Image Credit: Joe Mabel/Wikimedia Commons
The independent, interdisciplinary panel will submit recommendations to be considered in the BQE reconstruction process. On April 3, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the formation of a new expert panel to evaluate reconstruction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) from the Atlantic Avenue interchange and Sands Street. This section of the BQE spans 1.5 miles and is among the most complex highway structures in the country. It is part of Interstate 278, an inter-state and inter-borough connector that has daily traffic exceeding 150,000 vehicles, including more than 15,000 trucks.
(read more…)
On Thursday, September 28, 2017, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School hosted the 145th CityLaw Breakfast. The event speaker was New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.
Commissioner Trottenberg was introduced by Professor Sandler, the Director of the Center for City Law, and Anthony Crowell, Dean and President of New York Law School. When introducing Commissioner Trottenberg, Professor Sandler acknowledged the great amount of experience she has brought to the position.
Commissioner Trottenberg spoke of how the Department of Transportation is working to accommodate the “incredible boom” of workers, tourists, and residents using the City’s public transport. The Commissioner stated that “traffic is a sign of economic prosperity.” The Department is working to accommodate this growth, while also improving safety measures. When asked what her greatest achievement as Commissioner has been, Trottenberg praised the Department’s effort to make the streets safer through Vision Zero. (read more…)
The Center for New York City Law cordially invites you to a City Law Breakfast
presenting
Polly Trottenberg
Commissioner, NYC Department of Transportation
Speaking on:
“New York City Department of Transportation Strategic
Plan 2016: Safe + Green + Smart + Equitable”
(read more…)
The Center for New York City Law cordially invites you to a City Law Breakfast
presenting
Polly Trottenberg
Commissioner, NYC Department of Transportation
Speaking on:
“New York City Department of Transportation Strategic
Plan 2016: Safe + Green + Smart + Equitable”
(read more…)
Image credit: CityLaw
Trees under the common law were considered natural conditions with the result that possessors of land were not liable for injuries caused trees. Professor William Prosser wrote in the first edition of the hornbook on Torts (1941) that the traditional common law rule was that the possessor of land was under no affirmative duty to make safe dangerous conditions on the land that were natural in origin. Prosser went on to say, however, that there “were indications of the development of a different rule as to urban land.” Today, after many developments in the law of negligence and nuisance, coupled with statutory enactments and changes in the law of immunity, there are significant liability risks to the City for injuries caused by trees. (read more…)
Image credit: Jeff Hopkins
How small is too small when it comes to trip hazards on New York City sidewalks? New York courts, grappling with this issue for over 125 years, have declined to advance a standard based solely on the size or dimensions of the defect or hazard and instead have opted to evaluate each slip, trip and fall case on the merits under a totality of the circumstances test. The result is that it is difficult for the City and private premises owners to win dismissal on trip and fall cases based on the triviality of the defect.
Under the common law, municipalities generally have the duty to keep their streets and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition. To prove a breach of this duty, a plaintiff who tripped on a sidewalk trip hazard and was injured must prove that the municipality either caused the defective condition, or that a condition caused by natural occurrences or a third party existed for a sufficient amount of time that the municipality had constructive notice of and could have repaired the condition. Unless actual notice is established, latent defects will not impose liability if the municipality did not cause the defect. In addition, a plaintiff bringing a common law claim must show that the defect was not trivial. What constitutes “notice” and “trivial” in New York, however, has been subject an evolving standard over the past century. (read more…)
