Christopher Columbus is in trouble. Political pressure to remove Columbus monuments most recently dates from 1992 during the preparations for the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s first voyage. The movement to remove the monuments accelerated in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.
CityLaw
Speed of Subway Trains Challenged
Subway trains at the Spring Street station twice struck passengers lying on the tracks on separate occasions. How fast should subway trains be moving when they enter a station? The faster the subway trains go, the more people the trains can carry and the quicker people will get to their destinations. Even a slowdown of a few seconds per train can slow the entire system. Speed is so important to the mission of the Transit … <Read More>
No rent abatement during shutdown
Hugo Boss store at Columbus Circle which was forced to close by COVID-19 executive order sought rent relief. Hugo Boss operates a retail store in The Shops at Columbus Circle in New York City. A/R Retail LLC is the landlord for this luxury indoor mall. Hugo Boss entered into a 13-year lease at the location as a way to gain visibility in the heavily trafficked location catering to premium market customers. Hugo Boss’s rent was … <Read More>
COMMENTARY – Last Subway: The Second Avenue Subway’s Phase 2 Begins
Since January 1, 2017, when Governor Andrew Cuomo led the celebration to open the Second Avenue Subway, much has happened. A pandemic undermined subway ridership, Governor Cuomo resigned, and a new governor and mayor took office. And now the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway has begun. This will provide the next chapter of the wonderful book by Philip Mark Plotch’s on the Second Avenue Subway, Last Subway: the Long Wait for the Next … <Read More>
Prison Populations, The Census, and Prison Gerrymandering
Prison gerrymandering manipulates the boundaries of electoral districts by inflating the districts with incarcerated individuals who have no real relationship to the districts where the prisons are located. Incarcerated individuals in New York are not allowed to vote. As a result, in districts with prisons and large prison populations the votes of the voters who can vote become more powerful compared to the vote of the voters in districts without a prison population. At the … <Read More>
Building owner not liable for cellar fall
Pedestrian fell through cellar doors on sidewalk on West 46th Street. On November 29, 2017, John Harrington was walking on the sidewalk in front of a building located at 45 West 46th Street in Manhattan when he fell through the cellar doors and suffered injuries.