NYLS students and alumni ask Mayoral Candidate Art Chang questions about technology and policy in one of NYLS’s several mayoral candidate forums. Image Credit: CityLand

Links to watch previous events are provided below. On June 22, 2021, New York City will hold its next primary election to help determine who will be the City’s next Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, City Council and Borough Presidents. Early voting begins on Saturday June 12th and lasts through Sunday June 20th.

Photo Credit: NYC.gov

NOTE: This CityLaw article was previously published on CityLand on March 8, 2021 and is being reposted ahead of the NYC Primary election on June 22, 2021. For more information about the election and where to vote visit www.voting.nyc.

Registered voters in the Democratic and Republican parties will, on June 22, 2021, be asked to participate in one of the most important primary elections in New York City’s history—with an entirely new voting system. New York City’s June primary elections will be the first major test of ranked-choice voting. Rather than voting for one favored candidate to win the party nomination, voters will be asked to rank up to five candidates on the ballot in order of preference.

Image Credit: NYCHA.

The new portal provides step-by-step instructions and easier navigation. On June 1, 2021, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) launched the redesign of its online annual recertification portal for residents. NYCHA residents and Section 8 voucher holders are required to recertify their income, assets, expenses and family composition on an annual basis. 

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

The TD Green Space Grant is providing the Tree Time Program with $20,000 to support urban greenery programs like planting street-ready trees. On May 27, 2021, the NYC Parks Tree Time Program announced its receipt of a $20,000 TD Green Space Grant to support innovative urban greening and tree planting projects in underserved communities. The grant comes from the TD Bank Group and the Arbor Day Foundation.

Ross Sandler, Center for New York City Law Director

If all the charitable foundations everywhere in the United States were lined up according to impact, the J.M. Kaplan Fund would be in the top ten. The J.M. Kaplan Fund was established in 1945 by Jacob M. Kaplan and was led for thirty years by J.M.’s daughter, Joan K. Davidson. Joan was a fixture in New York City’s political, charitable, and civic world, and she used her ideas and enthusiasms to make New York City a better place. The story is told in a new book by Roberta Brandes Gratz, It’s A Helluva Town: Joan K. Davidson, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the fight for a Better New York (Bold Type Books 2020).

161-15 Rockaway Boulevard. Image Credit: Google Maps

DOB inspector found blockage on stairwell leading to street exit. On December 3, 2019, a Department of Buildings inspector visited a construction site in an office building located at 161-15 Rockaway Boulevard in Queens. Upon examination of the second-floor jobsite, the inspector found that the landing separating the two flights of an exit stairwell was being partially blocked by large plastic containers designed to hold construction materials and refuse. The stairwell in question led to a door with an all-caps exit sign. The door led out to 145^th Road, a roadway just off the Belt Parkway. Unable to find anyone at the worksite, the inspector posted a summons on the front door of the building.