Pending legislation would make it easier to impose civil penalties for illegal conversions. In recent months, City Council Member Vincent Gentile has introduced two bills to address the issue of illegal home conversions in New York City. According to Ann Falutico, Zoning Committee Chair for Brooklyn Community Board 10, a study of 311 statistics show that since 2010, over 1,000 complaints for illegal home conversions came from communities within the Council Member’s district, Bay … <Read More>
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New School Hosts Panel Discussion on Historic Preservation and Affordable Housing
Elected officials, affordable housing advocates, and preservationists speak on historic preservation’s impact on New York City’s affordable housing shortage. On September 16, 2014, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School hosted a panel discussion on New York City’s affordable housing shortage and historic preservation. The discussion was co-presented by the Historic Districts Council and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The panel featured Manhattan Borough President … <Read More>
Landmarks Applies Double Standard for Townhouse Addition
A recent decision by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to approve a non-compliant addition to a building within an historic district has enraged residents who are held to stricter standards, and preservationists who see the floodgates opening to the deterioration of the historic districts on a broader scale.
Court Dismisses Suit in Opposition to Hospital Development
Upper East Side community group did not meet burden of proof that City acted arbitrarily. On July 28, 2014, the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan denied petitions for declarative and injunctive relief against the proposed expansion of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital. The petitions were brought by the Residents for Reasonable Development and several Upper East Side residents acting individually. The petitioners argued that the institutional uses of the project were incompatible with the largely … <Read More>
REBNY Issues New Report on Landmarking and Housing Production
REBNY report shows that housing production, particularly affordable housing, is drastically lower in landmarked areas in the five boroughs. In 2013, the Real Estate Board of New York conducted a study which showed that nearly 28 percent of Manhattan is landmarked and that fewer than 2 percent of new housing units built in Manhattan over a ten-year time period (2003-2012) were constructed on landmarked properties. On July 1, 2014, REBNY released a new report which … <Read More>
Three New Rules Ease New York City Contract Process
The procurement policy board, which makes the contracting rules for the City of New York, recently adopted rules that will make it easier for the City to manage how it purchases goods and services. The most important rule in terms of large purchases will allow the City to award competitively-bid contracts for goods and services based on price plus previously announced best value considerations. Before, contracts for goods and services had to be awarded … <Read More>