Image Credit: NYC DOT

The city is launching two parallel public engagement campaigns, BQE Central and BQE North and South. On September 16, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced a public engagement campaign that will inform the administration’s efforts to improve the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). With federal funding newly available through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Mayor Adams intends to finance much-needed repairs to the BQE.

Council Member Marjorie Velazquez speaks at the Subcommittee hearing for the Bruckner Sites Rezoning application. Image Credit: City Council.

Located in a low-density area with few affordable homes, the four proposed apartment buildings would require a controversial rezoning. On September 7, 2022, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a public hearing to discuss a proposed rezoning in Throggs Neck, Bronx. If the rezoning is approved by the City Council, developer Throggs Neck Associates, LLC will construct four mixed-use apartment buildings at four different sites off the Bruckner Expressway. The project area is bordered by Bruckner Expressway to the south, Crosby Avenue to the east, Balcom Avenue to the west, and Meyers Street to the north.

Map showing the four proposed buildings. Click for larger image. Image Credit: CPC.

On September 7, 2022, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the 280 Bergen Street Rezoning project, an application that would enable the construction of a four-building mixed use development in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn. The applicant seeks to rezone the majority of the block surrounded by Bergen Street to the north, Wyckoff Street to the south, Nevins Street to the west and Third Avenue to the east. 

Image Credit: NYCHA.

On September 15, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced a new leadership structure for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The new structure will split the roles of the NYCHA chair and chief executive officer, which until now had been held together by one person. Greg Russ will step down as the chief executive officer but will remain the chair. NYCHA Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel Lisa Bova-Hiatt will serve as the interim chief executive officer until a new permanent one can be appointed. 

The 351 Powers project seeks to build affordable housing on an empty lot in Mott Haven. Image Credit: HPD.

The South Bronx development will include approximately 80 new affordable homes and a building designed to withstand climate change. On August 18, 2022, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) began accepting proposals to build an 100 percent affordable, climate resilient housing project in Mott Haven, Bronx. Located on an undeveloped stretch of 351 Powers Avenue, the finished project will include approximately 80 new affordable homes.

Mayor Adams signs Local Law 82 into law. Image Credit: Office of Mayor Eric Adams.

Homeowners of a one, two, or three family residence are now eligible for a $150 tax rebate. On August 24, 2022, Mayor Adams signed Local Law 82 into law. The bill authorizes a one-time property tax rebate up to $150 to hundreds of thousands of eligible New York homeowners. The bill was introduced (Intro 600) and voted on by the City Council in early August, passing by a unanimous vote following a public hearing.