Edward’s unenclosed sidewalk café restaurant located at 136 W Broadway in Manhattan. Image credit: CityLand.
Operating a sidewalk café requires a public review process and approval from the city. Summer is here and many restaurants open sidewalk cafés to give people a breath of fresh air while enjoying a meal. To operate a sidewalk café, the business must have a food service establishment permit and each year the business must pay consent fees, which are essentially a “lease” for use of the sidewalk space.
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View of Worth Street from New York Law School. Image credit: CityLand
After judge finds operator at fault of fatal collapse, agency revokes license. On May 2, 2018, the Department of Buildings announced it permanently revoked the Hoist machine Operator license of crane operator Kevin J. Reilly. Reilly was involved in the fatal crane collapse in February 2016 on Worth Street in TriBeCa adjacent to New York Law School. Reilly’s license was suspended in December 2016 and DOB filed an action to permanent revocation. CityLand previously covered the crane collapse here and here. (more…)
Image credit: Jeff Hopkins.
The SAFE Act, the acronym for the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act – New York State’s January, 2013 omnibus gun control law – provides an excellent opportunity to assess the potential impact of maximally politically feasible gun control, an exercise all the more relevant in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. The SAFE Act did not have to be negotiated or compromised. The New York legislature passed it without hearings, debate, or input from gun owners and their advocates. The Act included several of the top priorities of gun control proponents. While the SAFE Act was a political triumph, its implementation has been problematic and its enforcement practically non-existent. (more…)
Council Member Margaret Chin. Image credit: NYCC/William Alatriste
Housing Committee approves six pieces of legislation from package of 21 bills on construction safety, more to follow including apprenticeship bill. On April 24, 2017, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings approved six bills from a package of 21 on which the Committee heard testimony on January 3st. For CityLand’s prior coverage of that hearing, click here. Chair of the Committee, Jumaane Williams, noted that the Committee planned on approving some of the remaining fifteen bills soon, including the controversial Intro. 1447-2017 which would require all construction workers citywide to participate in an apprenticeship program or have commensurate work experience. (more…)
101-36 104th Street in Queens. Image Credit: GoogleMaps.
Owner leased space to non-profit providing services under contract with the State Department of Mental Health. The current certificate of occupancy for a three story building located at 101-36 104th St., Queens, provided for three residential units, one per floor. The owner of the building leased the third floor to Promoting Specialized Care and Health, a non-profit. The non-profit, under contract with the New York State Department of Mental Health, provides assistance to individuals with developmental and psychiatric problems to reenter society after being homeless or in prison. The owner converted the third floor to meet the non-profit’s needs, including individually numbered doors with individual locking devices. Each room contained personal effects, food items, and in one room, a microwave and three-piece bathroom. There was a common living space, kitchen, and bathroom. (more…)
