Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

On November 22, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the creation of a new pilot program to design and construct projects utilizing the NYC Climate Resiliency Design guidelines. The guidelines provide technical guidance for engineers and architects in the design of buildings, roads, sewer systems, public housing, and other forms of public infrastructure to anticipate worsening impacts from climate change including flooding, storm surge and intense heat. (more…)

Construction on the Queens site parking lot began in June. Image Credit: DDC.

These teams will prepare the site for construction and enable court operations to continue for the duration of construction. On November 30, 2021, the Department of Design and Construction announced that four separate teams had been selected to receive design-build contracts to prep the sites of the new Borough-Based Jails. The Borough Based Jails project will build smaller jails in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn to allow for the eventual closure of Rikers Island to address crowding, safety and quality of life issues. The controversial project was approved in 2019. For CityLand’s previous coverage of the borough-based jails project, click here. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT.

The public engagement process will continue into the new year. On November 18, 2021, the de Blasio administration announced the schedule for the Permanent Open Restaurant Program public engagement process. The proposed permanent open restaurant program will establish a new streamlined program for the creation, management and enforcement of sidewalk and roadway cafes operated by the Department of Transportation. (more…)

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Ten parks a year for ten years will be redesigned and transformed. On October 26, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff announced that $425.5 million will be invested in the Community Parks Initiative over the next ten years. The Community Parks Initiative (CPI) renovates and redesigns community parks, usually in high-density, low-income areas, that have previously been neglected in past administrations. Parks that have received less than $250,000 in investment over the past 20 years are also a part of the initiative. Sixty-seven parks have been redesigned since the program launched in 2014. (more…)

Roadway cafe in Brooklyn. Image Credit: NYC DOT.

Community boards in support and against the application had concerns about quality of life issues and community board involvement in future reviews. Last year’s Open Restaurants program was established to allow restaurants to operate sidewalk or roadway cafes without the extensive approval process to provide safe outdoor dining options during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the program was enabled through an emergency executive order that temporarily suspended the sidewalk café application process, a permanent program would require changes to laws and agency rules. The first step is a proposed zoning text amendment to get rid of the geographical restrictions of where sidewalk and roadway cafes can be located. While zoning text amendments do not need to go through the full ULURP process, it is customary for the Department of City Planning to seek the feedback of community boards for these applications. (more…)