DOB proposes to amend self-certification rules

October 15, 2006

Proposal would add grounds to suspend architects and engineers from program. Buildings proposed a series of amendments to its rules that would expand the grounds for suspending and permanently excluding an architect or engineer from the professional certification program and increase scrutiny of applications and plans submitted by those architects and engineers.

New grounds for suspension and exclusion would include knowing and failing to report that a project on which they worked in any capacity … <Read More>

City Council Votes to Approve Outdoor Dining Plan

August 8, 2023

After a year and a half since the bill was introduced, the Council finally votes to create a permanent outdoor dining program. On August 3, 2023, the City Council voted to approve Int 31-C, which establishes a permanent outdoor dining program. The program will allow sidewalk cafes to operate annually and roadway cafes to operate seasonally, with removable furniture and decor replacing solid dining shed structures. The program follows the temporary outdoor dining program that … <Read More>

Department of City Planning to Hold Second City of Yes for Economic Opportunity Info Session on July 11

July 10, 2023

On July 11, 2023, the Department of City Planning will hold the next information session for the City of Yes for Economic Opportunity zoning text amendment. The text amendment is part of Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes proposed amendments aimed to remove outdated or unnecessary provisions within the existing zoning text that inhibit the development of housing, green energy, and economic development.

GUEST COMMENTARY: The City of Yes – NYC is Taking Leadership on Energy Storage System Siting

May 1, 2023

by Caroline G. Harris, Esq. Goldman Harris LLC and Eric Vath, Esq. Goldman Harris LLC

To meet the climate goals of the 2016 Paris Agreement, New York State and New York City have adopted aggressive energy efficiency goals. The Mayor’s 2022 City of Yes program announced numerous initiatives to make the city sustainable, resilient and equitable. One of them, the City of Yes: Carbon Neutrality, aims to reduce our reliance on carbon-based fuels by … <Read More>

Toppling Christopher Columbus; Public Statues and Monuments

January 4, 2023

Christopher Columbus is in trouble. Political pressure to remove Columbus monuments most recently dates from 1992 during the preparations for the 500^th anniversary of Columbus’s first voyage. The movement to remove the monuments accelerated in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

Appellate Division Ruling Provides Path for NYC Permanent Open Restaurants Program

October 31, 2022

On October 4, 2022, the Appellate Division, First Department ruled in favor of the City in its appeal challenging a February Supreme Court ruling that halted the City’s development of the permanent open restaurants program.