City Officials Cut Ribbon on Final Section of Brooklyn Bridge Park

The addition completes the park’s original design. On December 9, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio, elected officials and community leaders joined together to cut the ribbon on the final section of Brooklyn Bridge Park. The section, located underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, will be named Emily Warren Roebling Plaza after Emily Warren Roebling, whose work helped ensure the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. The section connects the already completed DUMBO section and southern piers of the <Read More>


First Design-Build Teams Selected, Construction to Soon Begin on Borough-Based Jails Project

These teams will prepare the site for construction and enable court operations to continue for the duration of construction. On November 30, 2021, the Department of Design and Construction announced that four separate teams had been selected to receive design-build contracts to prep the sites of the new Borough-Based Jails. The Borough Based Jails project will build smaller jails in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn to allow for the eventual closure of Rikers Island <Read More>


Mayor Announces $425 Million in Funding for Community Parks Initiative

Ten parks a year for ten years will be redesigned and transformed. On October 26, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff announced that $425.5 million will be invested in the Community Parks Initiative over the next ten years. The Community Parks Initiative (CPI) renovates and redesigns community parks, usually in high-density, low-income areas, that have previously been neglected in past administrations. Parks that have received less than $250,000 in investment over <Read More>


City Finalizes Two Deals to Bring Almost 400 Affordable Senior Housing Units to the Bronx and Brooklyn

Both buildings offer a variety of enrichment opportunities and support for seniors. On July 2, 2021, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) finalized two deals to secure 393 new affordable senior housing units to the Soundview neighborhood in the Bronx and the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn.


City Begins Construction on First of Borough-Based Jails in Kew Gardens

The structure will provide over 600 parking spaces and 25,000 square feet of flexible community space. On June 25, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the start of construction at one of the City’s four borough-based jails sites in Kew Gardens, Queens. The borough-based jails are part of the City’s controversial solution to shut down Rikers Island and replace the complex with four smaller, locally based jails in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. The <Read More>


Penn Triangle Park Reconstruction Completed

The renovations include new play equipment and trees. On March 15, 2021, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Prospect Park Alliance announced the completion of the Penn Triangle reconstruction in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The project is a part of the Community Parks Initiative, which aims to create thriving equitable public places through the reconstruction of smaller local parks.