Chair Francisco Moya. Image Credit: New York City Council

The proposed rezoning will allow growing families in the community to remain in the neighborhood without compromising their desire for more housing space. On September 25, 2019, the City Council  voted to approve the rezoning of two areas in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. The areas are located northeast of the Kew Gardens Interchange generally bounded by 72nd Avenue to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, Main Street to the east, and Park Drive East to the west. The applicant proposed to rezone the areas to allow for larger homes to be built. The rezoning would give community homeowners the flexibility to expand their homes and ensure already expanded homes are under compliance.

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Councilmember Donovan Richards. Image credit: William Alatriste/NYC Council

Donovan Richards was elected to the City Council from the 31st District in February 2013.  When you speak with City Council member Donovan Richards, two things become readily apparent:  an encyclopedic knowledge of the needs of his Southeast Queens Council district and the drive to pursue solutions for each of those needs simultaneously.

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Sam Schwartz

This week there has been a renewed interest in Sam Schwartz’s revised congestion pricing plan which is being pushed by a group called Move NY.  Read CityLaw’s great profile on Mr. Schwartz that details his plan.  This was originally published on April 18, 2013.

Sam Schwartz is the president and CEO of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a firm that specializes in transportation planning and engineering. Schwartz’s new congestion pricing proposal, “Move New York,” offers a novel approach to the controversial subject.

Sam Schwartz was born and raised in Brooklyn, attended Brooklyn Technical High School, graduated from Brooklyn College where he majored in physics, and earned a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1971, Schwartz began working with the City’s Department of Transportation, as a junior engineer. He rose to be DOT’s Chief Engineer and First Deputy Commissioner.

In 1990, Schwartz left the DOT to teach classes at Cooper Union. Schwartz also began writing columns for the Daily News under the pen-name “Gridlock Sam.” In 1995, Schwartz opened his own engineering firm called Sam Schwartz Engineering. The firm is involved in projects throughout the globe, including a revolutionary streetcar system in Aruba, powered solely by battery and hydrogen fuel cells.

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Every month CityLand creates a comprehensive set of charts to track land use applications undergoing public review. This includes new applications filed with the Department of City Planning and the Board of Standards & Appeals, applications certified into the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, and applications before the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

We track these applications throughout the review process and until a final decision has been made by the competent City Agency. The majority of these decisions are available on the Center for New York City Law’s CityAdmin database (found at www.CityAdmin.org). When possible, we have provided a link within our Filings and Decisions chart to provide easy access to the relevant documents (i.e. application materials or a final decision).

New Filings and Decisions chart May 2012

IDA also approves tax -exempt bonds for 2 health care entities and 1 private school. On October 9, 2007, the New York City Industrial Development Agency voted to provide financial assistance to four entities.

IDA awarded the Bronx Parking Development Company $225 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance the design, construction, and renovation of three new parking garages, two existing garages and six surface lots that would serve the new Yankee Stadium. According to IDA, the parking project will create approximately 555 construction and operational jobs. (more…)