Bike riding is enjoyable, healthy and fun. It can also be dangerous. The City is heavily invested in encouraging bike riding and bike safety. Yet, accidents happen, and when they do bike riders may opt to sue. Bike riders receive no special status as tort plaintiffs. Bike riders in court live by the same rules that govern tort claims by pedestrians and car drivers. As New York courts have repeatedly stated, a “bicyclist is required … <Read More>
Governor Andrew Cuomo Limits Activities to Essential Businesses, Small Businesses Feeling Impact
Governor Cuomo further encouraging New Yorkers to telecommute and stay home. On March 18, 2020, the Empire State Development Corporation issued guidance for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order Number 202.6, which requires that to the maximum extent possible, all businesses and not-for profit entities throughout the state utilize work from home and telecommuting procedures. This executive order comes as an update to Executive Order 202, which, on March 7, 2020, declared a state of … <Read More>
UPDATED: Parks Department Closes Some Facilities, Mayor and Governor Announce Rule Changes in Coronavirus Response
Team sports are prohibited and recreation centers are currently closed to the public, but parks remain open. City and State governments continue the fight to control the spread of the coronavirus, instituting policies to encourage and enable as many people to stay at home as possible. Understanding the challenges of asking citizens to spend as much time as possible indoors as the weather continues to improve, the City aimed to keep City parks open as … <Read More>
HPD Seeks Enhanced Enforcement Against City’s Worst Buildings
HPD picked 250 buildings with over 41,000 violations for enhanced enforcement. In 2019, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) launched the Anti-Harassment Unit (AHU) to keep tenants safe and to hold owners and landlords accountable for leaving homes in disrepair. On March 4, 2020, HPD announced that the AHU filed actions for nearly $400,000 against two building owners in court. Each building owner operates three buildings in Manhattan and the … <Read More>
Landmarks Holds Public Hearing for New Senior Housing Near Kreischer House
Landmarks expressed support for the proposed senior housing complex but raised some concerns regarding the new buildings’ impact on the Kreischer House site. On February 4, 2020, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on a Certificate of Appropriateness for three actions to facilitate the development of a new senior housing complex, comprised of eleven buildings, surrounding the Kreischer House. The Kreischer House is located at 4500 Arthur Kill Road in Charlestown, Staten Island. … <Read More>
City Planning Holds Hearing on Nine-Story Mixed-Use Building in Bensonhurst
The applicants propose to bring eleven affordable housing units under the City’s Workforce Option to Bensonhurst. On March 4, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application to rezone part of a low-density residential zoning district in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The applicant, SUW 4 LLC, proposes to rezone the northwest corner of 60th Street and Bay Parkway, which is a 10,108 square foot vacant lot. Under the current zoning, only three- to … <Read More>