City must pay for extra work

Construction company and City disputed meaning of contract term in school construction contract. In July 2014, a New Jersey-based construction company Delric Construction contracted with the New York City School Construction Authority to provide labor and materials for an exterior masonry project for the fixed price of $8,481,000 at Public School 183, located at 76 Riverdale Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The project was for the removal and replacement of 40,000 square feet of the school’s … <Read More>


Court upholds verdict that City at fault for man who drowned in pool

Parents of deceased son win damages against the City. On July 13, 2011, Bohdan Vitenko drowned in Lyons Pool in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island. Lyons pool is owned and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Vitenko, then 21-years old, was exercising in the pool with his friend Jonathan Proce for an extended period of time. The Olympic-sized pool measured 165 feet by 100 feet. It was 3.5 feet … <Read More>


City Defeats Bike Rider’s Claim

On June 2, 2016, Peter Deutch was riding his bicycle North-bound on East Drive in Central Park, Manhattan. East Drive is a three-lane roadway in Central Park with the left lane reserved for pedestrians, the middle lane designated for cyclists, and the right lane for motor traffic. Deutch collided with a flatbed truck owned by Hellman Electric Corporation that was driving directly to his right in the motor traffic lane. Deutch fell under the truck’s … <Read More>


City and Independent Contractor Liable

The court found the defendants were owners of a construction site where a fatal accident occurred, and could not use a provision of the workers compensation law to bar the decedent estates claims. Halmar International owned a construction site located in Maybrook, New York. The site was being used for the construction of a concrete mockup of an aqueduct in preparation for construction work on an aqueduct in Gardiner, New York. On December 2, 2013, … <Read More>


GUEST COMMENTARY: The City of Yes – NYC is Taking Leadership on Energy Storage System Siting

 

by Caroline G. Harris, Esq. Goldman Harris LLC and Eric Vath, Esq. Goldman Harris LLC

To meet the climate goals of the 2016 Paris Agreement, New York State and New York City have adopted aggressive energy efficiency goals.  The Mayor’s 2022 City of Yes program announced numerous initiatives to make the city sustainable, resilient and equitable.  One of them, the City of Yes: Carbon Neutrality, aims to reduce our reliance on carbon-based fuels by … <Read More>


City Planning Commission Discusses Zoning for Carbon Neutrality Amendment Ahead of Public Review Process

Commissioners raised early questions about implementation and funding issues. On January 30, 2023, the City Planning Commission held a review session and overview discussion for the proposed Zoning for Carbon Neutrality amendment, one of the three City of Yes amendments proposed by Mayor Eric Adams last year. The Zoning for Carbon Neutrality amendment aims to reduce or eliminate unnecessary restrictions within the zoning text that inhibit a developer or building owner from using sustainable technology <Read More>