Rent Stabilization: Preserving Low and Middle-Income Housing

Rent regulation is not a new issue for New York City. But the headlines in June 2015 were far larger and the reactions more contentious than at any time in recent memory. For the first time in its 46-year history, the Rent Guidelines Board decided that there would be no increase in rents for one-year renewals on rent-stabilized apartments; it also limited increases on two year renewals to two-percent. Not surprisingly, tenants hailed the decision … <Read More>


Development of Willets Point Blocked on Appeal

Appellate panel found the authorization for private construction on parkland did not extend to a shopping mall.  On October 9, 2013, the City Council approved Queens Development Group’s planned 10-story, 200-room hotel and 30,000-square foot mall complex on the Willets Point West site, formerly the location of Shea Stadium.  The site was once the north end of Flushing Meadows Park until the state legislature authorized the stadium’s construction in 1961.  The development would anchor further … <Read More>


CPC Authorizes New JLWQA Units in Historic District

Authorization permits conversion of retail space in two buildings to JLWQA.  On February 18, 2015 the City Planning Commission voted to grant Workspace, Inc. authorization to convert existing retail space into three designated Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists units and related storage.  The units will be located on the ground floor and in the cellar space of two buildings in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District of Manhattan, between 106 and 112 Spring Street.


Fordham Road BID Secures Expansion Approval

Fordham Road BID will incorporate One Fordham Plaza into the Bronx BID.  On July 9, 2014, the City Planning Commission approved the Fordham Road District Management Association’s application to expand the Fordham Road Business Improvement District to include two new lots located directly to the east of the existing BID.  The new lots are bounded by East Fordham Road to the north, East 189th Street to the south, Park Avenue to the east, and Washington … <Read More>


City Planning Approves New City Island Bridge

New causeway design for City Island Bridge applauded by community and local elected officials. On May 21, 2014, the City Planning Commission unanimously approved an application by the New York City Department of Transportation and Department of Parks and Recreation for a city map amendment to facilitate the construction of a new City Island Bridge in the Bronx. City Island Bridge, which connects City Island to Rodman’s Neck, was built in 1901 and was determined … <Read More>


Council Committee Approves Proposal for Large, 1,234-unit Residential Development in Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood

Latest Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen proposal raised concerns about impact on the City’s infrastructure. On April 1, 2014, the City Council Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard TF Cornerstone’s application to construct a mixed-use building at 606 West 57th Street between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenue in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood in Manhattan. The approximately 1.2 million sq. ft. mixed-use development would create approximately 1,027 market-rate rental units and 207 affordable units. The development will … <Read More>