Image credit: Department of Homeless Services.

Old rental assistance programs will be combined into one. On July 18, 2018, the de Blasio Administration announced the new City Fighting Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) program, which will replace the Living in Communities, the Special Exit and Prevention Supplement, and the City Family Eviction Prevention and Exit Plan Supplements programs, creating one unified rental assistance program. The new CityFHEPS program will simplify the rental assistance process making it easier for New Yorkers in need to get back on their feet and remain in their homes. The new program will also give landlords a simpler process to participate. The proposed rule was published for public comment on Friday, July 20, 2018. (more…)

Image credit: Jeff Hopkins

In 2017, along with voting for mayor, council members, and other elected officials, the voters of New York will be asked to answer “Yes “or “No” to this question:  “Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?” Every twenty years, the New York State constitution requires that the voters of the State be given the option to call a constitutional convention for revising and amending the New York State constitution – a generational opportunity to consider the State’s governing document and how well we are governed.

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From Left to Right: Paul Selver, Jerold Kayden, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Kent Barwick. Image Credit: LPC

Speakers spoke of the different priorities of City government and other stakeholders, examined preservation strategies of municipalities nationwide, and considered changes in the legal landscape that could affect landmarking. On October 26, 2015, , Meenakshi Srinivasan, Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and Jerold Kayden, Professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, co-hosted an event titled “History in the Making: The New York City Landmarks Law at 50.” The event held at the New York City Bar Association consisted of multiple addresses and panels intended to provoke and challenge common assumptions and perceptions regarding historic preservation as the City’s landmarks law enters the second half of its first century. (more…)

Sherida Paulsen

Sherida Paulsen, midway through her one-year tenure as President of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, talked to CityLand about her career, AIA initiatives, and architecture and planning in general. She brings a wealth of experience to the position. Paulsen has served as a Commissioner and Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and is a principal at PKSB Architects.

A self-described “California girl,” Paulsen attended UC-Berkeley and UCLA before moving to New York, where she has resided for the last 30 years. Paulsen describes her career as a “mixed bag” and believes her flexibility has helped her avoid being typecast. A few of her significant projects include participating in the ongoing renovation of the Claremont Stables on the Upper West Side, guiding the adaptive reuse of Bay City, Michigan’s industrial waterfront, and overseeing the renovation of the Arnold Constable department store on Canal Street. (more…)