ECB dismissed falsified facade report charge

Building’s facade buckled two-and one- half-years after engineer’s report. Richard Lefever, a licensed engineer, examined the facade of a building and filed a report with Buildings in February 2007. In the report, Lefever had the option of designating the facade as safe, unsafe, or safe with a repair and maintenance program (SWARMP). Lefever chose the third option, because he identified facade conditions that required repairs within two years to avoid deteriorating into unsafe conditions. The … <Read More>


Local Laws increase DOB’s reporting requirements

DOB will report all construction injuries and fatalities and provide the state with names of sanctioned architects and engineers. On June 12, 2008, the City Council passed two local laws increasing the Department of Buildings’ reporting requirements.

One of the new local laws, Intro 754-A, requires the Buildings Commissioner to post every incident that results in an injury or fatality on a construction site. The posting must identify the owner, general contractor, the number of … <Read More>


NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update – Week of 12/16/24

 

By Jeff Wice & Alexis Marking

This week- Nassau County Legislative Map Trial Gets Underway, NYS Voting Rights Act Appeal

N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION

Nassau County Legislature: Coads et al. v. Nassau County & NY Communities for Change (NYCC) v. Nassau County

A trial gets underway tomorrow where the most serious challenge to Nassau County’s legislative maps since 1994 gets underway in White Plains. The case was removed from Nassau to Westchester County … <Read More>


City Planning Data Shows Lower Storefront Vacancy Post-Pandemic

On November 15, 2024, Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick released new data showing the city’s storefront vacancy rate is down to 11.1 percent. This marks the fourth straight quarter of declining vacancy.

In comparison, a survey of 24 corridors across the city during summer 2020 showed inactivity rates of over 30 percent. Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island all have borough-wide vacancy rates below nine percent, although some higher vacancy rates persist, … <Read More>


NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 12/09/24

 

By Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking & Jennifer Hutz.

This week- Onondaga County Legislature Has a New Map, Nassau County Loses Motion to Dismiss Redistricting Challenge,  New Report on Urban Voter Turnout, Let Non-Profits Assist in LUCAREDISTRICTING

Onondaga County Legislature Finally Has a New Map

After prolonged litigation, the Onondaga County Legislature approved a new map on a party line vote last week. Previously, a state supreme court judge held that the county failed … <Read More>


Q&A: Understanding the NYC Campaign Finance Board’s Public Matching Funds Payments

By Ben Max

Now that the presidential election is over, New Yorkers can turn to the 2025 municipal election.  Party primaries will be in June, but a key milestone will be marked on December 16, 2024 when the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) issues the first public funds payments for the 2025 election. These matching funds — $8 for every dollar of eligible donations — can go a long way toward helping candidates <Read More>