Rhinelander Avenue in Morris Park, Bronx, one of many streets open to pedestrians and cyclists under the Open Streets program. Image Credit: CityLand
The plan will aim to add 100 miles of open streets, widened sidewalks and protected bike lanes. Note: This article has been updated to continuously reflect the added streets as those announcements are made. Please continue to check back for further updates.
On April 27, 2020, the Mayor’s Office announced a plan along with Council Speaker Corey Johnson to implement street closures, sidewalk widening, and the addition of bike lanes as part of the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The plan aims to close off streets to cars to provide more space for social distancing for pedestrians and cyclists as the weather gets warmer and more people are expected to go outside. (more…)
Map shows the storefronts studied in SoHo. Blue dots represent occupied stores; pink dots represent vacancies; yellow dots represent vacancies with construction or a store coming soon. Image Credit: NYC DCP
The causes of vacancies vary due to differences in local economies and other community characteristics. On August 8, 2019, the Department of City Planning released “Assessing Storefront Vacancy in NYC”, a report which examines retail patterns and storefront vacancies across 24 different neighborhood shopping corridors around the city. (more…)
Malcolm Pinckney/NYC Parks
The $30 million reconstruction project brings brand new amenities to the historically underserved Brownsville park. On March 19, 2019, Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Brooklyn Community Board 16, and local students and residents broke ground on the reconstruction of Betsy Head Park in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Betsy Head Park’s reconstruction is one of the five projects of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Anchor Parks Initiative, a $150 million project to reconstruct five major parks around the City. The project plans to bring major amenities to the parks such as new soccer fields, comfort stations, running tracks, and hiking trails. (more…)
Sparklers are prohibited in NYC. Image credit: Maxpixel.
All types of fireworks are illegal throughout New York City and any person who violates the law could be subject to fines and/or jail time. There is something special when a firework is lit and sent into the sky, exploding with a beautiful array of colors. Each firework is unpredictable. The noise can be too much to bear for some, but for others it is like you are a kid again when you see fireworks light up the sky in unimaginable ways. (more…)
City neighborhoods report threats to affordable housing. The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development released its 2018 report on “How Is Affordable Housing Threatened in Your Neighborhood?” The report provided its findings in a chart on all neighborhoods in the five boroughs and indicators of threats to affordable housing. The Association is the umbrella organization of 100 non-profit affordable housing development groups, which serves low- and moderate-income residents in all five boroughs. (more…)
