Roadway dining in Bay Ridge. Image Credit: NYC DOT

Over 11,000 restaurants are currently participating in the Open Restaurant Program. Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced four citywide zoning amendment proposals to support small businesses, create more grocery stores and improve accessibility in transit. One of the proposals, the permanent open restaurant zoning text amendment, seeks to establish a permanent open restaurant program by removing the geographic restrictions on where sidewalk cafes can be located. (more…)

90-60 179th Place, one of the four impacted properties, had over 20 lead-based paint violations. Image Credit: Google Maps.

The four impacted buildings have over 200 households. On August 19, 2021, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced a settlement agreement with a building owner for the correction of lead-based paint violations across four buildings in the Bronx and Queens. The four buildings are 1585 White Plains Road and 58 East 190th Street in the Bronx, and 90-60 179th Place and 150-02 88th Avenue in Queens. The building owner, Ved Parkash, will be responsible for correcting the violations under an Order to Correct by August 29th and must pay $60,000 in civil penalties for violations under Local Law 1 of 2004.  (more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

The report will help shape the City’s Environmental Justice Plan. On August 5, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Environmental Justice Advisory Board announced the start of a public comment period for the Environmental Justice for All Report. The Environmental Justice for All Report is a comprehensive study of environmental justice issues that impact New York City in order to develop a citywide Environmental Justice Plan. For CityLand’s prior coverage of the Environmental Justice for All Report, click here.  (more…)

Mayor de Blasio, Deputy Mayor Vicki Been and others at ribbon cutting for a new affordable housing development in the Bronx, part of the City’s record year for creating affordable housing citywide. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

The City is on track to create and preserve 200,000 affordable homes by the end of Mayor de Blasio’s administration. On July 26, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Deputy Mayor Vicki Been announced that the City created and preserved 28,310 affordable homes in the 2021 fiscal year.  (more…)

Image credit: New York City Council.

The bill reduces or eliminates some fines. On June 17, 2021, the City Council voted to pass a bill that reduces fines and allows opportunities to remedy certain violations for 185 civil penalties. Int. No. 2233-A, sponsored by Council Member Vanessa Gibson, provides civil penalty relief from 185 different sanitation, health, transportation, consumer affairs, noise control and buildings violations. (more…)