Manhattan Borough President Stringer Looks to Initiate Land Use Policy and Community Board Reform

Since taking office in January 2006, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has set land use policy and community board reform as priorities.

Stringer hired Anthony Borelli as his Director of Land Use, Planning and Development. Before joining the Borough President’s office, Borelli studied urban planning at Columbia University and worked with the university’s Urban Technical Assistance Project, which provides urban planning consultation to distressed communities. Borelli then served as District Manager of Community Board 4 … <Read More>


Manhattan’s Toy Center to become apartments

Rezoning will allow Chelsea’s International Toy Center to be converted for residential use. 200 Fifth, LLC applied to rezone 200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway in Chelsea, Manhattan, to allow conversion of manufacturing/commercial buildings to residences with an expected 500 units. The buildings, located between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, along West 23rd and 25th Streets, are home to The International Toy Center and nearly 300 toy companies, many of which have been tenants since 1938. … <Read More>


Manhattanville’s 197-a plan goes forward

Community Board 9 and Columbia University presented different rezoning plans for Manhattanville. At the Planning Commission’s review session on October 1 7, 2005, the Commission determined that Manhattan Community Board 9’s independent 1 97-a plan for the future rezoning and development of Manhattanville met threshold standards. The plan culminated over 12 years of work by the Board. Under the City Charter and Rules, before environmental review of the 1 97-a plan can commence, the Commission … <Read More>


City and State Continue to Combat Illegal Smoke Shops, Reform Cannabis Sales in New York

Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams made announcements furthering New York’s fight against illegal smoke shops and reforming cannabis sales. The legalization of cannabis has forced the city and state to navigate the development of a new economy with the implementation of strict regulations; the state rollout of licenses and process for siting new dispensaries have limited the number of legal dispensaries that have opened statewide. While the state continues to navigate <Read More>


DOT Discusses Bike, Bus Priority Lane Future Projects as Congestion Pricing Begins Next Month

On May 2, 2024, Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydonis Rodriguez announced proposed bus priority and bicycle lanes and discussed existing projects as part of efforts to prepare for the start of congestion pricing, set to launch on June 30th. Under the newly approved congestion pricing plan, drivers will be charged a toll to go south of 60th Street; the toll aims to encourage people to use alternative means of transportation to alleviate what is currently <Read More>


DEP Announces Drainage and Green Infrastructure for Five City Playgrounds

On April 17, 2024, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced that construction has commenced on the five new Green Infrastructure playgrounds at schools in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The playgrounds are designed to absorb more than 3.5 million gallons of stormwater every year to curb runoff that floods nearby streets and overwhelms local sewer systems in addition to polluting the East River.