Councilmember Ben Kallos. Image credit: William Alatriste/NYC Council
If enacted, all governmental online services and portals will be centralized in one manageable location online and on a mobile phone app. On March 9, 2016, City Council Member Ben Kallos issued a press release announcing the proposal of a bill to streamline New York City’s interactive websites to one location. By utilizing Single Sign-on, or SSO, technology, users would be required to remember only one username and password to gain access to their own personalized portals via internet browser or the City’s mobile app.
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The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (“LPC”) has designated more than 1,400 individual landmarks and 107 historic districts. Approximately 29,000 buildings are under LPC regulation. With only five percent of that total comprising individual landmarks,95 percent are subject to LPC regulation solely because they are located within historic districts, regardless of individual merit.
With the proliferation of buildings subject to LPC regulation, both as individual landmarks and within historic districts, attention has increasingly focused on the landmark process. On May 2, 2012, the City Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee and Land Use Committee, chaired by Erik Martin Dilan and Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., respectively, held a joint public hearing to consider eleven separate bills.
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- A stalled construction site at 150 North 12th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Photo: CityLand
Owners of stalled sites participating in new DOB safety monitoring program can renew permits for up to four years. On October 14, 2009, the City Council passed legislation creating a construction site maintenance program, to be administered by the Department of Buildings, for sites where permitted work has been suspended or has not commenced.
Currently, construction permits issued by Buildings will expire if the owner does not commence work within twelve months or suspends work for a period of twelve months. Owners must then request that Buildings reinstate the permits before restarting work. An owner suspending work for more than two years risks losing the ability to reinstate the permits. Under the new program, permits held by participating owners of stalled sites would remain valid for the full two-year term, and Buildings could renew the permits for up to four years, as long as the owner remained in good standing. (read more…)
