Land Use Committee approved zoning text amendment needed to allow restaurant to occupy the second floor of a mixed-use building. On February 13, 2014, the City Council’s Committee on Land Use unanimously approved 17-0 an application filed by 945 Realty Holdings, LLC to modify Section 32-421 of the Zoning Resolution to facilitate the placement of 1,280 sq. ft. of commercial restaurant use on the second story of a four-story building. The restaurant, Crave Fishbar, … <Read More>
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Instant Run-off Voting: End High Cost, Low Turnout Run-Off Elections
A runoff election held weeks after a primary election always results in depressingly low voter turnout. Citizens Union supports instituting an instant runoff voting system where voters rank their preferred candidates on the day of the primary rather than needing to return to cast another ballot on a subsequent election day two to three weeks later. This would ensure that the winning candidate enjoys broad electoral support, as well as avoiding the logistical and financial … <Read More>
Emergency Demolition May Be Necessary for City-Owned Individual Landmark
Landmarks urged DOB and DCAS to look at all possible alternatives before resorting to demolition. On December 17, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing for the application for an advisory report to demolish the individually landmarked Public School 31, located at 425 Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The Collegiate Gothic-style building was designed by C.B.J. Snyder and is currently owned by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which assumed possession of the … <Read More>
Empowering Communities for Land Access: Paula Segal, Executive Director and Legal Director of 596 Acres
Paula Segal is the founder, Executive Director, and Legal Director of 596 Acres, a non-profit community land access program in New York City that supports and advocates the transformation of vacant public land into sustainable community institutions. The name 596 Acres refers to the amount of vacant land in Brooklyn as represented by the Department of City Planning when the organization began in 2010. Ms. Segal is a graduate of City University of New … <Read More>
The Dinkins’ Autobiography: Filling in a Missing Chapter
Join us at the September 27th CityLaw Breakfast, featuring the Hon. David N. Dinkins, former New York City Mayor. This event is sponsored by the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School. Click here to RSVP.
David N. Dinkins, New York City’s 106th mayor, now 86 years old, tells his story in his newly published autobiography, A Mayor’s Life: Governing New York’s Gorgeous Mosaic (Public Affairs 2013).
Dinkins … <Read More>
New Green Design Development Near Puck Building Approved
Commissioners embrace plan by CookFox Architects that would replace gas station, garage, bar and billboard. On April 9, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for the construction of a new, seven-story building at 298-308 Lafayette Street. The three lots face the Puck Building and are at the corner of Lafayette and Houston Streets in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District Extension. The plan calls for the demolition of … <Read More>