On June 1, 1988, while I was commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation the underside of the elevated FDR Drive fell to the roadway below and killed a Brooklyn dentist who was driving into Manhattan to pick up his wife. The next day on Friday, June 2, 1989, the New York Times reported his death: (more…)

Ross Sandler, Center for New York City Law Director

A new book recalls the glory of Bryant Park before the Covid-19 shutdown: the movable chairs, the green grass, magazine racks and ping pong tables, shady paths and, most of all, the large numbers of people enjoying Bryant Park. (more…)

The Roosevelt Memorial Sculpture outside the American Museum of Natural History. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/MacLachlan

Jeffrey Kroessler’s view on the Teddy Roosevelt statue at the entrance to the Natural History Museum is clear and provocative, even if I have no certain answer to the questions it raises. (more…)

The Roosevelt Memorial Sculpture outside the American Museum of Natural History. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/MacLachlan

The American Museum of Natural History has requested that the City of New York remove the statue of Theodore Roosevelt from its front stoop. At a time when mobs in the street have vandalized public monuments across the nation, the museum and the city are engaging in their own act of civic vandalism. (more…)

Ross Sandler, Center for New York City Law Director

Large numbers of people will vote by mail-in ballots this November because of Covid-19. Everyone should be concerned about the impact of mail-in ballots on democracy. (more…)