On October 17, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Future of Fifth Partnership announced the plan to redesign Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park. This would be the first major redesign in Fifth Avenue’s 200-year history. Fifth Avenue houses 313,000 direct and indirect jobs and generates $44.1 billion in total wages and $111.5 billion in total economic output each year. The redesign is anticipated to increase property and sales tax … <Read More>
NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 11/04/24
This week- NYS Voting Rights Challenges, Court of Appeals on Absentee Voting, What Happens After the Polls Close?, Summary of Ballot Proposals, Around the Nation- SCOTUS on VA & PA Voting
by Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking, Jennifer Hutz & Jordan Karpoff
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Orange County: Clarke et al. v. Town of Newburgh
This is an ongoing NYVRA action in a challenge filed by Black and Hispanic voters against the Town of Newburgh.… <Read More>
City Celebrates Completion of First Part of East Side Coastal Resiliency Project
On October 17, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the completion of the first section of the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project. The East Side Coastal Resiliency project is a $1.45 billion project that will create a 2.4-mile-long flood barrier on the Lower East Side from Montgomery Street to Asser Levy Playground between East 23rd Street and East 25th Street. The $1.45 billion project is being built in two sections. The northern … <Read More>
Counting and Certifying the Vote: What Happens in New York State After the Polls Close
By Jennifer Hutz
Especially since the 2020 elections, national attention has focused on what happens after the polls close on Election Day. The mundane and straightforward task of counting ballots has become a hot button issue as an increased number of public officials have attempted to delay or deny certification of the ballot count. Although media attention has heightened following efforts to challenge the 2020 results, attempts to delay certification have been happening since the … <Read More>
City Launches Trade-In Program for E-Bikes and Batteries
On October 23, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the final rules regulating the City’s $2 million trade-in program for electric-powered mobility devices, such as electric bikes, and their batteries. This program is part of the City’s “Charge Safe, Ride Safe: New York City’s Electric Micromobility Action Plan” which aims to mitigate the risk of deadly e-bike fires, caused by uncertified lithium-ion batteries by promoting public safety and reducing the illegal … <Read More>
Parks Dept. Celebrates Reopening of Kelly Park Playground in Brooklyn
On October 22, 2024, New York City Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, New York State Senator Simcha Felder, and members of the community celebrated the unveiling of the newly reconstructed Kelly Park Playground. Kelly Park Playground, located at Ave. S, Moore Pl. between East 16th Street and East 17th Street in Brooklyn, is named after Brooklynite William E. Kelly. Born. Kelly, born in Brooklyn in 1872, served as county postmaster and Clerk of Kings County before … <Read More>