Proposed local law would impose wage mandates on certain businesses receiving City economic development incentives. On May 12, 2011, the City Council’s Contracts Committee held a hearing on the proposed Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The proposal, Intro 251-A, would require employers connected to a development project receiving at least $100,000 in financial assistance from the City to pay employees a mandated “living wage” that would be linked to a … <Read More>
Sites for applied sciences academic campus include Brooklyn Navy Yard, Roosevelt Island, Governors Island, and Staten Island. The City’s Economic Development Corporation issued a request for expressions of interest from universities, applied sciences organizations, or related institutions regarding the development and operation of a new applied sciences research facility and academic campus in the City. According to EDC, the City is interested in a facility specializing in applied engineering, but it could provide additional programs … <Read More>
Four-building complex is rare reminder of Brooklyn’s once-major industry. On May 11, 2010, Landmarks designated the former William Ulmer Brewery at 31 Belvidere Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn as an individual City landmark. The brewery comprises four buildings constructed between 1872 and 1890: an office building, a brew house and addition, an engine and machine house, and a stable and storage facility. Brooklyn-based architects William Engelhardt and Frederick Wunder designed the complex around a courtyard in … <Read More>
Michael B. Gerrard, director of Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law, traces his passion for environmental protection back to growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, a city dominated by major chemical manufacturing companies like Union Carbide and DuPont. As a child, he lived on the banks of the Kanawha River, where large amounts of toxic chemicals had polluted the water and air.
After graduating from Columbia University, Gerrard worked for a local environmental … <Read More>
City chose not to heavily invest in Willets Point infrastructure. In November 2008, the City Council approved a $3 billion development plan for Willets Point, an industrial neighborhood in northern Queens. When implemented, the plan would transform the low-end commercial area into a mixed-use community with residential, retail, hotel, and entertainment uses. Under the plan, the City could utilize eminent domain to acquire property needed for development. The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association, an … <Read More>
Program would create floor area bonus and other incentives in effort to increase number of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods. On August 5, 2009, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the City’s proposed Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program. The program, a joint effort by the Department of City Planning and the City’s Economic Development Corporation, is a response to a City-sponsored study from 2008 finding that low- … <Read More>