$3.2 million tax exemption awarded Brooklyn developer

The Albee Street Mall on Gold Street will be razed to make way for one of the tallest buildings in downtown Brooklyn. Image courtesy of Greenberg Farrow.

Downtown Brooklyn mall to be demolished for large mixed-use retail, office, and residential center. On February 13, 2007, the New York City Industrial Development Agency, a component of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, approved financial assistance for the construction of a new 1.8-million-square-foot mixed-use development in … <Read More>


Kiosks and trailblazing signs approved for downtown

Signs requested by MetroTech BID and local businesses. Landmarks issued a binding report approving MetroTech BID’s proposal to install “way finding signage” throughout downtown Brooklyn. The proposal developed more than three years ago from a general consensus among MetroTech and downtown Brooklyn business groups that there was a lack of signage in downtown Brooklyn to assist pedestrians in finding key destinations. Initially using its own funds, and later obtaining capital funding from Brooklyn Borough President … <Read More>


RFP issued for parking adjacent to BAM

Parking is part of plan for BAM cultural district. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals seeking developers to construct and operate an underground garage to be located beneath a newly constructed street-level public plaza on the 32,000-square-foot site located across Ashland Place from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The triangular-shaped downtown Brooklyn lot, bound by Lafayette Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Ashland Place, is currently used for street-level parking.

As … <Read More>


NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 07/08/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Jeff Wice and Alexis Marking

VOTING RIGHTS

Attorney General To Intervene in Cheektowaga Voting Rights Act Challenge

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has informed the Erie County State Supreme Court that her office will intervene in the state voting rights act challenge filed against the Town of Cheektowaga over town board vote dilution. In that case, the town is challenging the constitutionality of the New York … <Read More>


DOT Celebrates Livingston Street Redesign for Improved Service

On January 10, 2024, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the completion of Downtown Brooklyn’s Livingston Street redesign. The redesign has created close to a mile of new bus lanes and intersection redesign between Boerum Place to Flatbush Avenue. The purpose of this project is to encourage faster and more reliable bus service for those in the area while cracking down on illegal and unsafe parking. Bus routes on … <Read More>


Mayor and DOB Announce Overhaul of Sidewalk Construction Shed Rules

Sidewalk sheds stay up for an average of over 500 days, but some stay up for several years. On July 24, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo announced “Get Sheds Down,” an overhaul of the rules relating to sidewalk construction sheds (scaffolding). While the sheds are required for construction, facade inspections, and repairs, existing laws often enable property owners to leave up the construction sheds for a long time, and <Read More>