By Jeff Wice with Jordan Karpoff & Alexis Marking.
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Orange County: Clarke et al. v. Town of Newburgh
In January, three Black and three Hispanic residents of Newburgh filed this lawsuit, claiming the town’s at-large election system for Town Board elections has prevented Black and Hispanic residents from electing candidates of their choice, thus violating the N.Y. Voting Rights Act.
On October 10th, the … <Read More>
On September 5, 2024, the City Council released Nature’s Call, a report about the functionality and conditions of over 100 restrooms in city parks. The report followed an investigation led by the Council’s Oversight and Investigation Division in partnership with the Council’s Community Engagement Division and Parks Committee Chair Council Member Shekar Krishnan’s office. The report found that two-thirds of the inspected restrooms – or 68 out of 102 – were closed or had … <Read More>
On September 4, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the opening of 24 newly completed school buildings, creating 11,010 seats for students. Mayor Adams also announced that the 2025-2029 Capital Plan will provide funding for another 33,417 seats. These announcements come just in time to welcome students across the city for the first day of the 2024-2025 school year.
On August 15, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in collaboration with critical stakeholders celebrated New York City Council’s approval of the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan. Four new Metro-North stations will be coming to the Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, Hunts Point, and Co-op City neighborhoods in the Bronx by 2027. The plan complements the construction of these stations by adding more housing, job opportunities, and enhanced public spaces around the Morris Park and … <Read More>
On July 10, 2024, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning text amendment. The text amendment is the third and final City of Yes amendment proposed by the Adams administration to address outdated provisions within the zoning code that hinder the growth of housing, the economy, and the use of green infrastructure and technology in New York City.
REDISTRICTING
Orange County Legislature Fails to Advance New Map
The Orange County Legislature failed to advance three county legislative draft maps to the public hearing stage after a meeting on July 26th lost its quorum of legislators necessary to move the maps to the next stage. The county needs to have a new map in place before petitioning for the 2025 primary gets underway next year.