Council Passes Bill Legalizing Jaywalking

On September 26, 2024, the City Council passed Introduction Number 346-A which would legalize “jaywalking,” the practice of a pedestrian crossing a roadway outside of a marked or unmarked crosswalk or against traffic signals. The legislation allows pedestrians to legally cross a road from any point, even outside of a marked or unmarked crossword, regardless of traffic signals. The local law specifies that jaywalking will not violate the administrative code and cannot be used as … <Read More>


NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 11/12/24

 

 

By Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking,  & Jennifer Hutz.

This week- NYS Voting Rights Act Stricken; Election Turnout, Louisiana Redistricting

N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION

New York Voting Rights Act Struck Down in Clarke v. Newburgh (Orange County)

The New York Voting Rights Act (NYVRA) was struck down in a decision from the Orange County Supreme Court. In January, three Black and three Hispanic residents of Newburgh filed this lawsuit. The residents alleged that … <Read More>


Could Public Space Stewards Help Make New York City More Livable?

By Mark Chiusano

For obvious reasons I was recently revisiting a small controversy over the usage of public space in a certain midtown Manhattan building: Trump Tower.

In 2016, Donald Trump and New York City went back and forth over whether the building had to keep some public benches in the lobby. During construction decades earlier, the tower had been allowed to rise higher in exchange for a little bit of public space (some of <Read More>


Landmarks Designates Jacob Day House as Individual Landmark

On October 22, 2024, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (Landmarks) voted unanimously to designate the Jacob Day House, located at 50 West 13th Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, as an individual landmark. Jacob Day, a prominent Black businessman, abolitionist, and property owner, lived and operated his catering business out of the home from 1859 until his death in 1884. Day also rented apartments and rooms on the building’s upper two floors to other … <Read More>


City Reveals Proposal for Gansevoort Square Following Meat Market’s Early Departure from Site

On October 28, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the initial proposal for the Gansevoort Square project. The project includes utilizing Gansevoort Square, a City-owned site located on Little West 12th Street between Washington Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan, for mixed-income housing, new public space, and expanding the Whitney Museum of American Art and the High Line.