Rendering of the Atrium, one of the two new senior affordable housing developments recently secured by NYCHA, HPD and HDC. Image Credit: HDP

Both buildings offer a variety of enrichment opportunities and support for seniors. On July 2, 2021, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) finalized two deals to secure 393 new affordable senior housing units to the Soundview neighborhood in the Bronx and the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn. (more…)

Rendering of the future protected bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge, set to begin construction on Monday, June 21st. Image Credit: NYC DOT

The protected bike lane will provide safety from cars for cyclists and provide more room on the promenade for pedestrians. On June 21, 2021, the Department of Transportation will begin constructing protected bicycle lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge. The project will begin with removing the innermost Manhattan-bound vehicular lane and transforming it into a two-way protected bicycle lane. Currently, pedestrians and cyclists share access to the bridge on the bridge’s promenade. The two-lane promenade, only divided by a painted line, is often overcrowded and can be potentially dangerous for both cyclists and pedestrians. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT

One year ago, in January 2020, the Expert Panel assigned by Mayor Bill de Blasio to study the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway issued its Final Report. Mayor de Blasio in 2019 appointed the seventeen-person Expert Panel* of which I was a member, following the angry rejection of New York City DOT’s plan for reconstructing the section of the BQE adjacent to Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn. City DOT presented its plan publicly September 2019. The plan caused immediate outrage. (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio at the announcement of the new Medgar Evers College Preparatory School building. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

The new building will replace eight Transportable Classroom Units. On November 23, 2020 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the groundbreaking on the 681-seat new school building for the Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Brooklyn. This project will be adjacent to the school’s current site at 1186 Carroll Street in Crown Heights. This project was undertaken by the Mayor’s Office in partnership with the Department of Education, the School Construction Authority, and the City University of New York. (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

The recently completed projects are part of an effort to add more protected bike lanes in Brooklyn by the end of the year. The protected bike lanes are part of the City’s Green Wave plan for cycling. On November 5, 2020 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the completion of two protected bike lanes in Brooklyn. The new Flatbush Avenue and 4th Avenue protected bike lanes add 3.2 miles of protected lanes. (more…)