FDNY’s actions established duty

Williamsburg warehouse burned to the ground just minutes after FDNY left the scene. A Williamsburg warehouse owned by Recall Corporation and located on the Brooklyn waterfront at 5 North 11th Street burned to the ground in the early hours of the morning on January 31, 2015. The New York City Fire Department had responded to a fire alarm at approximately 4:36 a.m. and found a fire ablaze on storage shelves inside the warehouse. The FDNY, … <Read More>


Public urination violation sustained

Individual claimed medical condition as a defense for public urination violation. A subway rider stepped off the subway car at 12:30 a.m. when he felt the sudden need to use a restroom. The rider proceeded to the station’s restroom, but found it to be locked. When the rider could not locate another public restroom, he walked to Lippmann Plaza and urinated on the tree bed in front of a McDonald’s at 136-61 Roosevelt Avenue, Queens. … <Read More>


ULURP Remains Suspended, What Next?

Why did ULURP remain suspended when so many City agencies and public bodies took to virtual operations? On March 16, 2020, the Department of City Planning announced that, pursuant to an executive order from Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and all relevant public hearings and votes were suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the suspension, Community Boards, Borough Presidents, and the City Council have virtually convened to … <Read More>


CityLaw Profile: Elizabeth Fine, General Counsel, Empire State Development Corporation

Elizabeth Fine became General Counsel and Executive Vice-President of the Empire State Development Corporation in 2014 after a long career of government service. Fine grew up in New Haven, Washington D.C., and Lima, Peru. Her family eventually settled in the Boston area, where Fine graduated Brookline High School. Jonathan Fine, Elizabeth’s father, had worked in Lima for the Agency for International Development while her mother, Edith W. Fine, was an administrator for the Peace Corp. … <Read More>


Prior Notice Claim Advances

Pedestrian injured on a defect in the sidewalk owned by the City. Pedestrian Luis Sanchez was injured when he tripped and fell on a defect in the sidewalk located on Westchester Avenue between St. Ann’s Avenue and Brook Avenue in the Bronx. Sanchez sued the City. The City, citing the generality of the mark on a Big Apple Map, moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of prior notice.