On March 6, 2025, the New York City Department of Design and Construction in collaboration with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs announced the City will be undertaking the renovation of “Selma’s House” located at 34-52 107th Street in Corona, Queens. The building is referred to as “Selma’s House” in honor of the bequeaths Selma Heraldo made in 2011 upon her death to the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Since then, the building has … <Read More>
COMPLETE VIDEO: NYC Comptroller Candidate Debate 2025
On Tuesday, March 18, 2025 the Center for New York City and State Law at New York Law School and the Citizens Budget Commission hosted the first 2025 NYC Comptroller Candidate Debate featuring Council Member Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. The debate was moderated by Andrew Rein, President, Citizens Budget Commission and Ben Max, Program Director, Center for New York City and State Law.
Outdoor Dining, Open Streets, & Trash Containerization: Where Democratic Mayoral Candidates Stand on Public Space Issues
By Mark Chiusano
With the 2025 New York City mayoral race in full swing, CityLand sent a brief, initial list of questions to major contenders for the Democratic nomination to get an idea of where the candidates stand on several key public space issues that have been the source of policy shifts and public debate over the last several years: outdoor dining, Open Streets, and trash containerization. The next mayor’s stance on these — and … <Read More>
New York May Finally Have an Ethics Commission That’s Here for Good and To Do Good
By Elizabeth Fine & Pei Pei Cheng de Castro
New York State needs a strong ethics system to guide state government officials and hold them accountable. Yet, for the past 100 years, this goal has proven elusive. The State has tried more than 12 different ethics board formulations. None survived the test of time.
It seemed that the State had found a winning formula with the 2022 Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG), … <Read More>
DOT Celebrates Sixth Avenue Redesign With Wider, Safer Bike Lanes
On March 5, 2025, New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez and officials in Greenwich Village celebrated the redesign along the Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan at Sixth Avenue with a ribbon cutting. The project is one of several across Manhattan avenues designed to improve street safety by providing wider protected bike lanes to accommodate the record growth in cycling across the City. The City Department of Transportation has completed redesign projects … <Read More>
Comptroller’s Report Shows Inadequate Heat Complaint Responses from HPD
On March 3, 2025, the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander 2025 Turn Up the Heat report, an updated version to the 2023 Turn Up the Heat report, revealed that the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development has failed to adequately respond to many tenants’ heat complaints for seven winters in a row. The New York City annual heat season runs from October 1st through May 31st, where landlords must maintain adequate … <Read More>