Zoning for Economic Opportunity Aims to Remove Zoning Obstacles for Certain Types of Businesses

On Wednesday, June 1, Mayor Eric Adams outlined his, City of Yes initiative. This initiative is the next phase of his, Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent,” plan to stimulate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. “City of Yes,” is built around a series of three as-yet-unwritten zoning text amendments to modernize and simplify zoning resolutions to encourage business growth, stimulate housing creation, and reduce the city’s carbon footprint.


Mayor Announces Reform for Over 100 Business Violations

On May 15, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced reforms to 118 city regulations relating to small businesses. In January 2022, Mayor Adams signed the “Small Business Forward” executive order that required several city agencies to review their business regulations to determine which regulations could have reduced fines, extended cure periods, or be repealed to assist small businesses in their recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The new announcement reveals the 118 regulations that will be <Read More>


Prison Populations, The Census, and Prison Gerrymandering

Prison gerrymandering manipulates the boundaries of electoral districts by inflating the districts with incarcerated individuals who have no real relationship to the districts where the prisons are located. Incarcerated individuals in New York are not allowed to vote. As a result, in districts with prisons and large prison populations the votes of the voters who can vote become more powerful compared to the vote of the voters in districts without a prison population. At the … <Read More>


City Council Holds First Hearing on Permanent Open Restaurants Plan

Many elected officials raised concerns about DOT’s ability to handle the scale and capacity of a citywide permanent open restaurants program. On February 8, 2022, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises held a joint hearing with the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection on the proposed permanent open restaurant program. The proposed permanent open restaurant program will replace the temporary program and establish a new streamlined program for the creation, management and enforcement <Read More>


City Releases Permanent Open Restaurants Program Public Survey and Public Engagement Schedule

The public engagement process will continue into the new year. On November 18, 2021, the de Blasio administration announced the schedule for the Permanent Open Restaurant Program public engagement process. The proposed permanent open restaurant program will establish a new streamlined program for the creation, management and enforcement of sidewalk and roadway cafes operated by the Department of Transportation.


City Planning Holds Public Hearing for Permanent Open Restaurants Program, Launches Design Public Engagement Process

Many residents and community board members complained of quality of life issues, including noise, trash, cigarette smoke, and loss of parking. On October 6, 2021, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the Permanent Open Restaurants program. The Permanent Open Restaurants program will formalize a process for restaurants to operate sidewalk or roadway cafes in a shortened process. The proposed permanent program follows the popularity of the temporary open restaurants program, which was … <Read More>