Panel Created to Evaluate BQE Reconstruction Ideas

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 … <Read More>


COMPLETE VIDEO: 145th CityLaw Breakfast with DOT Commissioner Trottenberg

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 … <Read More>




Trees: Tort Liability For Injuries Involving Trees

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 … <Read More>


How Small is Too Small: the Trivial Doctrine in New York Law

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 … <Read More>