City-owned land was used as an unlicensed community garden. The City of New York owns a parcel of real property at 3052 West 21st Street along the Coney Island Boardwalk. Between 1997 and 2004 the City licensed the site as community garden under the City’s “Green Thumb” program. In 1999 the City terminated the garden’s license in order to develop the site into a parking lot for a minor league baseball stadium. The City … <Read More>
Search Results for: Litigation
Reflections on the 2018 Charter Revision Process
The 2018 New York City Charter Revision Commission, appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, recommended three proposals, all of which were approved by the voters in the November 2018 general election. The proposals related to campaign finance, civic engagement and community boards, and were largely a result of the Charter Revision Commission’s process that emphasized accessibility for all, including those who historically have not had their voices fully considered as part of the Charter revision … <Read More>
Settlement Reached in City Waterways Billboard Lawsuit
Mayor de Blasio previously called the billboards “floating eyesores.” On October 8, 2019, the New York City Law Department announced the settlement of the City’s lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media over the company’s use of floating LED billboards in City waterways.
De Blasio Administration Sues to Remove “Water-Based” Billboards from City Waterways
The City is seeking thousands of dollars per day in fines for the ongoing and repeated violations. On March 27, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced a lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media, Inc., a water-based billboard company, for repeatedly violating local laws by displaying “Times Square-style” billboards on Manhattan and Brooklyn waterways. The billboards began popping up last Fall and are LED signs on barges, and the City alleges in the suit that the signs create a … <Read More>
U.S.A. v. NYCHA: Judge Pauley Rejects the Proposed Consent Decree
The New York City Housing Authority’s efforts to settle with the U. S. Attorney over NYCHA’s mismanagement of public housing came to an abrupt end on November 14, 2018 when U.S. District Court Judge William H. Pauley III rejected the proposed consent decree. The U.S. Attorney had charged NYCHA in a civil complaint with fraud, deception and filing false lead inspection reports. The complaint also charged NYCHA with systematically tolerating dangerous and unhealthy contamination of … <Read More>
Jason Adolfo Otaño, General Counsel for the New York City Council
Jason Adolfo Otaño, the General Counsel for the New York City Council, was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn. Otaño’s father was a City firefighter for 28 years, his mother a paraprofessional for the Department of Education, and his uncle a captain for the Department of Corrections.