The Council member previously chaired the Committee on Environmental Protection. On July 20, 2015 the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises was held for the first time with new committee chair Council member Donovan Richards. Council member Richards was elected to the Council in 2013 from the 31st Council District, representing southeast Queens and the Rockaways. He was voted in as chair on June 26 to replace Council member Mark Weprin after Weprin … <Read More>
Search Results for: Infrastructure
Garodnick Addresses Phase Two of East Midtown Rezoning
The Councilmember spoke to early details of what’s next after the Vanderbilt Corridor. On July 16, 2015 City Councilmember Daniel Garodnick delivered the keynote address at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce’s panel discussion on the East Midtown Rezoning. (See CityLand’s complete video of the event here.)
Development of Willets Point Blocked on Appeal
Appellate panel found the authorization for private construction on parkland did not extend to a shopping mall. On October 9, 2013, the City Council approved Queens Development Group’s planned 10-story, 200-room hotel and 30,000-square foot mall complex on the Willets Point West site, formerly the location of Shea Stadium. The site was once the north end of Flushing Meadows Park until the state legislature authorized the stadium’s construction in 1961. The development would anchor further … <Read More>
Complete Video from the East Midtown Rezoning Panel
On Thursday, July 16, 2015, the Center for New York City Law and Center for Real Estate Studies at New York Law School hosted a panel on the East Midtown rezoning. The panel consisted of Dr. Michael Horodniceanu of the MTA, Chris Sameth of Kuafu Properties, Jeffrey Holmes of Woods Bagot Architects, Dirk Hrobsky of DTZ, and was moderated by Manhattan Chamber of Commerce chairman Ken Biberaj. The keynote speaker … <Read More>
Taxis: Yellow, Green and Black: Competition & Evolution
On a daily basis I am reminded that seemingly everyone loves to talk about taxis. Last year between the Daily News, the Post and Times, there were over 2,000 articles mentioning taxis, which transport about a million people a day – yet only about 3,000 articles mentioning subways which transport six-million people a day. Travelers and New Yorkers are clearly disproportionally obsessed with taxis.
Assuming that what people ask me is representative of what’s on … <Read More>
City Council Holds Oversight Hearing on Industrial Land Use
City officials questioned on policy to protect New York’s industrial sector. On May 6, 2015 the City Council Committee on Land Use held an oversight hearing on industrial land use policy in New York City with a focus on protecting and encouraging the City’s industrial sector from encroaching alternative uses. In his opening remarks, Councilmember and Land Use Chair David Greenfield emphasized as ineffective the City’s policy of designating Industrial Business Zones without changing the … <Read More>