The legislation, which is the first of its kind in the Nation, represents New York’s newest tool in its battle with Airbnb. On June 17, 2016, the New York State Legislature passed the first state bill in the Nation to ban online advertisements for illegal apartment rentals. The bill, sponsored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Senator Andrew Lanza, seeks to protect the at-risk stock of the City’s affordable housing units, which are illegally rented … <Read More>
Search Results for: Department of Buildings
Crane Safety Working Group Releases Recommendations
Recommendations include increased accountability, updated technology, wind requirements, and training reform. On June 10, 2016, the Crane Safety Technical Working Group released a report with 23 recommendations regarding crane safety. The working group was formed by Mayor de Blasio and Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler following February’s crane collapse in Tribeca, which affected New York Law School.
Block Front Redevelopment Approved After Modifications
Commissioners split on simultaneous redevelopment of five buildings, including significant increase in height beyond existing structures in some lots. On June 7, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation voted to approve the issuance of three certificates of appropriateness impacting five buildings spanning an entire block on the south side of Gansevoort Street between Greenwich and Washington Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The five buildings occupy three tax lots. Aurora Capital and William Gottlieb Real … <Read More>
City Planning Commission Holds Hearing on East Houston Street Rezoning
The proposed rezoning would facilitate the development of a mixed-use building where an unoccupied, deteriorating building currently stands. On June 8th, 2016, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application to amend the City’s zoning map to facilitate the construction of a 13-story mixed-use building at 255 Houston Street, located on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.
Council Housing Committee Holds Hearing on Fiscal Year 2017 Executive Budgets
The respective budgets provide for increased operating funds to implement new departmental initiatives. On May 11, 2016, the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings and the Committee on Finance jointly held back-to-back public hearings on the Department of Buildings’ and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Fiscal Year 2017 Executive Budgets, respectively, which seek to provide each Department with an increased budget to implement the new initiatives introduced within the respective Executive Budgets.
New Law Reduces Building Costs for Small Homeowners
Costs for new developments and alterations are adjusted for the first time since 1991 to reflect equitable fee structure. On May 10, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Local Law 56, which will alter building construction permit filing fees. Local Law 56, previously City Council Introduction 831, was introduced by Council Member Jumaane Williams at the request of the Mayor in June of 2015, and passed on April 20, 2016, to provide for a … <Read More>