State Legislature Passes Law to Fund Hotel and Office Conversion to Affordable Housing

The properties will be owned, operated and managed by selected nonprofit organizations. On June 9, 2020, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act. The Bill, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, allows New York State to partner with nonprofit organizations to finance the acquisition and conversion of distressed hotels and commercial office space into affordable housing.


Westchester County Stream and Wetland Restoration Completed, Protecting a New York City Water Supply

The former Armonk Bowling Alley has been converted into a natural buffer upstream of the Kensico Reservoir and will help to protect a key source of unfiltered drinking water. On June 4, 2021, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced the completion of a $5.5 million restoration project to rebuild a stream and wetlands on the site of the former Armonk Bowling Alley located in Westchester County. The new stream and wetlands expand … <Read More>


City Planning Holds Public Hearing on 100% Affordable Mixed-Use Development in Brooklyn

The proposed mixed-use development looks to activate vacant land near the Halsey Street Subway station. On August 17, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a remote public hearing on a City application that would facilitate the construction of an eight-story mixed use development in the Ocean Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. The site is currently a vacant, trapezoidal block situated mainly along Broadway to the northeast, Hancock Street to the southeast, and Saratoga Ave to the … <Read More>


Building Code Order Upheld

City placed apartment building in program that forces owners to correct severe code violations. In February 2015, Trump Presidential Inc. purchased a three-story apartment building located in St. Albans, Queens. Trump filed a property registration form with New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. A few months later, HPD selected the property for participation in the Alternative Enforcement Program. The program identifies the most distressed dwellings in the City and requires the owners … <Read More>


Mayor’s Office Announces Conversion of Temporary Homeless Shelters into Permanent Affordable Housing

The conversion is another step in the City’s plan to address the homelessness crisis. On November 19, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced its transition into the second phase of a plan to convert temporary homeless shelters into permanently affordable housing units. According to the Mayor’s Office, this plan will help not-for-profit housing developers acquire and rehabilitate an additional 14 residential “cluster site” buildings, currently being used to house homeless families, and convert them into over … <Read More>


Borough Based Jails Set to Take First Steps in 2020

The City wastes little time in efforts to shutter Rikers Island and get construction across the boroughs started. Since the latter half of November, the City announced three major developments in the Borough-Based Jails plan. Each announcement is discussed in further detail below. To read more about Borough-Based Jails, read Cityland’s prior coverage here.