Temporary sidewalk in front of 30 Metcalfe Street. Image Credit: Google Maps

Plumbing subcontractor completed work at construction site, but did not permanently restore sidewalks. Quality Plumbing, Inc. worked as a subcontractor at four construction sites on Staten Island. The four sites were located at 30 Metcalfe Street, 24-26 Windom Avenue, 65 Todt Hill Road, and 23 Highmount Road. For each address, Quality obtained a street opening permit from the Department of Transportation to perform excavation and plumbing work. Quality completed its plumbing work before the general contractor completed the construction work. Quality repaired the roadway when it completed its work, but left the sidewalk in a temporary state. Between August and October 2019, the DOT served six summonses charging permit violations on Quality for failing to repair the excavated sidewalk before its permit expired. (more…)

The World’s Fair Marina cannot be used for residential use. Image Credit: CityLaw

Owner lived year-round in houseboat moored in Flushing marina which offers only seasonal permits. In 1996 George Anton purchased a medium-sized, 1971-vintage motorboat. At the time, the boat lacked an engine and was docked at the World’s Fair Marina, located in Flushing Bay. Anton and his wife converted the motorboat into a houseboat and made it their permanent home. (more…)

Image Credit: Caroline Harris

Caroline Harris’s career as a land use attorney stems from an early interest in urban affairs and planning.  Harris was born in New York City and grew up in Peter Cooper Village. As a student at the then all-female Hunter College High School, she started the first student volunteer program for Head Start, earning Mayor Lindsay’s award for “Distinguished Volunteer Supervision.”  Harris spent five months in Israel before entering Trinity College, where she majored in Religious Studies and minored in Urban Planning. (more…)

Sodium warning label. Image Credit:

In the twentieth century, primary causes of death and disability in America changed from communicable diseases to chronic diseases. This shift was in part due to the successes of public health as better sanitary conditions and immunizations reduced the burden of communicable diseases.  The shift, however, was also due to changes in lifestyle and longer life expectancies that caused the rates of chronic diseases to increase. (more…)