Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

Geothermal heating and cooling are a very efficient and environmentally clean technology and energy that has been in use for decades but has gone underutilized by New York City. On April 21, 2021, Mayor de Blasio announced the first steps that will be taken to advance New York City’s transition to district geothermal systems. These geothermal systems will help replace fuel oil and natural gas, fundamentally changing how New York City heats and cools its buildings. (more…)

Image from DCP Open House website, comparing a stretch of Eastchester Road in the Bronx with what it could possibly look like after the Metro-North train station construction and other land use changes. Image Credit: NYC DCP

The Department’s ongoing study uses community feedback to assess land use needs in the East Bronx. On April 30, 2021, the Department of City Planning released a new public engagement website for four new future Metro-North train stations in the east Bronx. The Metro-North Stations are planned for the Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-Op City neighborhoods and will connect with Penn Station and locations further north. Currently, there is information for the Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest stations, with information about the Co-Op City and Hunts Points stations to be provided at a later date. (more…)

Roger Herz at the microphone asking a question at a CityLaw Breakfast. Image Credit: CityLand

First to the microphone at many CityLaw Breakfasts during the Q&A session following the speaker’s prepared remarks was Roger Herz. Roger, with a serious demeanor and in a steady voice, would announce himself: “Roger Herz, Time to Improve Municipal Efficiency.” And then Roger would ask a pointed question, well prepared, and personal, often adding that he had been pressing the same point for years. The speakers always knew Roger from prior appearances, emails and events. They regularly responded with apologies, explanations and promises to get back to Roger. (more…)

On April 9, 2021, Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City, spoke at the 172nd CityLaw Breakfast. Ms. Wylde spoke on “New York’s Post-Pandemic Prospects.” Professor Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law provided opening remarks and Dean Anthony W. Crowell provided closing remarks. This Breakfast was sponsored by ConEdison, Greenberg Traurig, and Verizon. This was the sixth virtual CityLaw Breakfast as in-person events are not feasible at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT

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 plan caused immediate outrage. (more…)