The plan will aim to add 100 miles of open streets, widened sidewalks and protected bike lanes. Note: This article has been updated to continuously reflect the added streets as those announcements are made. Please continue to check back for further updates.
On April 27, 2020, the Mayor’s Office announced a plan along with Council Speaker Corey Johnson to implement street closures, sidewalk widening, and the addition of bike lanes as part of the City’s … <Read More>
Community Boards working to stay optimistic through adversity. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down non-essential business throughout the state. The order effectively hamstrung the physical operation of many governmental and administrative offices. Community Boards, the closest representative body of a City district, have generally completed their many responsibilities through public assembly. Responsibilities include land use and zoning review, and other general community concerns such as traffic or deteriorating … <Read More>
The causes of vacancies vary due to differences in local economies and other community characteristics. On August 8, 2019, the Department of City Planning released “Assessing Storefront Vacancy in NYC”, a report which examines retail patterns and storefront vacancies across 24 different neighborhood shopping corridors around the city.
City neighborhoods report threats to affordable housing. The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development released its 2018 report on “How Is Affordable Housing Threatened in Your Neighborhood?” The report provided its findings in a chart on all neighborhoods in the five boroughs and indicators of threats to affordable housing. The Association is the umbrella organization of 100 non-profit affordable housing development groups, which serves low- and moderate-income residents in all five boroughs.
Proposed local law would impose wage mandates on certain businesses receiving City economic development incentives. On May 12, 2011, the City Council’s Contracts Committee held a hearing on the proposed Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The proposal, Intro 251-A, would require employers connected to a development project receiving at least $100,000 in financial assistance from the City to pay employees a mandated “living wage” that would be linked to a … <Read More>
Task force proposed a framework for negotiating future Community Benefit Agreements related to publicly assisted development projects. A Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) is a private agreement negotiated between developers and community groups in order to garner support for real estate development projects. In exchange for community support, a developer may agree to provide amenities, such as infrastructure improvements or wage guarantees which are not required by the City’s land use review process. Since 2005, … <Read More>