Concerns about how big-box retailer would affect small businesses dominated hearing. On February 3, 2011, the City Council’s Community Development Committee, Small Business Committee, and Economic Development Committee held a joint oversight hearing to debate Wal- Mart’s impact on the local community if the big-box retailer opened a store in the City. The Council convened the hearing in response to Wal-Mart’s renewed campaign to open a store in the City. Community opposition caused Wal-Mart to … <Read More>
Search Results for: Fair Housing
Council Member Leroy Comrie Discusses His Role as Land Use Committee Chair
Council Member Leroy Comrie, Chair of the City Council’s Land Use Committee and representative of Queens’ 27th District, is not afraid to raise his voice or make his opinion known. For the most part, however, Comrie is known as a quiet, thoughtful, and fair-minded civic leader.
Comrie was born in Jersey City, but he was raised in the same southeast Queens community he now represents. His parents, Jamaican immigrants, helped spark Comrie’s interests in politics … <Read More>
Council Member Mark Weprin Discusses His Approach to Land Use Issues
Council Member Mark Weprin, the newly elected representative for the 23rd District and son of the late State Assembly Member Saul Weprin, admits that he is no expert in land use law. When Weprin first learned that he would inherit the position of chair of the Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee from fellow Queens Council Member Tony Avella, he pulled out the same land use hornbook he used in law school and started reviewing major land … <Read More>
Wilhelm Ronda on the Bronx Borough President’s Office
Wilhelm Ronda applies a “small-town” approach to his duties as the Director of Planning for Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Whether it’s identifying parcels of land for new schools, or taking steps to protect the architectural integrity of a neighborhood building, Ronda understands that these issues can profoundly affect the borough’s residents. For this reason, Ronda encourages his staff to treat each issue with the same “tender love and care” that a small town’s … <Read More>
Council Member Jessica Lappin on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Site Safety
Council Member Jessica Lappin represents Community District 5 in Manhattan, which includes parts of Midtown and the Upper East Side. She also chairs the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses. A New York native and graduate of Stuyvesant High School and Georgetown University, Lappin was raised in a landmarked house in Gramercy Park. Well-regarded by preservation advocates, she has garnered accolades from the Friends of the Upper East Side and the Historic … <Read More>
Lynn Kelly on the Future of Coney Island
Ever since Lynn Kelly was appointed President of the Coney Island Development Corporation [CIDC] last year, she knew that time was of the essence. Her mission: restore Coney Island to its former prominence, and do it quickly, or lose the opportunity forever.
Kelly, a former Deputy Director of the City’s Art Commission, joined the New York City Economic Development Corporation in 2001. Over the next six years, she managed a portfolio of development projects and … <Read More>