FDNY gains approval for two new firehouses

New station houses would consolidate FDNY units. The Planning Commission unanimously approved FDNY’s two applications for the acquisition and selection of lots in Brooklyn for two new firehouses that will consolidate Engine 201 and Ladder 114 in Sunset Park, and Engine 277 and Ladder 112 in Bushwick.

The FDNY sought approval to acquire a vacant, privately-owned lot at 5117 Fourth Avenue, Sunset Park, adjacent to Engine 201’s existing firehouse, where it would construct a new … <Read More>


Marine transfer stations cause controversy

Residents of Manhattan’s Upper East Side and Bensonhurst vigorously opposed Sanitation’s proposed sites. Sanitation sought site selection approval to construct four 90,000- square-foot, three-story marine transfer stations on sites formerly used as waste transfer stations or garbage incinerators. In Manhattan, Sanitation sought to reuse the site at East 91st Street and the East River, which had contained a waste transfer station until 1999. In Brooklyn, sites at Shore Parkway in Bensonhurst and at Hamilton Avenue … <Read More>


Sanitation garage construction wins court approval

Environmental study and site choice for Brooklyn garage upheld. The City filed a condemnation action in October 2003 for three lots comprising a 2.46-acre site bounded by Park, Nostrand and Flushing Avenues and Warsoff Place in Clinton Hill, to be used for the eventual construction of a new Sanitation truck storage garage to serve Brooklyn Community District 3.

The site had been subject to a June 2000 application by Sanitation and the Department of Citywide … <Read More>


NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 07/29/24

 

 

By Jeff Wice and Alexis Marking

EARLY VOTING

N.Y.S. Court of Appeals to Hear Early Voting Challenge Appeal Tomorrow 

The state’s highest court will hear arguments tomorrow at 11:00 AM in Stefanik v. Hochul,  an appeal challenging the state’s new law permitting voters to mail-in their ballots during the early voting periods. You can watch the oral arguments here: https://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/live.html

BALLOT PROPOSALS

Equal Rights Amendment Back on New York’s November Ballot

On Tuesday, … <Read More>


New York Redistricting: What Happened and Where Are We Going?

By Jeffrey M. Wice and Piper Benedict

New York State’s redistricting process following the 2020 Census failed to live up to the reforms envisioned by voters who endorsed the 2014 constitutional changes. Instead, the redistricting process proved unworkable, missed constitutional deadlines, and resulted in judicially-imposed districts. The time to fix the state’s redistricting process starts now, before the 2030 redistricting cycle gets underway.


City Selects Two Companies to Redesign Sidewalk Sheds as Part of City’s ‘Get Sheds Down’ Plan

On February 29, 2024, Mayor Eric Adams, Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo, and Mayor’s Office of Contract Services Director Lisa Flores announced the selection of two companies to redesign scaffolding sheds as part of the “Get Sheds Down” plan to improve sidewalk sheds. The companies, Arup US and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, will work on six new designs to provide contractors with cost-effective options.