City Planning Certifies City Applications to Build Borough-Based Jails

The four jails are set to replace Rikers island by 2027. On March 25, 2019, the City Planning Commission certified the City’s application for four borough-based jails as a part of the City’s plan to shut down Rikers Island. The four jails – in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn – will have a total of 5,748 beds and a capacity of 5,000 inmates. The additional 748 beds will be used to account for taking … <Read More>


Mayor Announces Long Island City Chosen to House New Amazon Headquarters

The project will bring tens of thousands of new jobs, billions in tax revenue, and investment in infrastructure, City says. On November 13, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Amazon has selected Long Island City, Queens for one of its two new corporate headquarters. The City has been steadily increasing investment into Long Island City, with more than $2.4 billion of planned infrastructure investments and a recently announced $180 … <Read More>


Needed: Large Venues for Large Protest/Rallies in New York City

Peaceful protests, protected by the First Amendment, are fundamental to our constitutional system and to democracy. Peaceful protest marches and rallies have been instrumental in bringing about significant change in racial, gender, LGBTQ and economic equality; reproductive rights; climate policy; capital punishment; housing; criminal justice, and voting rights. Yet in recent years appropriate venues have been unavailable for large peaceful protests, raising the question of whether City practices inappropriately limit the exercise of First Amendment … <Read More>


Community Board Recommends Zoning Protections For 14th Street Tech Hub Plan

Proposed zoning protections expect to preserve the residential area between Union Square and Astor Place from rapid developments. On February 28, 2018, Manhattan Community Board 3 unanimously voted to include proposed zoning protections for the 3rd/4th Avenue corridors between East 8th and 14th Streets in Manhattan. The corridors are one of the areas between Union Square and Astor Place that will be impacted by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Tech Hub Plan. The protections … <Read More>


Four-Story Addition to Recently Designated Landmark Proposed

Developer’s representatives said application was presented as alternative to hardship application to demolish landmark; proposed four-story addition would celebrate and honor history of building. On January 9, 2017, Landmarks held a hearing for proposed work on 827-831 Broadway, an individual City landmark. The twin buildings—completed in 1867 and designed by Griffith Thomas—were recently designated landmarks for their commercial history, original cast-iron Italianate architecture, and their connection to 20th century art. The buildings … <Read More>


Block-Sized City-Beautiful Powerhouse Landmarked after 38 Years

Massive West Side powerhouse, designed by Stanford White, continue to operate as steam-generating plant. On December 5, 2017, Landmarks voted to designate the former Interborough Rapid Transit Powerhouse, at 850 Twelfth Avenue, an individual City landmark.  The structure, which occupies an entire block along the West Side Highway, dates to 1905 and was designed by McKim, Mead and White’s Stanford White. The monumental generating station was built to power the Interborough Rapid Transit subway system, … <Read More>