More people are returning to in-person work throughout the city as the population adjusts to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Summer weather and the City’s open spaces make it possible to socially-distance responsibly, while getting some fresh air, as you take down your mask to eat lunch. The City has made it a goal to ensure all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of quality open space, so most likely there is an option that … <Read More>
Search Results for: POPS
Council Approves Proposal for Three Mixed-Use Buildings in Astoria, Queens
The project will add privately owned public open space and local businesses to service residents and visitors of the neighborhood. On October 17, 2019, the City Council voted to approve the rezoning of an irregularly-shaped block bounded by Vernon Boulevard and Broadway to the north, 33rd Road to the south, 11th Street to the east, and 10th Street to the west in Astoria, Queens. The applicant proposed to rezone the block from a residential low … <Read More>
City Planning Approves Application for Development on Former Peninsula Hospital Site
Edgemere Commons receives mixed reaction from the Rockaway community. On September 25, 2019, City Planning unanimously approved the Rockaway Limited Partnership’s application to redevelop an existing superblock in the Edgemere neighborhood of Far Rockaway, Queens. The site, which formerly housed Peninsula Hospital, is a paved over, impermeable surface lot located north of Rockaway Beach Boulevard, south of Beach Channel Drive east of Beach 53rd Street and west of Beach 50th Street. The development … <Read More>
City Council Passes New Legislation Halting Business Sign Violation Fees
Small business owners faced fines upwards of $15,000. In response to public outcry and community concerns on the hardships imposed on local businesses, on January 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed new legislation that would temporarily stop fines from violations issued to small businesses for failing to conform to their sign permits or those who did not have the proper permits at all. The Department usually gets 900 complaints a year, but that … <Read More>
Follow-Up Comptroller Audit Finds Previously Cited Privately Owned Public Spaces Still Non-Compliant
Audit reveals that Department of Buildings did not inspect non-compliant POPS locations. On November 22, 2017, the Office of the City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report of a follow-up audit to determine whether the Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS), previously found noncompliant in an April 18, 2017 audit, now provided all required amenities, and what action if any were taken by the Department of Buildings to bring these POPS into compliance. To read CityLand’s… <Read More>
Speed Up the Redesign and Modernization of Privately-Owned Public Spaces
Over half the existing plazas and other public spaces located on private property lack the benches, vegetation, artwork, lighting and other amenities required by the City’s zoning code or promised by the developers in return for permission to build taller and larger buildings, as reported by Comptroller Scott Stringer in an April 18, 2017 audit. Stringer recommended more inspections by the Department of Buildings to bring these privately-owned public spaces (so-called “POPS”) into compliance. But … <Read More>