Housing and Development

Two Months After Fatal Twin Parks Fire, a Fresh Start for One Tenant

A housing complex in Melrose has emerged as a new home for dozens of tenants displaced by January’s deadly Bronx fire. At least 29 households have so far signed leases at the building, and another 44 are expected to soon. Among the new residents: Mark Smith, who says he lost all his possessions in the Twin Parks blaze.

By David Brand

Economy

Opinion: Revitalizing Bronx Restaurants is Key to NYC’s Pandemic Recovery

By Nathalia Fernández

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: New York Lawmakers Must Support Future Generations of Immigrant Students and Workers

By Valeria Lugo

Government

NYC Slow to Issue Thousands of ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Rent Vouchers for Homeless Residents

By David Brand

News

Podcast: El Diario Sin Límites

¿Qué sigue después de “el día sin inmigrantes” camino a las elecciones de noviembre?

El mismo día que se celebraba el día de San Valentín, el pasado 14 de febrero, también se llevó a cabo “el día sin inmigrantes” en el cual inmigrantes y organizaciones que los defienden exigieron al presidente Joe Biden y al Congreso la aprobación de una reforma migratoria, luego de que el plan de incluir cambios en inmigración en el paquete de reconciliación del presupuesto se cayera.
By Daniel Parra
Opinion

Opinion: Restoring Public Trust to Public Housing

‘The Public Trust would at long last empower NYCHA to leverage debt, allowing it to deploy capital funds quickly, cut through antiquated procurement rules, and make measurable improvements in the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.’
By Rafael E. Cestero
Housing and Development

Under New Law, NYCHA Tenants Can Log Maintenance Complaints with 311. But Advocates Want More Substantial Changes

“It’s time to acknowledge that NYCHA residents are an integral part of the city. Like other tenants, they should be entitled to full access to the city’s code enforcement system,” said one housing policy analyst calling for NYCHA tenants to have access to city building inspectors.
By Doug Turetsky
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: NYS Education Department Abandons its Mission with Private School Regulations

‘The regulations, billed as solving the problem, only institutionalize it and gut the statutory requirement of equivalent instruction. As currently proposed, the regulations need to be voted down when the State Board of Regents meets to approve them in the fall.’
By David Bloomfield
Housing and Development

NYC Was Set to Crack Down on Voucher Discrimination, But its Enforcement Teams Keep Shrinking

New York City agencies tasked with cracking down on source of income (SOI) discrimination against renters are being forced to do more with less after hiring freezes, resignations and budget cuts whittled down their already overburdened enforcement units.
By David Brand

Mapping the Future

Targeted Attacks on Unsheltered New Yorkers Highlight Dangers of Homelessness

The shootings occurred amid a crackdown on New Yorkers sleeping on the subways, and reflected a recent spike in the number of homeless New Yorkers slain by assailants.
For Lower-Income New Yorkers, COVID Rents Never Really Went Down

For many low-income tenants in unregulated apartments, rents remained relatively flat or even increased during the pandemic because available housing was still hard to find.
Looking Back: COVID-19 in New York City, Two Years Later

Two years ago on Monday, New York City saw its first coronavirus death. As the city and the world enters its third year of life with COVID-19, here's a look back at some pivotal moments, as told through City Limits' coverage of the crisis since March 2020.
NY Lawmakers Propose $250M to Launch Section 8-Style Rent Subsidy

The State Senate and Assembly included a quarter-billion dollars to fund the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), which would create a new rent voucher for New Yorkers experiencing or at-risk of homelessness—including immigrants without legal status—with values pegged to fair market rent levels.
Mayor’s Budget Proposal Comes Up Short on Homeless Outreach, Shelter Costs: Report

An analysis released Wednesday by the New York City Independent Budget Office estimates the city will need an additional $200 million than what's proposed in the preliminary budget for shelter costs, homeless outreach and housing voucher costs.

Podcasts

► Decorative play icon links to post: ¿Qué sigue después de “el día sin inmigrantes” camino a las elecciones de noviembre?
¿Qué sigue después de “el día sin inmigrantes” camino a las elecciones de noviembre?

El mismo día que se celebraba el día de San Valentín, el pasado 14 de febrero, también se llevó a cabo “el día sin inmigrantes” en el cual inmigrantes y organizaciones que los defienden exigieron al presidente Joe Biden y al Congreso la aprobación de una reforma migratoria, luego de que el plan de incluir cambios en inmigración en el paquete de reconciliación del presupuesto se cayera.
By Daniel Parra
► Decorative play icon links to post: City Watch: Too Soon to Grade Subway Policing Plan, Council’s Homeless Services Chair Says
City Watch: Too Soon to Grade Subway Policing Plan, Council’s Homeless Services Chair Says

“Using police to remove the homeless off the subways, we have to be very careful about that,” Councilmember Diana Ayala said in an interview on WBAI’s City Watch. “Most of these people are not hurting anyone.They’re just looking for a warm place to sleep at night.”
By David Brand
► Decorative play icon links to post: ¿Cómo funcionaría el programa piloto alternativo a la detención de Biden?
¿Cómo funcionaría el programa piloto alternativo a la detención de Biden?

El número de inmigrantes en programas alternativos a la detención (Alternatives to Detention o ATD por sus siglas en inglés) inscribió a más de 60.000 personas en los últimos meses llegando a más de 182.600 personas en enero de este año.
By Daniel Parra

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Mapping the Future

City Limits' Housing and Development Bulletin. News and Tools for New Yorkers to Navigate the Housing Crunch

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Special Projects

City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York

Opinion: It’s Time for NYC to Think Outside the Composting Box

‘Mayor Adams has taken on the admirable challenge of promoting plant-based diets because of their health benefits to individuals. In many ways, composting and healthy eating go hand-in-hand, improving human health and the well-being of the environment around us. To be successful, both also require a shift in our thinking.’
Bronx Residents Demand Closure of Polluting ‘Peaker Plants’ as State Ramps Up Renewable Energy

Residents in The Bronx’s “Asthma Alley,” ask the New York Power Authority to commit to transition off of costly fossil fuel-burning power plants.
For NYC Tenants with Inadequate Heat, Enforcement Can Be Elusive

City Limits examined 311 data related to heat and hot water complaints over the past three years, and found the highest number were in areas populated by communities of color and lower-income individuals. They include Washington Heights, followed by several neighborhoods in The Bronx, including the community district where the deadly Twin Parks fire occurred.

Age Justice

Seniors’ Housing Needs are a Special Challenge

Rents are rising for seniors as they are for everyone else. But a fixed income, vulnerability to harassment and age-related physical impairments raise the housing stakes for elder New Yorkers.
Aging in New York: City Wrestles with Poverty Among Seniors

Amid the debates about how the minimum wage or better schools might reduce poverty are a million New Yorkers who are largely beyond the reach of those policies. And one in five of them are poor.
Opinion: The New Administration Must Invest in Older New Yorkers—& The Nonprofits Serving Them

‘We implore the new administration to seriously consider the Human Services Council #JustPay campaign, and ensure that all New York City contracted employees, who on a daily basis perform critical lifesaving work, make a living wage.’ Our new mayor, administration, and city council have taken office at a challenging time for New York City—but especially […]

The Ride

Targeted Attacks on Unsheltered New Yorkers Highlight Dangers of Homelessness

The shootings occurred amid a crackdown on New Yorkers sleeping on the subways, and reflected a recent spike in the number of homeless New Yorkers slain by assailants.
Opinion: Epidemic of Deadly Automobile Violence on NYC Streets Dwarfs Rising Subway Crime

“Automobile crashes killed 273 people in 2021, a whopping 33 percent increase over 2018, the safest year in New York City’s recent traffic history…It’s a mystery as to why so many city residents, as well as city and state politicians, seemingly accept such a heartbreaking level of carnage as just another unfortunate trade-off of city life.”
Opinion: NYC Must Commit Public Funding to Expand Citi Bike

“In New York, bike share is our only mass transit network that does not receive public financial support. This limits where the system can expand, on what timeline, and how it is priced.”

Investigations

Housing and Development

Carrión Takes Helm at NYC Housing Agency After Stint as ‘Worst Evictor’ Consultant

New York City’s new housing commissioner is returning to public office after a years-long stint working with a quick-to-evict Bronx developer recently subject to a state investigation, raising concerns among tenants and advocates in the borough.
By David Brand
CIty Limits Investigative Internship Program

Plastic Bags Still Ubiquitous in NYC Shops, Months After Enforcement of Ban Began

The effectiveness of New York's plastic bag ban could serve as a portend for other, similar bans on single-use plastics either already approved or under discussion at both the city and state legislative levels. To get a better sense of how its implementation is going, City Limits’ CLARIFY interns spoke to more than 50 bodega owners and store workers in the outer boroughs to see if they’re still using plastic, and if so, to tell us why.
By Liz Donovan
Housing and Development

What Ever Happened to CBAs? The Rise and Fall of ‘Community Benefits Agreements’ in NYC

Once a seemingly promising structure to ensure that real estate groups don’t run roughshod over local neighborhoods in development deals—and still a common practice in other cities—CBAs are now disdained by many New York City community groups and developers alike. The mechanism’s demise is a lesson, development experts say, in both the strength and limitations of demanding concessions in exchange for neighborhood-changing construction projects.
By Neil deMause
Health and Environment

Company Settles With Home Health Aides Seeking Unpaid Wages For Round-the-Clock Care

State guidelines and federal regulations mandate that home health aides working 24 hours at a client’s home get eight hours for sleep and three hours of meal breaks, all unpaid. But many workers say the rule routinely leads to underpayment because their patients actually need constant care, leaving the aides little time to sleep or take breaks.
By Liz Donovan
Zoned Out: Examining the Impact of NYC's Rezonings

3 Years After Bronx Rezoning, Jerome Avenue Auto Shops Under Pressure

As part of the 2018 Jerome Avenue rezoning deal, city officials committed $1.5 million in financial assistance for area merchants, intended to help relocate existing businesses that would be displaced. But officials have yet to issue any such grants, a City Limits investigation found.
By Daniel Parra and Ese Olumhense

City Limits - In-depth New York City News

City Limits - In-depth New York City News

Housing and Development

Two Months After Fatal Twin Parks Fire, a Fresh Start for One Tenant

By David Brand

Economy

Opinion: Revitalizing Bronx Restaurants is Key to NYC’s Pandemic Recovery

By Nathalia Fernández

CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS

Opinion: New York Lawmakers Must Support Future Generations of Immigrant Students and Workers

By Valeria Lugo

Government

NYC Slow to Issue Thousands of ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Rent Vouchers for Homeless Residents

By David Brand