
Infographic from HPD about fire safety. Click image to enlarge. Image Credit: HPD.
The coordinated efforts will enhance inspections and increase fire safety outreach for residents, building owners and buildings. On March 20, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams signed a new Executive Order to strengthen fire safety enforcement and increase fire safety education. The executive order follows the aftermath of the Twin Parks fire this past January, where seventeen people were killed after a fire spread through an apartment building in the Bronx. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC HPD
The program requires owners to rectify most violations within a four month period or be subject to penalties and possible costs of repairs initiated by HPD. On March 1, 2022, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced 250 buildings will be placed in the City’s Alternative Enforcement Program, which heightens enforcement against distressed buildings with many violations. (more…)

Image credit: New York City Council.
On December 15, 2021, the City Council voted to provide the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) with tools and the enhanced ability to enforce affordable housing provisions. The bill, Int. 2411-A, was sponsored by Former Council Member and Former Chair of the Housing and Building Committee Robert Cornegy. (more…)
Adult entertainment businesses continue their decades-long fight against zoning rules that restrict business locations. In the latest installment in the City’s efforts to restrict adult entertainment establishments, a federal court enjoined enforcement of the City’s zoning resolution. This is the latest court action in a series of actions that began in 1994. (more…)

Ross Sandler, Center for New York City Law Director
The City aggressively attacks unsafe conditions for bike riders on the City’s streets and avenues, but less successfully attacks unsafe behaviors of bike riders. Unsafe conditions can mostly be engineered away, but unsafe behaviors require changes of a cultural nature. The City in 2019 experienced 28 bike rider deaths and more than 4,000 bike injuries. So far 2020 has experienced more bike injuries than in 2019. To make the City safer for bike riders, the City should aggressively enforce the traffic laws against vehicles, but also aggressively enforce the rules against bike riders who ride against traffic, ignore traffic signals, speed, or text and talk on phones while riding. (more…)