Transportation Expands E-Scooter Share Program to Eastern Queens

On June 15, 2023, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced that the city’s popular Bronx e-scooter share program will expand to eastern Queens in 2024. The decision to expand the e-scooter share program follows the program’s early success, which saw over two million trips taken by 115,470 users in the Bronx since the program launched in August 2021.


Council Passes Bill to Establish the Office of Marine Debris Disposal and Vessel Surrendering

On April 16, 2023, Local Law 46 was adopted in NYC. The law was previously passed on March 16, 2023 by the City Council. The new law originally introduced by Council Member Joann Ariola, as Intro. 210 of 2022, will establish an Office of Marine Debris Disposal and Vessel Surrendering to remove marine debris, develop disposal procedures for marine debris and abandoned boats, and recommend plans and enforcement to help prevent the accumulation of marine … <Read More>


City Celebrates Groundbreaking for Gowanus Canal Overflow Protection Project

On March 15, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia celebrated the groundbreaking for the first of two underground storage tanks that will protect the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The two tanks will collect sewer overflow during storms and prevent that overflow from entering the Gowanus Canal. The project will also include the creation of 3.6 <Read More>


City Planning Commission Discusses Zoning for Carbon Neutrality Amendment Ahead of Public Review Process

Commissioners raised early questions about implementation and funding issues. On January 30, 2023, the City Planning Commission held a review session and overview discussion for the proposed Zoning for Carbon Neutrality amendment, one of the three City of Yes amendments proposed by Mayor Eric Adams last year. The Zoning for Carbon Neutrality amendment aims to reduce or eliminate unnecessary restrictions within the zoning text that inhibit a developer or building owner from using sustainable technology <Read More>



City Council Holds First Hearing on Permanent Open Restaurants Plan

Many elected officials raised concerns about DOT’s ability to handle the scale and capacity of a citywide permanent open restaurants program. On February 8, 2022, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a joint hearing with the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection on the proposed permanent open restaurant program. The proposed permanent open restaurant program will replace the temporary program and establish a new streamlined program for the creation, management and enforcement <Read More>