Roadway dining will be allowed under the new program but only seasonally. Sidewalk and roadway cafes must have removable furniture and equipment, instead of the dining shed structures that caused much controversy over the past few years. Image Credit: NYC DOT

After a year and a half since the bill was introduced, the Council finally votes to create a permanent outdoor dining program. On August 3, 2023, the City Council voted to approve Int 31-C, which establishes a permanent outdoor dining program. The program will allow sidewalk cafes to operate annually and roadway cafes to operate seasonally, with removable furniture and decor replacing solid dining shed structures. The program follows the temporary outdoor dining program that removed barriers for restaurants to incorporate outdoor sidewalk and roadway dining during the pandemic. The bill was sponsored by Council Member Marjorie Velázquez, Chair of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection.   (more…)

Mayor Adams announcing changes to containerization requirements for certain businesses this past June as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to address the rat population. Image Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

On July 25, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, Sanitation Department (DSNY) Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Director of Citywide Rodent Mitigation Kathleen Corradi announced that changing to later trash set-out times have had a positive impact on reducing rat activity citywide. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of 311 calls made about rat activity citywide decreased by 20 percent from May to mid-July 2023, and the City’s four rat mitigation zones—Bronx Grand Concourse, Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant/Bushwick, and East Village/Chinatown—saw rat sighting calls decrease by more than 45 percent on average. (more…)

Deborah Marton, President of the Public Design Commission. Image Credit: PDC.

On July 18, 2023, Deborah Marton, Executive Director of the Van Alen Institute, was unanimously elected President of the NYC Public Design Commission (PDC). Marton, who served as a PDC Commissioner since 2020, will build on former PDC President Signe Nielsen’s legacy by reviewing City-owned property designs and advocating for innovative, sustainable, and equitable public spaces and civic structures citywide. (more…)

On July 18, 2023, the Department of Design and Construction announced the completion of a $5.2 million restoration of the front steps of the Staten Island Supreme Court building. The courthouse, located at 18 Richmond Terrance in St. George, is a historic landmark. The courthouse was designated in March 1982. The French Renaissance-style temple-fronted building was designed in 1913 by Carrere & Hastings.  (more…)

Clean City Alliance workers. Image Credit: Office of Mayor Eric Adams/The Sanitation Foundation.

On June 30, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and the Sanitation Foundation announced a new initiative, the “Clean City Alliance,” to clean high-traffic commercial corridors in underserved areas citywide. The Sanitation Foundation is the Sanitation Department’s official non-profit. (more…)