by Jeff Wice & Alexis Marking
ELECTIONS
State Board of Elections Sued Over the Equal Rights Amendment’s Ballot Language
A new law enacted last year requires ballot language for voter referendum questions in New York State to be written in plain language at “no higher than an eighth-grade reading level.” The ballot language for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was approved to appear on the November ballot, has … <Read More>
On July 29, 2024, the New York City Parks Bronx Borough Commissioner Jessenia Aponte, in collaboration with Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, City Council Member Kevin Riley, and community members celebrated the reconstruction of Edenwald Playground in the Bronx. Edenwald Playground was constructed in 1954 and is part of the land New York City acquired to build the 2,036-unit Edenwald Houses.
REDISTRICTING
Orange County Legislature Fails to Advance New Map
The Orange County Legislature failed to advance three county legislative draft maps to the public hearing stage after a meeting on July 26th lost its quorum of legislators necessary to move the maps to the next stage. The county needs to have a new map in place before petitioning for the 2025 primary gets underway next year.
On May 22, 2024, Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, announced the next series of public workshops to re-envision the Cross Bronx Expressway corridor, specifically the segment stretching from the Harlem River to Westchester Creek. The workshops are in collaboration with the New York City Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan, and New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese … <Read More>
On May 6, 2024, the Department of Buildings released the annual New York City Construction Safety Report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of construction safety trends for 2023. The report’s release is part of the agency’s recognition of Construction Safety Week.
On April 17, 2024, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced that construction has commenced on the five new Green Infrastructure playgrounds at schools in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The playgrounds are designed to absorb more than 3.5 million gallons of stormwater every year to curb runoff that floods nearby streets and overwhelms local sewer systems in addition to polluting the East River.