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…)
Rendering of proposed senior living building. Image Credit: CPC.
City Council is next to consider the proposed development, which will bring 135 affordable units for seniors as well as a new 14-story residential building. On January 30, 2019, the City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve proposed redevelopment of the former parkway hospital building in the Forest Hills section of Queens. The applicant, Auberge Grand Central, LLC, is seeking a rezoning of two lots located between the Grand Central Parkway Service Road and 112th Street, and to have them designated as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Area. The actions will facilitate the redevelopment of the former Forest Hills Parkway Hospital into a new eight-story senior housing building facing 113th Street and a new 14-story residential building on the same block, facing Grand Central Parkway Service Road. (more…)
City Council Members and the Public Advocate at a rally on Nov. 22, 2016. Image Credit: Council Member Stephen Levin.
City Council Members and Citywide Officials formally endorse Home Stability Support legislation. On November 22, 2016, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James and thirty members of the City Council formally endorsed the promulgation of the Home Stability Support program. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference and rally on the steps of City Hall. The event was co-hosted by the Public Advocate and Council Member Grodenchick, and included speeches by Council Members Crowley, Levin, Gentile, Richards, Reynoso, and Williams. The proposed program has been long championed by State Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi who represents the Forest Hills area of Queens in Albany. (more…)
City Planning Commissioners preparing to begin the February 3rd meeting. Image credit: CityLand
Despite expressing broad support for proposals, City Planning calls on City Council to make further modifications. On February 3, 2016, the City Planning Commission voted to approve the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposals, which are two of the major programs to be implemented under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York plan. This was the first opportunity for City Planning to present its modified versions of the MIH and ZQA proposals since receiving highly critical testimony at its 13 hour hearing held on December 16, 2015.
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Robert J. Kafin, Chair of GrowNYC.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote “In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” May that always be so, but it is equally true today that for many New Yorkers spring also turns thoughts to Greenmarket, a collection of producer-only farmers markets that now blanket the City.
The first Greenmarket opened in July 1976 in a lot on Second Avenue at the Manhattan end of the Queensboro Bridge. Seven farmers sold produce at a once-a-week pop-up fair during the late summer season. Today’s Greenmarket has grown into a year-around program with 54 retail markets in all five Boroughs, where 230 family farms and fisherman from seven states bring regionally produced foods for sale to consumers.
The primary objectives of Greenmarkets are to promote regional agriculture by providing urban retail outlets for family farms, and to provide consumers in the City with convenient access to fresh, locally-produced foods. The 54 Greenmarkets occupy a diverse set of spaces, ranging from the great open plazas in Union Square to indoor spaces at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown and the Staten Island Ferry Terminals. Greenmarkets are also located on wide sidewalks on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills and along Columbus Avenue behind the American Museum of Natural History, in church yards such as St. Stephen’s on East 82nd Street in Manhattan, in temporarily closed streets like Union Avenue beside McCarren Park in Brooklyn, and in parking lots such as the one at the Staten Island Mall.
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