City Council Considering 251 Affordable Units to be Built on Top of the Flatbush Caton Market

Approval would allow the construction of 251 Affordable Units above a local vendor market and community facility. On March 28, 2017, the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee will consider an application from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to dispose of city-owned property, transferring the property to BRP Caton Flats LLC. The subject lot is located at 794 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn’s Flatbush-Ditmas Park neighborhood. The development application also requires a zoning map amendment to change … <Read More>


City Council to Hear Testimony on Three New Harlem Developments

The City Planning Commission approved three new affordable housing projects; City Council schedules hearing. On February 1, 2017, the City Planning Commission adopted favorable reports for three Department of Housing Preservation and Development applications to dispose of city-owned properties in order to facilitate three new housing developments in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood. Each development will contain varying levels of affordability under HPD loan structures. The City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning has scheduled a public hearing on … <Read More>


Three-Quarter Housing: Council Seeks to Address Blight [UPDATE: City Council Approves Legislation]

UPDATE: On February 1, 2017, the City Council voted 47-0 to approve four bills that would help protect tenants of three-quarter houses in New York City. During the vote, Council Member Donovan Richards called three-quarter houses a wide spread problem that would not be cured by the bills and that the City would need to track progress on the issue to determine future responses. Council Member Ritchie Torres called predatory operators of three-quarter houses the … <Read More>


City Planning Approves New Dorp BID [UPDATE: City Council Will Hold Hearing]

UPDATE: The City Council’s Committee on Finance has scheduled a public hearing for the New Dorp Business Improvement District for February 15, 2017. The hearing will be held in the Committee Room at City Hall at 10:00 AM, and will be chaired by Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland.

The below report was originally published on January 11, 2017:

Proposal encompasses 180 businesses, 30 residential units and two government-owned properties. On January 4, 2016, the City Planning … <Read More>


Property Tax Lien Sale Program Extended by City Council

The City’s Lien Sale Program has been extended another four years with some minor modifications. A lien is a legal claim against a property for unpaid property taxes, water, sewer or other property charges. When the property owner has been delinquent for a specified period of time, the City is allowed to sell the liens to an authorized third party. The new purchaser then has the authority to collect the money that was previously owed … <Read More>


City Council Members Berate Applicant for Withdrawing MIH Commitment; Deny Application

The proposal would allow for the construction of a new ten-unit, four-story residential development on a vacant Brooklyn lot. On December 12, 2016, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises heard testimony on an application for the rezoning of three lots at 14–18 Carroll Street, in the Columbia Street Waterfront District neighborhood in Brooklyn Community District 6. The developer proposed the construction a ten-unit residential building on three vacant lots, totaling 6,229 square feet … <Read More>