DDC Report Reflects Faster Construction Due to COVID Changes In Procurement Process

The Department of Design and Construction has been able to complete capital projects quicker while still adhering to budgets and utilizing Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise while under COVID-19 contracting rules. On March 30, 2021, the New York City Department of Design and Construction released a report on how construction under the less restrictive procurement and contracting rules put in place due to the pandemic has helped to complete City capital projects much quicker than … <Read More>


Eric Garner’s death: No Justice, No Peace

Three years have passed since Eric Garner’s choking death at the hands of police officer Daniel Pantaleo, and the episode remains unresolved. The grand jury’s secrecy and its decision not to indict anyone, along with Comptroller Scott Stringer’s unusually swift civil settlement with the Garner Family, have left the public with insufficient answers and a sense that justice has been denied. Civil rights organizations and governmental investigators have made additional attempts to obtain information, but … <Read More>


Manhattan Borough President Brewer and Council Member Chin Push for Legislative Deed Restriction Reforms

Initiatives proposed in the wake of the Rivington House sale would prompt public review process and transparency. On July 19, 2016, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Margaret Chin wrote a letter to the City Planning Commission in favor of subjecting any changes made to deed restrictions throughout New York City to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. The letter is the latest development in a series of events sparked by the sale … <Read More>


Landmarks Withdraws Planned Removal of Multiple Designation Items from Calendar

Landmarks had originally scheduled removal of 94 potential individual landmarks and two historic districts from its calendar for December 9th. On December 5, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rescinded plans to remove 96 items from its calendar without bringing the items to a vote of designation. The items planned to be removed included 94 items calendared as potential individual City landmarks, and two potential historic districts. The action, called a decalendaring, was scheduled to take … <Read More>


Council Approved Rheingold Development with a 30 Percent Affordable Housing Requirement

 

Controversial Bushwick development project questioned on affordable housing goals in public hearings. On December 10, 2013, the full City Council voted 48-1 to rezone six blocks in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in order to allow the development of ten mixed-use developments. The rezoning area is bounded by Bushwick Avenue, Flushing Avenue, Melrose Street, Stanwix Street, and Forrest Street.  Council’s Committee on Land Use voted 18-1 and Land Use Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises unanimously voted 10-0 … <Read More>


Westchester Square BID gains Council approval

New Business Improvement District approved after Council recommended second comment period. On February 29, 2012, the City Council approved the Department of Small Business Services’ plan to create the Westchester Square Business Improvement District in the Bronx. The district will include 145 businesses along portions of East Tremont Avenue, Williamsbridge Road, and Westchester Avenue in the northeast Bronx. The district will have first-year budget of $320,000, with $120,000 allocated to sanitation services, $95,000 to administrative … <Read More>