Building Code Order Upheld

City placed apartment building in program that forces owners to correct severe code violations. In February 2015, Trump Presidential Inc. purchased a three-story apartment building located in St. Albans, Queens. Trump filed a property registration form with New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. A few months later, HPD selected the property for participation in the Alternative Enforcement Program. The program identifies the most distressed dwellings in the City and requires the owners … <Read More>


HPD to Redevelop Vacant Buildings for Homeless Families

HPD issues the Property Pathways RFEI seeking vacant, or partially vacant multifamily buildings that can be redeveloped into permanent housing for vulnerable New Yorkers. On December 19, 2019, Housing Preservation and Development announced its release of Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for its new Property Pathways initiative. The Property Pathways initiative identifies privately-owned properties throughout the city with at least ten units that can be converted into safe and secure permanent housing to be … <Read More>


Buildings to Strengthen Facade Inspection Process

Safety sweep of 1,331 facades found that 220 needed additional pedestrian protections. On December 30, 2019, the Department of Buildings Commissioner, Melanie E. La Rocca, announced enhancements to Buildings’ existing facade inspection process. Buildings will double its existing facade inspection team by hiring twelve new staff positions to the unit, including eleven inspectors. The current staff includes eleven facade inspectors, eleven administrative support staff, and six technical staff.


Supreme Court Judge Finds Inwood Rezoning in Violation of SEQRA

City expected to appeal Judge’s decision invalidating the Inwood Rezoning. On December 10, 2019, Judge Verna L. Saunders of the New York State Supreme Court, New York county ruled in favor of the Northern Manhattan is Not For Sale’s Article 78 petition challenging the legality of the Inwood Rezoning. The rezoning was proposed by the city’s Economic Development Corporation and was set to up-zone 59 blocks in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. Approval of the … <Read More>



COMMENTARY – Subway Warning Signs: Make Them Tougher

The number of persons killed by contact with subway trains is truly alarming and, worse, consistent year to year. The victims include persons with severe mental problems and drug and alcohol addiction on the one hand, and, on the other hand, adventuresome youths who see romance and challenge in the subways’ dark tunnels, speedy trains and endless tracks. All the deaths are tragedies.