Adi Talwar
The Gowanus Canal.
Voice of Gowanus announced it would file a lawsuit Friday challenging the city’s plan to hold virtual hearings during the public review of its proposal to rezone the neighborhood, and demanding the de Blasio administration delay the discussions until they can be held in-person.
A recent analysis of the city’s Certificate of No Harassment pilot says it has been effective in combating some forms of landlord harassment, but that the city could do more to strengthen the program to better protect tenants.
The COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act would create a hardship declaration form that tenants can fill out and submit to their landlords, or to housing court, if they’ve experienced economic difficulties due to the pandemic.
Housing advocacy groups and some elected officials have been pushing for years for the city to adopt a comprehensive plan, and an earlier effort to do so was abandoned during the City Charter Revision process in 2019.
The shift to remote-only civic meetings during the pandemic is impacting how communities get to weigh in on important city proposals, like rezonings. It’s led to more people attending — but there have also been problems, and criticism.
Just five councilmembers voted against the land use application for the project, which has drawn the ire of critics who say it doesn’t include nearly enough affordable housing.
According to data from the Coalition for the Homeless unveiled Wednesday, there were an estimated 21,210 single homeless men and women in the city’s homeless system in October, a record high.
Sewer capacity is a vital concern for residents and stakeholders in Gowanus, where the city is proposing a neighborhood rezoning. The new rule helps but doesn’t go far enough, some residents say.
Next year will mark a critical time for New York land use and housing policies, as the city faces a looming evictions crisis and the de Blasio administration will push to approve its final neighborhood rezonings.
The New York Court of Appeals declined to hear an Inwood community group’s appeal to a July court decision, which reversed an earlier ruling that would have annulled the controversial rezoning plan.