Governor’s Office Announces $27 Million Available for Ida Relief for Undocumented New Yorkers

The program offers assistance to those who cannot qualify for federal relief. On September 26, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $27 million will be available for relief from Hurricane Ida for undocumented New Yorkers. Undocumented New Yorkers who suffered from the historic flooding and storm damage are not eligible to receive storm recovery assistance through the FEMA Individual Assistance Program or other programs due to their undocumented status. The New York State Office for <Read More>


Construction Begins on New Manhattan Pet Adoption Center

The Department of Design and Construction is completely renovating an old garage in East Harlem into a new facility for the specific use of providing animals to adopt for the city. On June 4, 2021, the Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced the beginning of construction on a new Pet Adoption Center located at 328 East 109th Street in East Harlem. The Center will work with adoptable … <Read More>


The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway: Time is Running Out

One year ago, in January 2020, the Expert Panel assigned by Mayor Bill de Blasio to study the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway issued its Final Report. Mayor de Blasio in 2019 appointed the seventeen-person Expert Panel* of which I was a member, following the angry rejection of New York City DOT’s plan for reconstructing the section of the BQE adjacent to Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn. City DOT presented its plan publicly September 2019. The … <Read More>


New Entrances to Prospect Park Completed

The entrances are part of a $40 million series of park improvement projects citywide. On January 27, 2021, the Parks Department cut the ribbon on two new completed entrances to Prospect Park along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. The new entrances are the first additional entrances added to Prospect Park since the 1940’s. NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been, Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, Council Member <Read More>


East New York Affordable Housing Project Completes Phase 1

Project will result in 1,163 affordable homes. On October 20, 2020 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the completion of the initial phase of the Fountains of Brooklyn project that is being constructed on the site of the State’s former Brooklyn Developmental Center in East New York, which closed in 2015. This project is a 6.7-acre mixed-use complex that will ultimately offer 1,163 affordable homes. The first two completed buildings of the project will include 332 … <Read More>