Willets Point Special Permits Come Under Attack at City Council Hearing

Council Members voiced concern over the City’s applications to facilitate Phase 1 of the Willets’ Point Development Project. The City Council’s Land Use Zoning and Franchises subcommittee held a public hearing on September 3, 2013 on Phase 1A of the $3 billion Willets Point Development Project. The applicants, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Queens Development Group, a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, testified. The application is a … <Read More>


Appellate Court Affirms Special Permit for Hospital for Special Surgery

Resident opponents failed to block City Planning’s approval of Hospital for Special Surgery expansion. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HHS), located at 535 East 70th Street, proposed a major renovation and expansion of its existing facility located between East 70th  Street and East 72nd Street, and between York Avenue and  the FDR Drive in Manhattan.

On December 26, 2006, the City Planning Commission (CPC) issued a positive declaration and Lead Agency Determination along with an … <Read More>


Fourth RPA Report to Focus on Climate Change and Transportation Technology

sm logoRegional Plan Association event featured a variety of discussions on how the New York metropolitan region might face climate change, tackle transportation advancements. The Regional Plan Association, a non-profit urban research and advocacy organization, focuses on planning for economic competitiveness, quality of life, and long-term sustainability in the region that includes New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Orange counties, western Connecticut and northern New Jersey. On April 19, 2013, the Association held its … <Read More>


Council Member Stephen Levin: Bringing the City Council to the People

District 33 – Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, parts of Williamsburg, Park Slope, Boerum Hill

Council Member Stephen Levin grew up just outside of New York City, in Plainfield, New Jersey. He knew he wanted to be in Brooklyn even while he was attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. To get there though, he dabbled with various jobs including working as a waiter (he was fired), a book store clerk, and an artist’s assistant. About a … <Read More>


Center for New York City Law Breakfast: Speaker Christine C. Quinn

This morning the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted one of its City Law Breakfasts. The event was co-hosted by the Center for Real Estate Studies.  New York Law School and the Center were honored to have City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn as this morning’s speaker.

Speaker Quinn was introduced by the Center’s founder and Director, Ross Sandler. Quinn began by thanking Ross Sandler and praising … <Read More>


Signs and Billboards: What’s Legal and What’s Not?

Sign installation in New York City triggers regulations governing location, size, illumination, and construction. The New York City Building Code and the New York City Zoning Resolution are the two main bodies of law governing signs in New York City. The Building Code regulates the construction and maintenance of signs, such as permissible construction materials, and is primarily concerned with public health and safety. The Zoning Resolution, while implicating issues of public health and safety, … <Read More>