Public School 48 in Jamaica, Queens/Image Credit: LPC
The public school building’s design and details set it apart from other school buildings built during the early 20th century. On June 9, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar Public School 48 in Jamaica, Queens for designation as an individual landmark. Public School 48, located at 155-02 108th Avenue, is an Art Deco style three-story public school building designed by Walter C. Martin.
Rhinelander Avenue in Morris Park, Bronx, one of many streets open to pedestrians and cyclists under the Open Streets program. Image Credit: CityLand
The plan will aim to add 100 miles of open streets, widened sidewalks and protected bike lanes. Note: This article has been updated to continuously reflect the added streets as those announcements are made. Please continue to check back for further updates.
On April 27, 2020, the Mayor’s Office announced a plan along with Council Speaker Corey Johnson to implement street closures, sidewalk widening, and the addition of bike lanes as part of the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The plan aims to close off streets to cars to provide more space for social distancing for pedestrians and cyclists as the weather gets warmer and more people are expected to go outside. (more…)
Sparklers are prohibited in NYC. Image credit: Maxpixel.
All types of fireworks are illegal throughout New York City and any person who violates the law could be subject to fines and/or jail time. There is something special when a firework is lit and sent into the sky, exploding with a beautiful array of colors. Each firework is unpredictable. The noise can be too much to bear for some, but for others it is like you are a kid again when you see fireworks light up the sky in unimaginable ways. (more…)
Visit EDC's website to download the RFP
City seeks proposals for industrial-use lots in parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. On June 25, 2012, the Economic Development Corporation issued a rolling request for proposals for the purchase or lease of four City-owned industrial parcels in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. The sites are: North Zerega in Unionport, Bronx; Chestnut-Dinsmore in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn; Moore McCormack in Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and College Point in the College Point Industrial Park section of Queens. The RFP is a part of EDC’s efforts to support the retention and growth of industrial businesses in the City, and complements the 22 industrial initiatives announced by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn in June 2011. The goals of the RFP include increasing access to affordable industrial spaces and aligning City resources with industrial businesses’ needs. All four lots are eligible for the City’s Brownfield Incentive Grant program and federal Environmental Protection Agency grants. The sites are zoned for manufacturing, which allows manufacturing, industrial, and most commercial uses.
Bronx developer claimed non-compliance with zoning law was minimal and should not impede vesting of rights. Developer GRA V LLC applied for an excavation and foundation permit from the Department of Buildings for construction of a 63- unit apartment building in a neighborhood of one- and two-family buildings within the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Village. Despite an Administrative Code requirement that permit applications be accompanied by a lot diagram survey prepared by a licensed surveyor, the developer only included a Sanborn map signed and stamped by its architect. Buildings accepted the Sanborn map in lieu of the survey, relying on the architect’s seal, and issued the foundation permit to the developer.
Aware that the City was in the process of downzoning the neighborhood to restrict development to one- or two-family buildings, the developer moved quickly with construction, completing excavation and 85 percent of the foundation by the day the City Council approved the rezoning. After Buildings issued a stop-work order, the developer filed a request to continue work, arguing that it had acquired a vested right to continue. While Buildings did not initially oppose the developer’s request, a survey submitted by neighbors showed the developer’s Sanborn map was inaccurate. The developer submitted its own survey, confirming that the Sanborn map inaccurately marked the adjacent building’s footprint, failing to show it was set back 1.9 feet from the street line. As a result, the developer’s proposed structure, bound by the “narrow streets” zoning requirement not to build any closer to the street line than the nearest adjacent building, pierced the setback area at three small points. Following the submission, Buildings denied the request. (more…)
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