Flower Shop Fined for Obstruction

A flower shop in the Flower District obstructed a sidewalk with its plants. Holiday Flower & Plant shop, located on 118 West 28th Street, Manhattan, placed some of its plants outside the storefront with the intent of moving the plants inside after the store closed. The plants obstructed more than eight feet of sidewalk and reached the curb. An NYPD officer issued a summon to the flower shop for violating § 19-136 of the … <Read More>


Sidewalk Cafes: What it Takes to Dine on the Streets of New York

Operating a sidewalk café requires a public review process and approval from the city. Summer is here and many restaurants open sidewalk cafés to give people a breath of fresh air while enjoying a meal. To operate a sidewalk café, the business must have a food service establishment permit and each year the business must pay consent fees, which are essentially a “lease” for use of the sidewalk space.


Council denies sidewalk cafe permit

Avella not convinced that application errors were inadvertent, calls for investigation of architect. The owner of the Delano Cafe Lounge at 29-02 Francis Lewis Boulevard applied to the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs for an unenclosed sidewalk cafe permit. The original application called for 36 tables and 72 chairs fronting on 29th Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard. After meeting with Community Board 7, the applicant agreed to reduce the application to 11 tables and 22 … <Read More>


Permanent Open Restaurant Program Proposal Continues Through Public Review Process

Over 11,000 restaurants are currently participating in the Open Restaurant Program. Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced four citywide zoning amendment proposals to support small businesses, create more grocery stores and improve accessibility in transit. One of the proposals, the permanent open restaurant zoning text amendment, seeks to establish a permanent open restaurant program by removing the geographic restrictions on where sidewalk cafes can be located.


Mayor Announces Guidelines for Upcoming Open Culture Program

The newly announced program and its guidelines will allow artists and performers of all kinds to return to work safely. On February 8, 2021, Mayor de Blasio released guidelines for the upcoming Open Culture Program. The program will open up city streets for outdoor cultural performances and events throughout the five boroughs. The new program is modeled after a prior successful initiative lead by the city, the Open Streets Program. For CityLand’s prior … <Read More>


CityLand’s Top Ten Stories of 2019

Welcome to CityLand‘s eighth annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected a range of our most popular and prominent stories concerning New York City land use in 2019. Our 2019 coverage was highlighted by articles concerning land use approvals for large scale projects, affordable housing proposals, and projects that faced pushback from local communities who were concerned about infrastructure, access to transportation and local resources, and affordable housing. We at CityLand <Read More>