanical Voids Text Amendment with modifications. The Department of City Planning proposed the amendment in response to developers incorporating excessively tall mechanical floors – “mechanical voids” – in residential towers to increase their allowable height, as mechanical floors did not count toward the zoning floor area in the Zoning Resolution. This would result in towers with several floors of mostly empty space that would allow developers to build higher, increasing the values of the apartments on higher floors. In late 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio asked the Department of City Planning (DCP) to investigate the mechanical voids problem and find a solution.

Image Credit: NYCHA.

The three new appointees bring diverse experience and backgrounds to the board. On June 26, 2019, Mayor de Blasio’s office the appointment of three new members to NYCHA’s seven-member board of directors. The three appointees, Joseph K. Adams Sr., Paula Gavin, and Matt Gewolb, have traveled very different paths to the directorships.

Buildings Interactive Map with sites required to provide safety training shown as red dots. Image Credit: DOB.

The map is part of Department of Buildings’ effort to ensure that workers are aware of required Site Safety Training on large-scale projects. On June 27, 2019, the Department of Buildings announced the release of a new interactive map on its website, showing the location of City construction sites where workers and site supervisors must conduct safety training pursuant to Local Law 196 of 2017. The law requires training for workers at large-scale construction projects, such as major alterations or new building projects. The map allows workers and supervisors to search the address of their worksite to see if their worksite requires safety training.

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CityLand tracks these applications through the review process to a final decision. The majority of these decisions are available on the Center for New York City Law’s CityAdmin database (found at http://www.cityadmin.org/).