After Three Years at the Helm, Carl Weisbrod Steps Down from City Planning

Carl Weisbrod stepped down from Chair of the City Planning Commission to Chair the Trust for Governors Island. On January 4, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his new appointment to Chair the Trust for Governors Island, Carl Weisbrod. Weisbrod has served as the Chair of the City Planning Commission and Director of the Department of City Planning since de Blasio’s election in 2013. For Weisbrod’s two latest discussions at CityLaw’s Breakfast Series, click … <Read More>


Eleven Buildings Individually Landmarked as part of the Greater East Midtown Initiative

Hearing were held on twelve buildings over two meetings, with vary degrees of opposition— Citicorp Center Complex will be voted on separately at a later date. On November 22, 2016, Landmarks voted to designate eleven buildings in the Midtown area as individual City landmarks. Public testimony on the buildings was considered at two meetings on July 19 and September 13 of 2016. Landmarks undertook the surveying of the area as part of a mayoral program … <Read More>


Overhaul of Rent Subsidy Program to Fix New York State Homelessness; Save Hundreds of Millions

State Assemblymember may have answer to finally reverse the homelessness trend. Recently, the de Blasio Administration heralded that its efforts to prevent homelessness in New York City have had some success. On September 29, 2016, City Hall announced that thanks to its “unprecedented array of programs” some 7,000 New Yorkers were able to avoid the City’s shelter system. The Department of Homeless Services now shelters 60,000 instead of the projected 67,000 (the projection was largely … <Read More>


Grand Central Upgrades and One Vanderbilt Construction Begins

City Officials and developer broke ground on the new One Vanderbilt office building and $220 million transit upgrade of Grand Central. On October 18, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Council Member Dan Garodnick joined the developer SL Green for the on-site groundbreaking ceremony. The new office tower will reach 1,401 feet and cover the city block west of Grand Central. The tower is expected to achieve … <Read More>


Disco-Era Hotel Interior Enters Designation Process

Early Postmodern bar and lobby a rare intact example of interior architecture and design from the late 1970s and early 1980s. On September 20 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to add first floor interiors on the United Nations Hotel at 1 United Nations Plaza to its calendar, formally commencing the designation process. The interiors under consideration are the hotel’s lobby and the public areas of the Ambassador Grill. The lobby was completed in … <Read More>


Seven More Buildings Considered for Designation Under East Midtown Initiative

Items considered at hearing were from three development periods: the pre-Grand Central Terminal Era, the Grand Central/Terminal City Era, and the post-Grand Central/World War II Era. On September 13, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designation of seven individual landmarks in Midtown Manhattan. The items heard were among the twelve properties identified as potentially worthy of Landmarks protection in the agency’s Greater East Midtown Initiative. The initiative is part of … <Read More>