City Planning Certifies City Applications to Build Borough-Based Jails

The four jails are set to replace Rikers island by 2027. On March 25, 2019, the City Planning Commission certified the City’s application for four borough-based jails as a part of the City’s plan to shut down Rikers Island. The four jails – in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn – will have a total of 5,748 beds and a capacity of 5,000 inmates. The additional 748 beds will be used to account for taking … <Read More>


HPD Announces Program To Allocate Funds to Nonprofits for Vacant Property Development

The City estimates the program will assist in the acquisition of approximately 35 vacant sites over the next five years. On March 8, 2019, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced a new program to advance the process for affordable housing development by providing loans for upfront costs to nonprofit developers. The New York City Down Payment Assistance Fund (DPAF) seeks to speed up the development process for affordable housing by … <Read More>


Residents Prevent Development in Fight Over Open Space

Appellate Division finds that Buildings improperly issued construction permit for nursing home after misinterpreting the zoning resolution. Park West Village is a complex located on a superblock bounded by West 100th Street to the north, West 97th Street to the south, Columbus Avenue to the east, and Amsterdam Avenue to the west on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The complex was built in the 1950s and 1960s as part of a federally … <Read More>


City to Acquire and Convert Nearly 500 Cluster Units into Affordable Housing

The new affordable housing is part of the de Blasio Administration’s efforts to end cluster site program. On December 4, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the progress made by the City for the acquisition and conversion of nearly 500 cluster units across 17 buildings into permanently affordable housing. The City’s plan is part of the administration’s initiative to address the homelessness crisis in New York City and is projected to provide housing for over … <Read More>


City Planning Approves City-Initiated Special Garment Center District Rezoning

Zoning changes will bring many buildings into compliance and will lift manufacturing space preservation requirements. City officials step in to ensure garment manufacturing has a continuing place in the district. On September 26, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed rezoning of the Special Garment Center District by the Department of City Planning, in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The Special Garment Center District encompasses … <Read More>


Development Will Add Eight Affordable Units in Melrose

New development on current vacant lot will include eight affordable units and ground floor commercial space. On September 5, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for the acquisition of property at 599 Courtlandt Street in the Melrose section of the Bronx. The property is located between East 150th and East 151st Streets. The applicants plan to build a … <Read More>