Image credit: New York City Council.

The new office would advocate for New Yorkers who struggle with utility companies, but some question if another office is necessary. On June 30, 2022, the City Council’s Committee for Consumer and Worker Protection held an oversight hearing to discuss recent utility rate hikes and Int. 372-2022, a bill that would establish an Office of the Utility Advocate within the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). The bill is sponsored by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. (more…)

Image credit: Jeff Hopkins.

***THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY RAN FOUR YEARS AGO IN CITYLAW*** The SAFE Act, the acronym for the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act – New York State’s January, 2013 omnibus gun control law – provides an excellent opportunity to assess the potential impact of maximally politically feasible gun control, an exercise all the more relevant in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.  The SAFE Act did not have to be negotiated or compromised.  The New York legislature passed it without hearings, debate, or input from gun owners and their advocates. The Act included several of the top priorities of gun control proponents. While the SAFE Act was a political triumph, its implementation has been problematic and its enforcement practically non-existent. (more…)

Image credit: New York City Council.

The bills aim to prevent the circumstances that took 17 lives from occurring again in the future. On May 19, 2022, the City Council voted to approve a package of five bills to improve fire safety and prevention measures in residences as part of the City’s response to the tragic Twin Parks high-rise fire which killed 17 people in the Bronx this past January. The fire was a result of a space heater, and the resulting smoke spread up a stairwell after the self-closing door failed to contain the smoke within the unit. All seventeen deaths were from smoke inhalation. After the fire, the Committee on Twin Parks Citywide Taskforce on Fire Prevention was formed by the City Council as a response to the tragedy, and Council Members worked to propose various legislation to improve fire safety.  (more…)

Rendering of one of the new proposed buildings. Image Credit: NYC CPC.

The buildings would provide residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. On May 11, 2022, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for an application that would facilitate the development of two eight-story mixed use buildings that will offer residential, commercial, industrial and office spaces in Ravenswood, Queens. The rezoning area consists of the entire block bounded by 33rd Road to the north, 34th Avenue to the south, 11th Street to the west and 12th Street to the east. The two buildings take up a majority of space on the block, with the exclusion of a portion of the midblock facing 11th Street. The current block has a vacant lot and warehouses.  (more…)

Rendering of Sol on Park. Image Credit: HPD.

On May 5, 2022, the Department of Housing PReservation and Development (HPD), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announced plans for a new development to provide affordable housing for seniors in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. The Sol on Park development will be located on the corner of St. Paul’s Place and Park Avenue within the Morris II public housing development. Sol on Park’s theme is “housing is health; health is housing,” which incorporates and promotes health lifestyles in the development’s design and features. The development team consists of NRP Group, Foxy Management, and Selfhelp Realty Group, along with Magnusson Architecture and Planning. (more…)