Ten NYCHA Developments To Receive New Rat Extermination Plan

De Blasio Administration will focus on reducing rat population through different extermination measures. On April 17, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new rat extermination plan for the NYCHA’s ten most rat-infested developments. The extermination plan is part of the Mayor’s $32 million Neighborhood Rat Reduction Program to reduce rat populations in the most infested City neighborhoods: ­­­­­­­Grand Concourse in the Bronx, Chinatown, East Village, and Lower East Side in Manhattan, and Bushwick and … <Read More>


CityLand’s Top Ten Stories of 2016

ethics-headerWelcome to CityLand‘s fifth annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected a range of our most popular and prominent stories, and guest commentaries concerning New York City land use in 2016. Our fifth year as an online publication was marked by the fight to pass the Mayor’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan, proposed reforms to the building code to prevent illegal home conversions, and capped by the passage of state laws prohibiting … <Read More>


City Council Rejects Proposed Rezoning of Inwood Site Needed for New Development with 50 Percent Affordable Housing

City Council rejected the first private application of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. On August 16, 2016, the City Council rejected a proposal to rezone a large corner lot in order to construct a new mixed-use development located at 4650 Broadway in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. Currently a two-story commercial building operating as a parking garage and U-Haul truck rental facility occupies the site. The original proposal from the developer, Acadia Sherman Avenue LLC, was to build a … <Read More>


Comptroller Report Finds City Accountable for Failure to Stop the Sale of the Rivington House

In contrast to the DOI Report, the Comptroller’s Report places personal accountability on City Officials rather than the indoctrinated procedure for deed-modifications. On August 1, 2016, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer issued a Report on the removal of deed restrictions from Rivington House. The Report is the product of a five-month-long investigation conducted by the Comptroller’s Office into the City’s actions in facilitating the sale of the Rivington House—a non-profit nursing home located … <Read More>


DOI Report Exposes City’s Failure to Preserve Property Restrictions on the Rivington House

The Department of Investigation’s Report found that the City’s deed-modification procedure lacks safeguards required to ensure the removal of restrictions on formerly City-owned property is in the City’s best interest. On July 14, 2016, the Department of Investigation issued a Report finding that the actions and inactions of City officials, specifically within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), the Law Department, and Mayor’s Office, facilitated the sale … <Read More>


Mayor de Blasio Releases Plans to Reform Procedures Used in Removing Restrictions on Formerly City-owned Property

The proposed reformations increase transparency and community involvement, and impose new safeguards to protect against systemic abuse. On July 8, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a series of reformations to the procedures used in removing limitations on potential uses, or deed restrictions, from formerly City-owned property. The proposed reformations would require parcels to meet stricter criteria to be deemed eligible for their deeds to be modified, and they would increase the levels of transparency … <Read More>