Nos. 47 – 55 West 28th Street were the home of many sheet music publishers in the 1890s and 1900s. Image Credit: NYC LPC

Proposed buildings were home to prominent sheet music publishers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. On March 12, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to add five buildings on West 28^th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue to its calendar for consideration for landmark designation. The five buildings – 47 – 55 West 28^th Street – represent a time when the street was known as “Tin Pan Alley” due to the noise of all of the piano music from various sheet music publishers located on the block.

Malcolm Pinckney/NYC Parks

The $30 million reconstruction project brings brand new amenities to the historically underserved Brownsville park. On March 19, 2019, Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Brooklyn Community Board 16, and local students and residents broke ground on the reconstruction of Betsy Head Park in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Betsy Head Park’s reconstruction is one of the five projects of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Anchor Parks Initiative, a $150 million project to reconstruct five major parks around the City. The project plans to bring major amenities to the parks such as new soccer fields, comfort stations, running tracks, and hiking trails.

HPD Commissioner Vicki Been answering questions at the 130th CityLaw Breakfast. Image credit: CityLaw

The former HPD Commissioner will continue to work on affordability and economic opportunities for the City. On April 4, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of former Department of Housing and Preservation Commissioner Vicki Been as the new Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. She succeeded Alicia Glen, who served in the position for five years.

On April 9, 2019, the Center for New York City Law welcomed New Yorkers for Parks back to New York Law School for another installment of their Open Space Dialogues. The event was kicked off by Executive Director of New Yorkers for Parks Lynn B. Kelly, with welcoming remarks by New York Law School Dean and President Anthony Crowell. The topic of yesterday’s Open Space Dialogues was “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees.”

Parks provide multiple benefits in dense urban environments, from recreation to mental health to sustainability and resilience. But staying on top of daily wear and tear and addressing the structural deficiencies of aging infrastructure need to be funded. How should we pay to create and maintain our public realm? Park practitioners and advocates from New York City and beyond explored what options exist for ensuring parks in all five boroughs have a sustainable financial future.

346 Broadway. Image Credit: Brett.

Landmarks acted within its authority when it approved the LLC’s certificate of appropriateness. On March 28, 2019, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the Certificate of Appropriateness granted the Landmarks Preservation Commission for 346 Broadway in 2014 was proper, reversing two lower courts’ decision. In 1987, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 346 Broadway as an interior landmark. The designation included the building’s banking hall and the 13^th floor clock tower, which houses a mechanical clock. At the time of designation, the City owned the building and the clock tower was opened to the public for weekly tours.

Exhibit from lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media showing the company’s advertising for floating billboards across City waterways. Image Credit: Mayor’s Office/ NYC Law Department Affirmative Litigation Division

The City is seeking thousands of dollars per day in fines for the ongoing and repeated violations. On March 27, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced a lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media, Inc., a water-based billboard company, for repeatedly violating local laws by displaying “Times Square-style” billboards on Manhattan and Brooklyn waterways. The billboards began popping up last Fall and are LED signs on barges, and the City alleges in the suit that the signs create a “public nuisance,” and violate the New York City Zoning Resolution. The City seeks an injunction to prohibit Ballyhoo from operating the billboards and fines of up to $25,000 per violation, per day for Ballyhoo Media’s ongoing and repeated violations.