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City expands free legal services for tenants, fearing eviction rush

New York renters will have another lifeline when the statewide eviction moratorium sunsets. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday signed a bill expanding the city’s Right to Counsel program, which offers free legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction. The legislation accelerates the program’s rollout before the state and federal eviction bans end. De Blasio and the City Council first deployed Right to Counsel in 2017 in certain ZIP codes with the goal of covering

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Does Andrew Yang’s housing plan make sense?

New Yorkers no longer have a choice: We have to take Andrew Yang seriously. The Democratic primary for mayor is less than two months away and he’s leading the polls as the eight identifiable candidates begin to invade our lives with TV ads. Yang is winning mostly because of name recognition. He’s famous for being famous. Voters have no idea what he does for a living or what his skills are, but he has a

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Real estate helps moderate crush socialist in City Council race

 Democrat James Gennaro trounced Moumita Ahmed, the candidate favored by the Democratic Socialists of America, and six other contenders in a Queens City Council election Tuesday. The real estate industry independently kicked in cash to help Gennaro, who served in the Council in the 2000s. Unofficial results from the Board of Elections show that Gennaro won 59 percent of the initial vote, while Ahmed drew only 16 percent in the District 24 special election. Ninety-nine

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How a Red Hook developer circumvented the City Council

Developers can’t go through Carlos Menchaca, but they can go around him. The Brooklyn City Council member last year killed a major rezoning in his district and tried to stop one in someone else’s. Now, a builder is steering a $200 million Red Hook project to an agency where Menchaca has no vote. The proposal for 145 Wolcott Street includes 210 apartments — 61 of them affordable — in a manufacturing zone, so it needs

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City Council bill demands racial disparity study for some rezonings

 Certain rezonings may soon require an extra step in the city’s land use review process. The City Council’s land use committee is set to hold a hearing Monday on a bill that would mandate a racial disparity study for applications that seek a density boost or change in use or involve four or more adjacent blocks. The bill would apply to proposals going through the seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which applies to rezonings,

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Lander seeks to keep for-profit developers from acquiring city-owned land

Most city-owned land slated for affordable housing development is transferred to for-profit companies — a trend that a new City Council bill seeks to end. The measure, from Council member Brad Lander, would mandate that city-owned property intended for affordable housing be awarded to nonprofit developers. The only exceptions would be if no qualified nonprofits applied or if the property were sold under a state law. The city’s agreements on such deals do require affordability

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City Council approves Special Flushing Waterfront District

UPDATED, Dec. 10 2020, 4:15 p.m.: The City Council on Thursday voted in favor of a contested $2 billion project planned for Flushing’s waterfront. The council approved the Special Flushing Waterfront District, a series of zoning changes that pave the way for a 13-building mixed-use development, which will include more than 1,700 residential units and 879 hotel rooms, along with retail and public space. The proposal was repeatedly delayed as officials sought guarantees that the

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New York City Storm Preparedness Proposals Introduced In City Council

After months of mulling New York City’s response to Superstorm Sandy, lawmakers proposed Wednesday to require backup generators for traffic lights, a system to track everyone in shelters for people with medical problems and other changes in emergency response. The City Council proposals also include planning for emergency bus and ferry service if subways go …

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NYC Pedicab Fares Eyed By City Council After Tourists Charged $442 For A Ride

NEW YORK — Even in an era of $500 hotel rooms and $18 cocktails, the $442 that a Texas family paid for a ride in a New York City pedicab has become notorious. The outrageous fare made headlines in the city’s tabloids over the summer, and since then, officials have been pushing for a simplified …

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