Archinect - News

New York City selects team to design a report and public portal for tracking environmental injustices

2022-07-18T16:32:00-04:00

Buro Happold and urban design nonprofit Hester Street have announced a partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice to establish an environmental justice report and online data portal that will identify the locations across the city where policies, infrastructure, and investments contribute to inequities in vulnerability and risk from environmental hazards.

The report, coined the Environmental Justice for All Report, and web portal will be accessible to the public and inform the creation of a comprehensive environmental justice plan. The initiative will outline areas of focus for promoting environmental justice in New York City and analyze existing policies, programs, and procedures across the city.

The creation of the report and portal is the result of Local Laws 60 and 64, environmental justice legislation passed by the City Council and signed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017. Local Law 60 requires that a citywide study of environme...

The New York City Rent Guidelines Board approves the largest rent hikes in nearly a decade

2022-06-23T14:20:00-04:00

Roughly 2.4 million New York City tenants will face the biggest rent hikes they’ve seen in nearly a decade after the Rent Guidelines Board approved the increases in a split vote Tuesday night at Cooper Union.

The mayor-appointed nine-person panel, which determines rent adjustments for the approximately one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, voted five to four to increase rents by 3.25% for one-year leases and 5% for two-year leases. The rates fall in the middle of ranges approved by the board in May, 2 and 4% for one-year leases and 4 and 6% for two-year leases. This represents a compromise as landlords sought even higher increases, arguing that building maintenance and insurance costs have soared. At the same time, many tenants pushed for rent freezes and rollbacks, noting the rising cost of living in New York City amidst pre-existing poor building conditions. And rising inflation has impacted both sides.

This is the first vote under Mayor Adams’ administration, exhibiting a departure from the approach of his predecessor. Throughout former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure, the board kept rent increases at historic lows, with the highest annual increases at 1.5% on one-ye...

The Brooklyn Bridge’s infrastructure improvements are kickstarting a renaissance for bicycling

2022-03-25T13:18:00-04:00

The Brooklyn Bridge finally caught up with the COVID-19-era rise in cycling last year after the city opened a dedicated bike path on the iconic span’s roadway. It was one of the signature initiatives in the final year of the Mayor Bill de Blasio administration, and advocates lauded the addition, which was also the first reconfiguration of the bridge since old trolley tracks were permanently removed in 1950.

Bicycle traffic on the bridge increased by more than a quarter from 2020 to last year. The jump is indicative of an overall city-wide trend, which has seen New Yorkers’ biking habits increase at a rate of 33%. The numbers likely correlate to the pandemic-era decrease in subway ridership caused by fears of viral contagion and an increase in violent incidents.

New York inaugurated 30 additional miles of dedicated bike paths in the past months, leading to a marked increase in traffic on the Manhattan and Queensboro Bridges (although DOT noted a minor decline in the use of the Williamsburg Bridge). The (almost) 139-year-old structure had previously only allowed for very uncomfortable biking on its crowded pedestrian walkway before construction was completed in the fall, after which the AMNY recorded a whopping 88% increase from the same months in 2020.

The de Blasio administration failed to live up to some of its monumental promises

2021-12-31T09:04:00-05:00

Early into his second term, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $10 million initiative, led by his wife, that would break the bronze ceiling by introducing seven new statues of historical women to New York City’s commemorative landscape of mostly men. It was to be one of Mr. de Blasio’s signature marks on the landscape. Days from the end of his administration, with only $1 million dedicated, none of those sculptures has yet materialized.

The failure mirrors de Blasio’s much-hyped but ultimately fruitless promise to remove some $1 billion from the police budget, which critics say was an insincere attempt to assuage the Black Lives Matter movement at a time when activists were taking to the streets nationwide to protest the killings of unarmed Black men.

The monuments were another area of unfulfilled administrative posturing about groups of people and neighborhoods that are not the benefactors of effective public spending. This came at a time when state officials were dedicating successive monuments in areas more often associated with financial services such as Battery Park City. The issue comes down to funding priorities, according to Stony Brook University historian Michelle H. Bogart.

“The problem is that maintenance and conservation are not sexy,” she told the New York Times. “Works in those communities don’t necessarily have ready constituencies who will raise money for the upkeep of older monuments.”

...

New York City announces the multibillion-dollar Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan

2021-12-30T17:54:00-05:00

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the Mayor's Office of Climate Resiliency (MOCR) have released the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan, a framework for comprehensive flood defense infrastructure to fortify Lower Manhattan in response to the increasing threat of climate change.

The plan is projected to cost $5 to $7 billion and will reimagine almost one mile of shoreline from The Battery to the Brooklyn Bridge with a resilient waterfront that can withstand severe coastal storms and rising sea levels. Based on the New York City Panel on Climate Change 90th percentile projections, noted in NYCEDC’s announcement, rising tides by the 2050s are expected to flood the Financial District and Seaport monthly and then daily by the 2080s. In addition, some level of frequent tidal flooding is likely to be seen as early as the 2040s.

The master plan features a multilevel waterfront that extends the shoreline of the East River by up to 200...

Brooklyn's Prospect Park receives $40 million to restore historic, 26-acre enclave

2021-12-17T19:01:00-05:00

The Prospect Park Alliance and Mayor Bill de Blasio are announcing today that the city will allocate $40 million in the city budget to Prospect Park. This is the largest single allocation of funding from the city in the park's history and will be used to make much-needed upgrades and restorations in its northeast corner, known as the Vale.

The $40 million in capital funding will help to restore the historic Children’s Pool and former Rose Garden, originally constructed in the 1890s, that have fallen into states of disrepair. The project plans for the creation of a sensory garden and rustic arbor, a nature play area, and a landscaped amphitheater and small community building. Design of the Vale Restoration is expected to begin in 2022, in a process that requires another year for procurement, and 12-18 months for construction.

Map of the proposed Vale Restoration. Image: Prospect Park Alliance

“Prospect Park is Brooklyn’s backyard,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “It’s where I got married and raised my family, and where New Yorkers of all backgrounds come to spend time in nature. This historic $40 million in funding will ensure the Vale is restored to its full glory.”

The Brooklyn Museum will receive much-needed upgrades thanks to a $50 million gift from the mayor's office

2021-11-24T09:00:00-05:00

The Brooklyn Museum in New York City has received a massive capital investment from the Department of Cultural Affairs — $50 million, the largest single gift in the institution’s history. The funding, announced yesterday by Mayor Bill de Blasio, will support gallery renovations and energy-efficient updates.

The original McKim, Mead & White-designed structure underwent an extensive renovation at the hands of Ennead in the early 1990s and more recent renovations to the 2nd and 5th-floor galleries that were completed in 2019.

The museum has been in a precarious position financially for quite some time, authoring multiple rounds of layoffs and staff reductions amidst sustained losses that it attempted to mitigate by selling off some of its collection in addition to applying for federal coronavirus relief aid throughout the last year.

“We hope to be able to significantly expand our contemporary art galleries and design spaces,” director Anne Pasternak told The New York Times. “We have one of the great American design collections, and absolutely inadequate spaces in which to show it.”

New York City announces another round of resiliency pilot programs as de Blasio prepares to step down

2021-11-23T18:17:00-05:00

Outgoing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has released a new $90 billion dollar resiliency plan that will expand on an existing pilot program using the city’s own climate-based design guidelines as a precept.

The plan calls for a total of 40 new projects overseen by 23 different capital agencies within a five-year timeframe that will culminate in a strengthened bulwark against the deadly effects of climate change with a particular focus on New York’s oft-neglected “environmental justice areas.”

City entities as diverse as NYCHA and the FDNY will receive between $1 and $3 billion apiece for projects which are the precursors to the soon-to-be-implemented Local Law 41, according to the mayor’s office.

“Climate change is happening now and we have the guide we need to ensure our public infrastructure is protected in New York City,” Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “Roads, hospitals, public housing, and buildings need to be designed with the impact of extreme weather in mind, and the NYC Cl...

Outdoor dining one step further towards becoming permanent in New York City

2021-11-19T15:23:00-05:00

Despite some ongoing litigation, New York City took a major step this week toward making outdoor dining a permanent part of the city's infrastructure. On Monday, the City Planning Commission voted unanimously for a zoning text amendment that will create a clean slate for the city to develop and regulate a permanent program, and will ultimately allow more restaurants to set up outdoor dining structures across the city.

The amendment removes geographic restrictions on where outdoor dining spaces can be located in New York, making the application process for sidewalk and roadway eateries much simpler.

The City Council and mayor will now have to approve the text amendment. Confidence that it will go through is high, given that the City Council voted to make outdoor dining permanent last year and current Mayor Bill de Blasio and incoming Mayor Eric Adams have both pledged support for the move. Once approved, the city will begin developing the specifications for the program, which will include a six-month outreach program in order to receive public input on the program’s design and rules.

Outdoor dining area sitting requirements. Diagram: © NYC DOT

Opponents of the plan argue that the outdoor structures for dining add litter, create more noise at night, and take up parking spots. As reported by Gothamist, a group of 22 New York City residents recently filed a lawsuit to block the Open Restaurants Prog...

The New York City Council's Land Use Committee approves Gowanus Rezoning

2021-11-11T15:32:00-05:00

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s controversial plan to rezone Gowanus is poised to move forward, fulfilling a decade-old ambition that aims to increase development and affordability in the fast-changing industrial enclave. The deal was approved by the City Council’s Land Use Committee on Wednesday, after the administration agreed to additional investments in public housing and sewer infrastructure.

The plan will pave the way for 8,000 new apartments to be built over the next decade, with more than a third reserved for low-income residents. The City Council’s Land Use Committee backed the proposal unanimously after last-minute negotiations between the mayor and two local council members, Brad Lander and Steve Levin, whose approval was contingent on the city’s commitment to invest $200 million to modernize two public housing complexes in the neighborhood. An additional $174 million will upgrade sewage infrastructure along the canal.

Previously on Archinect: New York City Planning Commission approves Gowanus Rezoning proposal

With the Gowanus Canal currently undergoing a federal clean-up, opponents of the plan fear that new construction could unearth toxins and pollutants, which would primarily impact the low-income residents that are intended to live there. Others argue that the area’s sewer system will not be able to withstand the volume of new residents.

As stated by Gothamis...

NYC's new planning director Anita Laremont on the importance of the public realm

2021-11-04T15:08:00-04:00

COVID-19 also showed us the divide that we have in the city. There are BIPOC communities and communities with lower incomes that have very poor-quality public realms that we need to focus on more closely. People who live in the South Bronx need to have the same kind of opportunities to be outdoors and in quality settings in ways that they didn't before.

Anita Laremont, the newly appointed Director of the NYC Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission, when asked about her priorities in light of Mayor Bill de Blasio's term coming to an end soon: "We believe our priorities will continue to be the new mayor's priorities in dealing with the challenging issue of not having enough affordable housing for all our citizens. Other public realm issues we face coming out of the pandemic are job opportunities and economic development."

New York City Planning Commission approves Soho/Noho rezoning proposal, clearing the way for more housing

2021-10-22T17:47:00-04:00

The future of Soho and Noho is now up to the City Council. The City Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a high-profile proposal to rezone the neighborhoods, largely to allow for more residential and ground-floor retail. The proposal covers 56 blocks in the neighborhoods, largely zoned for manufacturing use — despite the area’s reputation as a prime retail destination.

In support of the plan, City Planning Commission Chair Anita Laremont said: “The plan significantly advances New York City’s equity and inclusivity goals, helps to address our severe and ongoing housing crisis and serves to speed New York City's economic recovery.”

According to The Gothamist, the rezoning, which aims to address growing housing needs, could see the construction of up to 3,500 new apartments, including as many as 900 subsidized units through New York’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing requirement. This is the latest rezoning Mayor Bill de Blasio is attempting to push through following the NYC Planning Commission’s approval of the Gowanus rezoning proposal in September.

Previously on Archinect: New York City Planning Commission approves Gowanus Rezoning proposal

Concerns surrounding the proposal include fears that the rezoning could lead to too much commercial development and does not provide enough protection for historic districts. Additionally, opponents argue that i...

New report highlights inequities and shortcomings of NYC Mayor de Blasio's Open Streets program

2021-10-19T18:47:00-04:00

A new report released by New York City-based, non-profit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives reveals the deficiencies of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Open Streets program, an initiative formed in the wake of the pandemic to create safe, socially distanced outdoor space for New Yorkers. Less than half of the Open Streets are currently active, with further flaws in the form of inequitable access to and quality of those that are operational.

The report titled, Open Streets Forever: The Case for Permanent 24/7 Open Streets, was formed through a data collection effort that included nearly 800 reports from volunteer surveyors who visited all 274 Open Street locations across the five boroughs this summer. The report finds that Mayor de Blasio’s program has fallen short of the promised 100-mile mark for street closures and has failed to serve all New Yorkers equally.

According to the report, only 46% of listed Open Streets were actually active, which is equivalent to 24 miles. Of these, 3...

New York City and State are elevating offshore wind farm investments

2021-10-15T12:39:00-04:00

Late last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced a 15-year, $191 million plan to make New York City a leader in the offshore wind industry.

Called the Offshore Wind Vision (OSW) plan, it ensures the city meets its climate goals of 100-percent clean electricity by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. The investment aims to create over 13,000 jobs and generate $1.3 billion in average annual investment; ensure 40% of job and investment benefits are directed toward women, minorities, and environmental justice communities; and reduce 34.5 million tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from roads for 15 years, as noted in New York City’s press release.

The OSW plan is focused on three core areas: sites and infrastructure, ensuring the development of “best-in-class” infrastructure that will support the construction and operation of offshore wind farms; business and workforce, prepari...

New York is moving forward with its controversial congestion pricing plan

2021-09-24T12:13:00-04:00

New York City is moving forward with its plan to install the country’s first-ever congestion pricing law that would tax vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street in an effort to raise money and reduce traffic in the heart of a city that’s home to more than 8 million people.

Construction Drive is reporting that the city government will renew public hearings next week for the scheme, which has been debated on and off since the heyday of the Bloomberg administration.

The controversial push was first approved by the state legislature in Albany in 2019 with the goal of generating over $1 billion a year in revenue, which in turn would help pay for a $51 billion MTA capital project that has since been suspended.

The measure is only beginning to move forward now after being blocked by the Trump administration for a period of years as part of an apparent spat between the executive branch and then-Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Related on Archinect: The War on Cars notches another victory ...

New York City Planning Commission approves Gowanus Rezoning proposal

2021-09-23T17:10:00-04:00

Mayor Bill de Blasio is one step closer to realizing his goal of adding tens of thousands of units of affordable housing in New York City, after a key panel passed the city’s plan to rezone a swath of industrial properties surrounding the Gowanus Canal

The proposal was approved by nine of the ten New York City Planning Commission members in a vote earlier this week. The plan calls for the rezoning of an 82-block section of Gowanus, along Fourth Avenue, between Atlantic Avenue and 15th Street. It would pave the way for the construction of up to 8,000 homes, with 3,000 of them set below market rate.

It will now make its way to the City Council, however, support may not be as unanimous. Councilmembers Brad Lander and Stephen Levin, who represent the area, reportedly want the city to commit $200 million towards repairs for two public housing complexes in the neighborhood before they can support the effort. Additionally, Brooklyn Borough President and presumptive future mayor Eric Adams, backed the plan given the city pledges $274 million for repairs at New York City Housing Authority complexes over the next five years.

The proposal has received blowback, with opponents arguing that it will lead to an influx of luxury towers and that...

Converted commercial buildings may not be a short-term answer to solving the affordable housing crisis

2021-08-03T09:00:00-04:00

Last month, New York State passed the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA), laying the groundwork for hotels and other commercial buildings to be converted into affordable housing. Nevertheless, a recent article by NBC News gives a laundry list of reasons why among commercial buildings, office space, in particular, is unlikely to be converted to affordable housing.

The gist: it still remains far too profitable to give this property over to affordable housing. That is, there’s simply too much money to be made in the long term, even if rentable spaces continue to remain vacant in the short term. Why risk setting a precedent that unused space should be given over to the thousands of people who live on the street? Why set a precedent that the dignity of every person is more important than Cushman Wakefield’s quarterly earnings?

The Flatiron District in New York is filled with older office buildings. Image: pixhere

Nevertheless, politicians have at least begun posturing. New Yo...

New York State pauses all "non-essential" construction projects

2020-03-27T15:00:00-04:00

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that construction projects across the state must stop work in order to comply with efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carving out exceptions for hospital construction, transit infrastructure projects, utility repairs, affordable housing, and homeless shelters, the governor's latest executive order reiterates that construction sites that remain open must do so while "maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit."

The directive adds, "Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation."

In a press conference covering the contents of the order, Cuomo, as reported by Gothamist, stated, "We're closing now non-essential construction sites. Some construction is essential right? To keep the place running, but non-es...

Former HUD secretary Shaun Donovan is running for mayor of New York City

2020-02-10T13:15:00-05:00

Shaun Donovan, the former Secretary for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama, has filed papers to run for mayor of New York City in the upcoming 2021 election.

Donovan is vying to succeed current New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has served two terms as the city's mayor.

Donovan, The New York Times reports, is a native New Yorker who served as HUD Secretary between 2009 and 2014, a period that includes the aftermath and recovery from Superstorm Sandy. Donovan also served as a deputy assistant HUD secretary under President Bill Clinton and as the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Donovan's tenure at HUD followed that of Julian Castro, who himself recently ran for higher office as a Democratic presidential contender.

In a statement published by The New York Times, Donovan writes, “As a lifelong New Yorker, I've committed my life to public service and focused on ...

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio pledges to end 'street homelessness as we know it' within five years

2019-12-18T16:36:00-05:00

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an initiative Tuesday that promised to “end long-term street homelessness as we know it” by bringing thousands of people off of the streets and into permanent or transitional housing within five years. [...] The city plans to spend an estimated $120 million next year on the plan, which will create 1,000 new permanent apartments.

The mayor's office has outlined de Blasio's latest plan to house the estimated 3,600 homeless people currently living on New York City streets — a fraction of the city's total homeless population of 80,000 — in the action plan The Journey Home.

We’re announcing a plan to END long-term street homelessness in our city. Join us at @Judsonchurchnyc. https://t.co/MLsxyJuHfh
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 17, 2019

The Wall Street Journal reports that under the new directive, the City also plans to "generate 1,000 additional 'Safe Haven' shelter beds, which are targeted specifically to the street homeless, in addition to expanding outreach to homeless people both aboveground and in the subways."

How can architects design housing for intergenerational families?

2019-06-27T15:30:00-04:00

Since the first known use the term 'nuclear family' in 1941 (defined by George Murdock as "a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction[,] contain[ing] adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults), the common American perception of what constitutes a normal living situation has required serious revision.

Not only has the narrow definition of a 'family unit' failed to describe a significant number of households in the United States; it has also halted construction of housing units which may serve to foster families which do not fit the above description.

Very few American cities, for instance, allow for the construction of homes for 'grandfamilies,' defined as "families in which children reside with and are being raised by grandparents, other extended family members, and adults with whom they have a close family-like...

NYC's super-tall mechanical void loophole is no more

2019-06-03T13:52:00-04:00

The City Council voted to close a zoning loophole that has allowed developers to boost building heights with excessive mechanical spaces—but it’s only the first step in addressing the issue, say lawmakers.

The zoning amendment will limit the city's notoriously over-sized mechanical spaces to 25-feet in height before additional space begins to eat into a project's allowable buildable area. New York City lawmakers are pushing to close other loopholes, as well, including rules impacting the use unenclosed voids in tall buildings to gain additional height and the agglomeration of "gerrymandered" lots to take unfair advantage of favorable zoning rules for certain parcels.

Curbed quotes Council member Ben Kallos of the Midtown East and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan as saying, “We are taking a significant step towards stopping developers from getting around zoning to give billionaires views instead of building the affordable housing New Yorkers need. This is only a start and we need to go much further.”

Bill de Blasio's Green New Deal for NYC targets glass and steel skyscrapers

2019-04-22T13:30:00-04:00

"We're going to ban the classic glass and steel skyscrapers, which are incredibly inefficient," Bill de Blasio said on "Morning Joe." As the New York City mayor lays out plans for a municipal Green New Deal, he is looking to target one of the biggest sources of emissions in the city: buildings.

De Blasio explained that traditional skyscrapers would become difficult to build due to strong energy efficient mandates. "If someone wants to build one of those things, they can take a whole lot of steps to make it energy efficient", he told the MSNBC crew.

The mayor added that the city will also target private building owners for not retrofitting for energy efficiency. In his Green New Deal, owners that don't slash emission by 30% by 2030 will receive fines, with the largest buildings potentially facing penalties as high as $1 million or more.

He also went on to promise that the city will get all of its energy from renewable sources within the next five years.

Bill de Blasio proposes Manhattan shoreline extension to combat projected sea level rise

2019-03-18T14:40:00-04:00

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a $10 billion plan to push out the lower Manhattan coastline as much as 500 feet, or two city blocks, to protect from flooding that’s expected to become more frequent as global temperatures rise. [...] Portions of the extended land would be at 20 feet above sea level. The city can’t build flood protection on the existing land because it’s too crowded with utilities, sewers and subway lines, he said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has unveiled the city's comprehensive plan to increase resilience in Lower Manhattan, a low-lying, highly critical area that has proven to be vulnerable to storm surges and flooding. The newly published Lower Manhattan Climate Resilience Study recommends extending the Manhattan shoreline into the East River to better protect the Seaport and the Financial District.

Lower Manhattan 100-Year Floodplains. Image: NYC Mayor’s Office

“Hurricane Sandy showed us how vulnerable areas like Lower Manhattan are to climate change,” said de Blasio in his public announcement. “That’s why we not only have to reduce emissions to prevent the most cataclysmic potential effects of global warming, we have to prepare for the ones that are already inevitable. Our actions will protect Lower Manhattan into the next century. We need the federal government to stand behind cities like New York to meet this crisis head on.”

Click image above to access the Lower Manhattan Climate Resi...

Ceiling heights in tall towers should be capped at 12 feet, argues New York state lawmaker

2019-02-21T16:25:00-05:00

A state lawmaker is gunning for more aggressive restrictions on the vast mechanical voids developers often abuse to boost their buildings’ heights as a “more robust” solution to the de Blasio administration’s recent zoning amendment. [...] Current zoning exempts mechanical voids from a building’s floor-area ratio (FAR)—a given property’s square footage—and puts no height limits on those spaces.

"Luxury developers often exploit this loophole in residential towers to hike up the price for apartments on higher floors," explains Curbed NY one reasoning behind the newly introduced bill by New York State Assembly member Linda Rosenthal.

NYCHA in danger of a federal takeover

2019-01-02T14:50:00-05:00

According to the United States’ General Accounting Office, receiverships in housing authorities generally result from “longstanding, severe, and persistent management problems that led to deterioration of housing stock.” NYCHA, who took the public advocate’s top spot for the city’s worst landlord in 2018, faces mounting repair costs in excess of $25 billion and has exhibited failures eliminating mold and lead paint, among a laundry list of other nightmarish woes for its tenants.

Mayor Bill De Blasio and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have until the 31st of January to agree on how to run the agency. If that does not happen and Ben Carson declares New York City Housing Authority in substantial default, NYCHA which oversees housing for over 400,000 New Yorkers might be taken over by the federal government.

In the case of an administrative receivership, NYCHA’s affairs would be taken over by HUD, which could potentially involve working together as partners. However, if placed into a judicial receivership, NYCHA would be appointed a receiver, ranging anywhere between HUD officials and private firms, that after personal assessment would have full authority to change the agency and manage its properties to their liking, backed by the court.

New York City greenlights street co-naming in honor of Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan & Woody Guthrie

2018-12-27T20:16:00-05:00

New York City's cultural history includes a staggering array of musical talent, but only a handful of musicians get their names on street signs. In its final meeting of the year, the New York City Council voted 48-0 to honor three music icons in their home boroughs: famed hip hop artists Biggie Smalls/Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) and the Wu-Tang Clan, as well as folk singer Woody Guthrie.

Don't program your GPS to take you to Christopher Wallace Way (Brooklyn), the Wu-Tang Clan District (Staten Island), or Woody Guthrie Way (Coney Island/Brooklyn) just yet—Mayor Bill de Blasio still has to sign off on the approved bill.

Storefront is looking for NYC's next iconic image

2017-12-04T18:57:00-05:00

What model best represents new visions and values of New York City? Cast your vote today for the new icons of New York and influence which souvenirs will represent the city next. The top three winners will be presented to the Mayor Bill de Blasio as New York City's newest icons.

Midnight Commercial by KIT BKLYN

Icons will be selected from The Storefront for Art and Architecture's exhibition Souvenirs: New New York Icons, open through December 9th. This is the second iteration of Storefront’s model show and includes commissions of 59+ objects that redefine New York's iconic imagery. Drawing inspiration from each of the city's Community Districts, over 59 architects, artists, and designers have reimagined the referential images forming the global perception of the city and have proposed new understandings of the urban experience.

Vote for your top three icons here.

"Humanitarian emergency": Michael Greenberg looks inside New York City’s housing crisis

2017-08-01T15:47:00-04:00

New York City is in the throes of a humanitarian emergency, a term defined by the Humanitarian Coalition of large international aid organizations as “an event or series of events that represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community or other large group of people.” New York’s is [...] a “complex emergency”: man-made and shaped by a combination of forces that have led to a large-scale “displacement of populations” from their homes.

"What makes the crisis especially startling," author Michael Greenberg continues in his latest piece for The New York Review of Books, "is that New York has the most progressive housing laws in the country and a mayor who has made tenants’ rights and affordable housing a central focus of his administration."

New York to spend $100M to extend the Waterfront Greenway surrounding Manhattan

2017-04-27T12:32:00-04:00

The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a 32-mile ring of parkland that surrounds Manhattan—or almost all of it, that is. Between 41st and 61st Streets along the East River lies a “glaring gap”, as The New York Times calls it. Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that the city will spend $100 million to close part of the gap, with another $5 million dedicated to smaller gaps in Harlem and Inwood.

Specifically, a path will be built atop pilings from 53rd to 61st Street, standing some 15 feet from the shoreline on a boardwalk rising above the water. Eventually, the goal is to surround the entire island with bike and running paths.

“The Hudson River Greenway has vastly improved quality of life on the West Side, and we want families in every corner in the borough to have that same access to bike, walk and play along the water,” Mr. de Blasio said. “This is the first of many big investments we’ll make as we bring the full Greenway to reality.”