Council Member Jumaane D. Williams speaks at the oversight hearing on short-term rentals. Image credit: William Alatriste / New York City Council

Eight-hour hearing covered testimony from supporters and opponents of short-term rental businesses.  On January 20, 2015, the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings held an oversight hearing on the effects of short-term rentals on New York City’s economy and neighborhoods.  Over the course of eight hours, the committee heard testimony from independent tenants, representatives from the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, the home-sharing website Airbnb, owners of local bed-and-breakfasts, and members of the public for and against short-term rentals. (more…)

Sam Schwartz

MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast faces a huge challenge as the MTA needs a new round of capital funding starting in 2015. At the CityLaw Breakfast on November 21, 2014 Chairman Prendergast laid out a well-thought out five year plan designed to maintain the system, modernize it, make it more resilient and extend it geographically. The price tag: $32 billion. In the intensive competition for public money, elected leaders find funds in that range only when engineers and managers in charge of infrastructure publicize the actual costs required to maintain these services. Chairman Prendergast has done a great public service by setting out costs realistically even if he cannot now identify where all the money will come from. (more…)

Architect rendering of the proposed Astoria Cove development project. Image Credit: Studio V

The project was approved by City Planning despite opposition from the Community Board, Borough President, and the local Council Member. On October 20, 2014 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold hearings on the proposed Astoria Cove mixed-use development project. The project, designed by Alma Realty, is the first project subject to Mayor de Blasio’s mandatory inclusionary zoning housing requirement. Despite the requirement, the project has faced opposition from community groups and elected leaders arguing the designated affordable units are too expensive for current Astoria residents.

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