The Department of Investigation’s Report found that NYCHA maintenance workers were negligent in their duties to ensure smoke and CO detectors were functioning. On October 4, 2016, the Department of Investigation issued a Report finding that New York City Housing Authority maintenance workers frequently ignored their obligation to perform safety checks and often falsified documents to cover up their negligence. DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters stated in the Report that, “DOI has now found that … <Read More>
Seven More Buildings Considered for Designation Under East Midtown Initiative
Items considered at hearing were from three development periods: the pre-Grand Central Terminal Era, the Grand Central/Terminal City Era, and the post-Grand Central/World War II Era. On September 13, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designation of seven individual landmarks in Midtown Manhattan. The items heard were among the twelve properties identified as potentially worthy of Landmarks protection in the agency’s Greater East Midtown Initiative. The initiative is part of … <Read More>
COMPLETE VIDEO: The 137th CityLaw Breakfast with William J. Bratton
On Friday October 7, 2016, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted the 137th CityLaw Breakfast. The event speaker was Former Commissioner of the NYPD, William J. Bratton. The event was specially sponsored by Tonio Burgos and Associates.
De Facto Taking Claim Fails
Owner claimed de facto taking when City installed storm drains that flooded land designated as a wetland. The firm 594 Associates, Inc. acquired vacant land on Staten Island in 1985. The land was designated freshwater wetlands or wetlands adjacent area, and therefore development was not permitted. On September 26, 2005, the City constructed a headwall on the property’s border with an adjacent street. The headwall contained an outlet for one of the adjacent street’s storm … <Read More>
Taking of Harlem Property Approved
Opponents claimed City missed three-year time period to initiate eminent domain proceedings. In June 2009, the City authorized the taking of ten parcels of land near East 125th Street by eminent domain. The takings were part of an urban renewal plan in an area known for African-American art, entertainment, and history. Some of the affected properties included a thirty-year-old auto business, a not-for-profit center, a BP service station and a billboard stanchion. The parcels were … <Read More>
Developer Withdraws Proposal Following Public Controversy over Affordable Housing
Phipps Houses withdrew its application for its ten-story, Barnett Avenue development following a lack of community support. On September 20, 2016, Phipps Houses, the oldest and largest not-for-profit developer of affordable housing in New York City, withdrew its Barnett Avenue development proposal—the day before its scheduled public hearing in front of the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. Phipps Houses had sought a zoning map change and two zoning text amendments to … <Read More>