On September 26, 2024, the City Council passed Introduction Number 346-A which would legalize “jaywalking,” the practice of a pedestrian crossing a roadway outside of a marked or unmarked crosswalk or against traffic signals. The legislation allows pedestrians to legally cross a road from any point, even outside of a marked or unmarked crossword, regardless of traffic signals. The local law specifies that jaywalking will not violate the administrative code and cannot be used as … <Read More>
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NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 11/12/24
By Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking, & Jennifer Hutz.
This week- NYS Voting Rights Act Stricken; Election Turnout, Louisiana Redistricting
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
New York Voting Rights Act Struck Down in Clarke v. Newburgh (Orange County)
The New York Voting Rights Act (NYVRA) was struck down in a decision from the Orange County Supreme Court. In January, three Black and three Hispanic residents of Newburgh filed this lawsuit. The residents alleged that … <Read More>
Could Public Space Stewards Help Make New York City More Livable?
By Mark Chiusano
For obvious reasons I was recently revisiting a small controversy over the usage of public space in a certain midtown Manhattan building: Trump Tower.
In 2016, Donald Trump and New York City went back and forth over whether the building had to keep some public benches in the lobby. During construction decades earlier, the tower had been allowed to rise higher in exchange for a little bit of public space (some of … <Read More>
NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 11/04/24
This week- NYS Voting Rights Challenges, Court of Appeals on Absentee Voting, What Happens After the Polls Close?, Summary of Ballot Proposals, Around the Nation- SCOTUS on VA & PA Voting
by Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking, Jennifer Hutz & Jordan Karpoff
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Orange County: Clarke et al. v. Town of Newburgh
This is an ongoing NYVRA action in a challenge filed by Black and Hispanic voters against the Town of Newburgh.… <Read More>
Counting and Certifying the Vote: What Happens in New York State After the Polls Close
By Jennifer Hutz
Especially since the 2020 elections, national attention has focused on what happens after the polls close on Election Day. The mundane and straightforward task of counting ballots has become a hot button issue as an increased number of public officials have attempted to delay or deny certification of the ballot count. Although media attention has heightened following efforts to challenge the 2020 results, attempts to delay certification have been happening since the … <Read More>
NY Elections, Census and Redistricting Update 10/28/24
by Jeff Wice & Alexis Marking
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Erie County: Young v. Town of Cheektowaga
In March, one-time Town Board candidate Kenneth Young filed a lawsuit against the Town of Cheektowaga, alleging racially polarized voting and violations of the New York Voting Rights Act (NYVRA) in the Cheektowaga Town Board elections. Young claims that minority voters cannot elect candidates of their choice under the town’s current at-large voting method and … <Read More>