Madison Square Garden has only been given a five year extension by the full City Council on a special permit it needs to continue to sit atop Penn Station. Photo: Keith J. Kelly Finally and Officially: Full City Council Gives MSG Its Shortest Permit Ever at 5 Years Saying it was starting a countdown to force a deal on improving Penn Station, the City Council voted unanimously to give... News 14 Sep 2023 | 10:26
Tall, well-lit construction sheds may become the norm for the city’s 9,000 scaffolding installations if new regulations proposed by City Council majority leader Keith Powers and council member Erik Bottcher, Shaun Abreu, and Chris Marte become law. Manhattan, with 4,000 of the sheds, has more than any other borough. Photo: Ralph Spielman Reach for the Sky: New Scaffold Bills Call for 50% Boost in Height and New LED Lighting New bills to overhaul scaffolds that now cover 280 miles of sidewalks in New York City would force builders to make them... News 19 Mar 2023 | 10:51
Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who represents a district that includes Chelsea, Hudson Yards and parts of Greenwich Village, hosted an online conversation about the lack of affordable housing in New York that drew the head of the Planning Commission, Dan Garodnick, and the NYC chief housing officer Jessica Katz. Photo: Office of Erik Bottcher Politicos Warn NYC Could Be “Lost” Unless We Solve Housing Crisis Several top politicians warned in a virtual forum that the city we all know could be “lost” unless leaders start to take... News 17 Feb 2023 | 03:09
An hours-long virtual hearing attracted concerned New Yorkers. Photo via Mayor’s Office Webex Locals Find Fault With New Short-Term Rental Regulations Clandestine Airbnb rentals are doomed, thanks to the rollout of new legislation that more strictly governs stays under 30... News 12 Jan 2023 | 12:48
The playground at P.S. 11. Photo: Abigail Gruskin An Influx Of Asylum-Seeking Students — and a Community’s Response When Mario’s two children started school on Friday, October 14, they hadn’t attended a class since March — and that was in... News 04 Nov 2022 | 04:43
From left to right: City Council Members Shaun Abreu, Erik Bottcher, Sandy Nurse, Chi Ossé and Carlina Rivera posed outside City Hall with two rats that were protesting new legislation passed on Thursday. Photo: Abigail Gruskin City Council’s ‘Rat Pack’ Says Rodents Are Ready to ‘Surrender’ In a city of millions, there’s an alarming number of unwelcome guests — ones that scurry, lurk and leap. Everyone’s seen... News 27 Oct 2022 | 05:54
Traffic on the West Side Highway near Hudson Yards. Photo: Abigail Gruskin The Crackdown On Loud Cars Is On A Roll Noise in New York City, like the vibrating drilling of construction or the booming sound of music coming from the apartment... News 30 Sep 2022 | 12:18
A proposed map of newly drawn City Council districts was released on July 15. Map screenshot from the NYC Districting Commission ‘Preliminary’ City Council Redistricting Is Just That, Council Members Say City Council districts are the latest to get a major overhaul as part of a redistricting process on the heels of the latest... News 22 Jul 2022 | 02:20
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene commissioner, presented on monkeypox at a City Council town hall on Monday, July 18. Photo: Abigail Gruskin Monkeypox Is Here Hundreds in New York City have now likely come down with a fever and body aches not caused by COVID-19. They may have suffered... News 21 Jul 2022 | 04:14
Madison Square Garden. Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim, via Flickr Relocating Madison Square Garden? The Manhattan Borough President and key Manhattan legislators have coalesced around a call to relocate Madison Square Garden... Home 17 Jul 2022 | 01:59
Sign at a May protest in Foley Square after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion on Roe v. Wade. Photo: Abigail Gruskin New York Politicians on the End of Roe v. Wade Americans across the country now face a very different world, following a Supreme Court decision on Friday morning that ends... News 24 Jun 2022 | 05:15
Mayor Eric Adams announced his FY 2023 preliminary budget in mid-February. Photo via the Mayor’s Office YouTube ‘Homelessness Solutions,’ Mental Health Care in Council Budget Process Budgeting the city’s spending is no small task — and it’s not one left solely to the mayor’s discretion, either. That’s why,... News 07 Apr 2022 | 02:56
New outdoor dining structure going up on East 18th St., Feb. 12, 2022. Photo: Peter Burka, via Flickr Alfresco Forever Jane Jacobs stressed the value of eyes on the street to bind the neighborhood and keep it safe. What would the great urbanist... News 19 Feb 2022 | 12:42
New Council Member Erik Bottcher’s Instagram page features screenshots of news stories covering his political endeavors — but also videos of dance routines and self-recorded footage of Bottcher with a friend’s pet. Photo: Abigail Gruskin Erik Bottcher Aims to Address Mental Health Citywide New Council Member Erik Bottcher’s Instagram page appears, as of late, to be filled mostly with screenshots of news stories... News 26 Jan 2022 | 06:15
Mark Levine pulled ahead of Brad Hoylman after what had become a two-candidate race for Manhattan Borough President. Photo courtesy of Council Member Mark Levine’s campaign Manhattan Victories New York City will see a massive turnover in local leadership come 2022, and with the primary results released this week,... News 09 Jul 2021 | 07:05
