
Chair Marisa Lago at the 163rd CityLaw Breakfast/Image Credit: CityLaw
On Friday, October 4, 2019, New York City Department of City Planning Director, Marisa Lago spoke at the 163rd CityLaw Breakfast at New York Law School. Director Marisa Lago was introduced by Professor Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law and Dean Anthony W. Crowell. Director Lago spoke on “Planning for Inclusion: The Whys and Hows.” This Breakfast was sponsored by Davidoff Hutcher and Citron LLP, ConEdison, Greenberg Traurig, and Verizon.
(more…)

Rending of Edgemere Commons Image Credit: City Planning
Edgemere Commons receives mixed reaction from the Rockaway community. On September 25, 2019, City Planning unanimously approved the Rockaway Limited Partnership’s application to redevelop an existing superblock in the Edgemere neighborhood of Far Rockaway, Queens. The site, which formerly housed Peninsula Hospital, is a paved over, impermeable surface lot located north of Rockaway Beach Boulevard, south of Beach Channel Drive east of Beach 53rd Street and west of Beach 50th Street. The development is currently referred to as “Edgemere Commons.”
(more…)

Map depicting the three project site locations. Image Credit: CPC/HPD
The three sites will have amenities for residents and are transit accessible. On September 25, 2019, the City Council voted to approve an application to develop affordable housing on three City-owned properties located in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The properties are located at 47 New Lots Avenue, 609-615 Osborn Street, and 120-122 Liberty Avenue. The three properties are small, underutilized sites and are currently vacant. The application proposed the development of two residential buildings and one mixed-use building, which would bring approximately 41 affordable housing units to the Brownsville neighborhood.
(more…)
In August 2018, City Planning’s Chair Marisa Lago appointed Anita Laremont as the new Executive Director of the Planning Department. Laremont joined the Department as General Counsel in 2014 and has served New York City and State in public positions for over 35 years. (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio visits Rockaway Beach to announce that it will reopen in time for the summer. Image Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography
The stretch of beach was closed last summer due to heavy erosion. On May 14, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio along with U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced the completion of the East Rockaway Inlet maintenance dredging project. The completion of the project will allow for the reopening of the stretch of beach from Beach 92nd Street to Beach 105th Street. The portion of beach was closed last summer due to erosion and lack of sand. (more…)