Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer (left), Jumaane D. Williams (center) and Brad Lander (right). Image credit: City Council of New York, Office of Council Member Jumanee Williams.

Following the announcement of New York City’s selection for Amazon HQ2, council members move forward with legislation to bring transparency to business deals. On November 30, 2018, Council Members Jumaane D. Williams, Brad Lander, and Jimmy Van Bramer announced their plan to introduce legislation aimed at preventing City officials from signing non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, with corporations doing business with the City. The legislation is a response to deals similar to the Amazon HQ2 where Amazon required an NDA from Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to keep the bid for New York City to house Amazon’s second headquarters quiet. Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo announced on November 13, 2018 that Amazon had selected Long Island City, Queens for one of its two new corporate headquarters. The Council Members will co-sponsor and introduce the bill as expeditiously as possible. (read more…)

Dean and President Anthony Crowell welcomes Speaker candidates to NYLS. Image Credit: Elizabeth Thomas.

The Speaker panel covered the issue of bringing transparency, accountability, and reform to the New York City Council. On November 21, 2017, Citizens Union held a public forum on good government with the candidates running to be the next City Council Speaker. The candidates on the panel were Council Members Robert E. Cornegy Jr., Corey Johnson, Mark Levine, Donovan Richards, Ydanis Rodriguez, Jimmy Van Bramer and Jumaane D. Williams. Council Member Ritchie Torres was also invited to the panel but could not attend due to a prior engagement in his district. The forum was held at New York Law School and was moderated by Ben Max, the Editor in Chief of the Gotham Gazette. President and Dean of New York Law School and Citizen Union Board Member, Anthony Crowell, opened the panel with remarks on the importance of the position of Speaker and the influence it can bring to shaping good government.

(read more…)

Lobby at 47-55 39th Place in Sunnyside, Queens. Image credit: Office of Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer

City will investigate property manager who decorated condo lobby with Nazi and other fascist regalia. On August 29, 2017, the City’s Commission on Human Rights announced that it had launched an investigation into the claims of tenant harassment at 47-55 39th Place in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens. The investigation stems from the display of Nazi and Confederate imagery, swastikas and other hate symbols in the lobby. Tenants, condo owners and Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer have all alleged tenant harassment by the manager, Neal Milano, in connection to the offensive displays in the common area lobby. The lobby is also plastered with hyper-patriotic posters supporting Trump and the NRA. Other posters include, but are not limited to, Lincoln, Mount Rushmore, and Uncle Sam. (read more…)

Mayor De Blasio at New York Law School. Image Credit: CityLand

Mayor and City Council celebrate progress in production of affordable housing units since the passage of mandatory affordable rules one year ago. March 22, 2017, marked the one year anniversary of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. The program, which requires developers to include permanently affordable housing whenever a special permit or a rezoning significantly increases the underlying potential residential floor area, has received both praise and chastisement from advocates and Council Members. (read more…)

Image Credit: Google Maps

Phipps Houses withdrew its application for its ten-story, Barnett Avenue development following a lack of community support. On September 20, 2016, Phipps Houses, the oldest and largest not-for-profit developer of affordable housing in New York City, withdrew its Barnett Avenue development proposal—the day before its scheduled public hearing in front of the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. Phipps Houses had sought a zoning map change and two zoning text amendments to facilitate the construction of a new mixed-use development in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens. (read more…)

Renderings of the proposed development on 39th Avenue and 50th Street. Image Credit: Campani & Schwarting Architects.

Owners said construction of a new residential development would help fund the maintenance of the 1931 prototype for mass-produced housing. On October 15, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposed new development from Norcor Management Group for a vacant lot at the corner of 39th Avenue and 50th Street in Queens’ Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. (See CityLand’s past coverage here.) The application would include the installation of the Aluminaire House, a conceptual prototype of inexpensive, reproducible housing built for the 1931 Architectural and Allied Arts Exhibition by Architects A. Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey. The house is currently dismantled and in storage. An L-shaped contemporary residential building would also be built on the lot, surrounding the Aluminaire House on two sides, and facing both 39th Avenue and 50th Street. (read more…)