Landmarks Votes to Designate Manida Street HD

The designation created the 150th historic district in New York City. On June 23, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to create the Manida Street Historic District in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. The designation followed support from local residents, community activists, and elected officials who wanted to preserve 42 semi-detached brick houses along Manida Street from Garrison to Lafayette Avenues. 


Landmarks Approves New Three Story Residential Building in Bedford-Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights HD

The building’s ground-floor storefront design was inspired by the commercial storefronts seen on the block. On June 9, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to issue a binding report for the construction of a new three-story residential building on a vacant lot located at 358 Malcolm X Boulevard, Brooklyn. The vacant lot is located within the Bedford-Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. The proposal is part of a Department of Housing and Preservation Development affordable housing … <Read More>


CityLaw Profile: Elizabeth Fine, General Counsel, Empire State Development Corporation

Elizabeth Fine became General Counsel and Executive Vice-President of the Empire State Development Corporation in 2014 after a long career of government service. Fine grew up in New Haven, Washington D.C., and Lima, Peru. Her family eventually settled in the Boston area, where Fine graduated Brookline High School. Jonathan Fine, Elizabeth’s father, had worked in Lima for the Agency for International Development while her mother, Edith W. Fine, was an administrator for the Peace Corp. … <Read More>


Landmarks Calendars Jamaica, Queens Public School for Designation

The public school building’s design and details set it apart from other school buildings built during the early 20th century. On June 9, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar Public School 48 in Jamaica, Queens for designation as an individual landmark. Public School 48, located at 155-02 108th Avenue, is an Art Deco style three-story public school building designed by Walter C. Martin. 


Mapping the New Senate, Assembly & Congressional Districts

New York State in 2021 must redraw the State’s senate, assembly and congressional districts. The process will be different from the process used to draw legislative and congressional district lines in the past. Previously, the State legislature redrew the districts for its own members and for the State’s congressional members.  After years of efforts to reform a process seen as too self-interested, New York State voters in 2014 approved an amendment to the State constitution … <Read More>


City Council Intends to Aid Property Owners with Two Tax Deferment Bills

Public Hearing hinges on interest rates and how property tax deferments affect the City budget. On June 18, 2020, the City Council officially introduced two bills that would defer July 1, 2020, property tax liabilities for COVID-19 impacted property owners. One bill addresses the tax liabilities of primary residences and the other addresses the tax liabilities of businesses affected by the pandemic. The bills were originally heard as preconsidered bills at the June 10, 2020, … <Read More>