New York City Finances Over 25,000 Affordable Homes in 2019

The addition of over 25,000 affordable homes brings the City’s total affordable homes financed since 2014 to over 147,000. On February 3, 2020, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced that the City financed 25,889 homes in 2019. Of this number, 15,692 affordable homes were preserved and another 10,197 new affordable homes were financed.


CityLaw Profile: Frederick Schaffer, Chair of the Campaign Finance Board

In February 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Frederick Schaffer as the Chair of the City’s Campaign Finance Board. The Board, which will be thirty years old next year, is responsible for enforcing New York City’s campaign finance law, monitoring campaign contributions and disclosures, overseeing the public matching funds program and enforcing the rules. Schaffer takes the reigns as the Board heads into the 2017 mayoral campaign.

Schaffer was born and raised in Brooklyn. One … <Read More>



Council Passes Bill to Further Crack Down on Illegal Smoke Shops

The Council passed the bill the same day Governor Hochul announced additional state measures to address illegal smoke shops. On June 22, 2023, the City Council Committee on Public Safety passed a new bill to address New York City’s ongoing problem with unlicensed smoke shops. Int. 1001-B (2023), sponsored by Council Member Lynn Schulman from Queens, will hold landlords accountable for knowingly leasing a commercial premises to an unlicensed tenant who sells controlled substances or … <Read More>


Council Passes Bill to Amend Property Tax Interest Rates to Help Eligible Homeowners

On March 14, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams signed Local Law 36 of 2023. The new law was originally introduced as Int. No. 524 on June 6, 2022, by Council Member David M. Carr. Local Law 36 aims to ensure that eligible homeowners with a total income of $250,000 or less receive relief on property tax debts by authorizing the New York City Banking Commission to recommend an interest rate applicable to such debts.


Nail Salon gets $15K COVID fines

Nail salon violated health code by staying open for business in a Covid Red Zone. BJ New Beauty Queen Nail Spa, Inc., located at 968 McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn, was within a Covid “Red Zone.” A Covid Red Zone is an area where non-essential businesses must close due to a high infection rate. Despite the mandatory order to close, BJ New Beauty Queen remained open for business. The Department of Finance issued a summons amounting in … <Read More>