Brad Lander

Council Member Brad Lander, chair of the City Council’s Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, draws from his experience as a public policy advocate when executing his duties.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Lander in 1991 earned a liberal arts degree from the University of Chicago. He then earned a master’s degree in Social Anthropology at the University College London in the United Kingdom, where he worked with community groups to research how a controversial plan to redevelop the London Docklands would impact local maritime communities.

Lander in 1993 returned to the United States and joined the Fifth Avenue Committee, a Brooklyn community group that advances economic and social justice. During his tenure Lander earned a second master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute. In 2003 he was named director of the Pratt Center for Community Development. He was also involved in advocating for the use of inclusionary zoning, which allows developers to construct larger buildings in exchange for allocating a portion to affordable housing. The campaign helped spearhead the City’s use of inclusionary zoning in neighborhoods outside of Manhattan. (more…)

Proposed local law would impose wage mandates on certain businesses receiving City economic development incentives. On May 12, 2011, the City Council’s Contracts Committee held a hearing on the proposed Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The proposal, Intro 251-A, would require employers connected to a development project receiving at least $100,000 in financial assistance from the City to pay employees a mandated “living wage” that would be linked to a consumer price index. The living wage requirements would apply for 30 years from the completion of the development project, or the duration of any City financial assistance, whichever is longer. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act is an amended version of a proposed local law first introduced by the Council on May 25, 2010.

The Council in 2002 enacted legislation mandating a prevailing or living wage that applied only to certain City service employees, including homecare and building service workers. Intro 251-A would apply to the developer of a subsidized project, as well as tenants, subtenants, and certain contractors who operate on-site. The law would not apply to a defined group of employers, including small businesses grossing less than one million dollars, not-for-profit organizations, and businesses (excluding retailers) operating on the premises of a project primarily consisting of affordable housing. (more…)

Landmarks last raised fees for new building and alteration applications in 2009. On March 8, 2011, Landmarks approved an increase in permit fees for new buildings and alterations. Landmarks published the rule in the City Record on December 16, 2010, and January 27, 2011. Landmarks last approved a fee increase in September 2009. 6 CityLand 125 (Sept. 15, 2009).

The change increases fees for permits related to new one- to three-family dwellings from ten to fifteen cents per square foot. For all other new buildings, fees increase to from twenty to 25 cents per square foot. For all building types the fees will not be less than $100 per structure. A flat fee for building alterations costing up to $25,000 would rise from $50 to $95. Landmarks increased an incremental fee for each additional $1,000 spent on alterations above $25,000 from four to five dollars. As examples, the fee for a proposed $15,000 storefront alteration would be $95, while the fee for a proposed $300,000 rooftop addition will rise from $1,150 to $1,470. (more…)

Rule amendment would expand staff-level approval authority for some types of window and sign alterations. On March 1, 2011, Landmarks held a public hearing on proposed amendments to the rules pertaining to construction work on properties under Landmarks’ jurisdiction. Landmarks proposed the changes to streamline the application review process, codify current practices and policies, and address inconsistencies. Chair Robert B. Tierney stated that the proposal was partially intended to remove from the calendar issues that have consistently been decided based on similar circumstances and to make the City’s preservation law as “simple [and] transparent as possible.

The rules include permitting staff-level approval of modifications to certain visible windows, more staff-level approval of storefront signage, and expedited review of cellar and basement work provided it would not involve excavation. The new rules would no longer allow staff-level approval of modifications to non-visible windows on the top floors of rowhouses, keeping with comments from Commissioners regarding the significance of historic rowhouses. The changes would require staff to consider applications for rear or roof additions in the context of aggregate enlargements to the buildings, including approved and grandfathered additions. The definition of mechanical equipment would be broadened to include solar panels, wind turbines, and micro turbines, in order to ease the approval of green technologies. (more…)

EDC awarded $9 million contract to BillyBey Ferry Company to provide new ferry service to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens starting in Spring 2011. On February 2, 2011, the City’s Economic Development Corporation awarded BillyBey Ferry Company a three-year $9 million contract to provide expanded ferry service along the East River. Billybey, operating under the NY Waterways brand, will make seven regular stops connecting riders to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The stops will include: Pier 11 in lower Manhattan, Fulton Ferry Landing in DUMBO, South Williamsburg’s Schaefer Landing, North Williamsburg between North Fifth and North Sixth Streets, India Avenue in Greenpoint, Hunter’s Point South in Long Island City, and East 34th Street in Manhattan The service will also stop at Pier 6 in Brooklyn during summer weekends and Governors Island on summer Fridays.

The ferries will run every twenty minutes during weekday peak hours, every thirty minutes during off-peak summer hours, and every hour during off-peak winter hours. Fares will be $3 for up to three stops, and $5.50 for more than three stops. There will be a free bus line from the East 34th Street ferry landing during peak hours that will make stops along the 34th Street corridor. The MTA’s M34 bus will provide service during off-peak hours. (more…)