
New sewer installed on West Cedarview Avenue between Kensico Street and Amber Street. Image Credit:
The project aims to relieve street flooding in the neighborhood. On July 9, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and the NYC Department of Design and Construction announced a $6 million project to upgrade storm sewer infrastructure in the neighborhood of Richmond, Staten Island. The project began in January 2020, and is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2021. (more…)

Some areas of Staten Island that would be affected by rule changes. Image Credit: NYC DCP
The changes allow homeowners to bypass the lengthy review process for certain types of projects. On July 2, 2020, the Department of City Planning announced new proposed zoning rules for some Staten Island neighborhoods that make zoning rules more efficient and homeowner-friendly, and that reflect recent advances in environmental science. (more…)

Hon. Jonathan Lippman answers audience questions at the 158th CityLaw Breakfast. Image Credit: CityLand
Former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, speaking at a CityLaw Breakfast on January 23, 2019, powerfully argued that the time has come to close Rikers Island, New York City’s notorious jail located on an island in the East River. Judge Lippman’s remarks echoed the 2017 recommendations of the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform which Judge Lippman chaired. Judge Lippman spoke at the breakfast in a question and answer format as a way to bring the audience into the conversation. Judge Lippman was questioned by Greg Berman, director of the Center for Court Innovation. A transcript of Judge Lippman’s passionate and persuasive remarks follows.
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Staten Island Borough President James Oddo
Staten Island Borough President James Oddo imposed negative street names for new streets laid out in a development. In 2014, Mount Builders, a land developer, purchased land in Staten Island on which it planned to build 200 new houses on three newly created streets. The property that Mount Builders acquired was known as Mount Manresa, which was the location of the first Jesuit retreat house in the United States as well as park land graced with many 400-year-old rare oak trees. The condominium development project sparked opposition from many in the Staten Island community including James Oddo, the Borough President. (more…)

Image Credit: LPC
Items at issue included a former retirement community for sailors, a Colonial-era stone farmhouse, a lighthouse, and the Vanderbilt family mausoleum. On October 22, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the second of four special hearings to address the backlog of items calendared before 2012 but never brought to a vote on designation. The hearing consisted of three batches, of seven to eleven items each, all located in Staten Island. Twenty-six items in total were considered at the hearing. (more…)