Image credit: Mayoral Photography Office

City pushes forward on its goal to create 300,000 affordable homes and produces a record number of affordable units for homeless, seniors, and those in need of supportive services. On July 30, 2019, the Office of the Mayor announced that the City has financed 25,299 affordable homes for 2019. The Mayor plans to finance 300,000 affordable homes through the Housing New York plan by 2026. (read more…)

Alcohol ads will now be banned on City property, including at Wi-fi LinkNYC kiosks citywide. Image Credit: Epicgenius/Wikimedia Commons

The ban was created to protect the health of New Yorkers. On April 30, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an Executive Order that immediately banned all alcohol advertising on City property, including bus shelters, newsstands, phone booths, recycling kiosks and Wi-Fi LinkNYC kiosks. The administration sought the ban to protect New Yorkers from exposure to alcohol advertisements which can lead to an increased likelihood and quantity of alcohol consumption. (read more…)

Exhibit from lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media showing the company’s advertising for floating billboards across City waterways. Image Credit: Mayor’s Office/ NYC Law Department Affirmative Litigation Division

The City is seeking thousands of dollars per day in fines for the ongoing and repeated violations. On March 27, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced a lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media, Inc., a water-based billboard company, for repeatedly violating local laws by displaying “Times Square-style” billboards on Manhattan and Brooklyn waterways. The billboards began popping up last Fall and are LED signs on barges, and the City alleges in the suit that the signs create a “public nuisance,” and violate the New York City Zoning Resolution. The City seeks an injunction to prohibit Ballyhoo from operating the billboards and fines of up to $25,000 per violation, per day for Ballyhoo Media’s ongoing and repeated violations. (read more…)

Image credit: NYC Service

The NYC Service and Citizens Committee have launched program to provide grants to support 25 community groups in improving their neighborhood. On September 24, 2018, the NYC Service and Citizens Committee for New York City announced the launch of the 2019 “Love Your Block” Program which will provide $1,000 grants to 25 different community groups. The application requires community groups and leaders to provide a detailed action plan for engaging local residents in participating in the project. The application requires the group to provide a list of a volunteer-led group of no less than twenty people, and to plan and prepare for a “block beautification” event that the grant would provide for. (read more…)

Block Party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Image credit: Tuukka Koski

Local Community Boards are an integral part of the approval process to close down a City street for a block party. As the cold, gray dreariness of winter in New York City subsides and the summer weather brings the City streets back to life, block party season is right around the corner. Throughout the streets of New York City, thousands of street related-events are held annually. In the interests of ensuring safety and maintaining order, the City and local Community Boards have procedures and guidelines in place to close down a City street for an event. (read more…)

Image Credit: Inhabitat.com

City Council’s good faith attempt to provide standards for green roofs falls short. On October 28, 2016, the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection held a hearing regarding Introduction 0835-2015, which would amend the building code to establish standards for the selection, installation and maintenance of plants for green roof systems. The proposed legislation would incorporate into the building code a manual by the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM E 2400, which offers fluid guidelines and non-distinct recommendations on green roof planting and maintenance.

New York City is a prime example of the urban heat island effect which is defined as a metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The primary cause of this effect is the accumulation of infrastructure. Dark surfaces, like asphalt, absorb significantly more solar radiation, and concrete and other building materials used in the construction of buildings and roofs commonly have significantly higher thermal bulk capacity. The heat effect is only secondarily a result from heat generation by a City’s inhabitants. (read more…)