Handel Architects
A rendering of potential development in Two Bridges provided by the developers. Farthest left is the Extell tower, which is already nearing completion. The other four towers have yet to be approved and are the subject of the fight.
A panel of appellate judges on Tuesday reversed an earlier injunction halting the contentious Two Bridges project — a major setback for Lower East Side community groups, which have been waging a legal battle against the city and developers.
‘We did have a major emphasis on affordable housing, and a great deal of spending on it,’ during the de Blasio administration, says Samuel Stein, the report’s author and housing policy analyst for CSS. ‘And yet the problems have persisted.’
A coalition of housing and homeless advocates, along with the city’s top real estate group, are calling for the city and state to expand and improve three key rental assistance programs to aid struggling households at risk for eviction — especially before the state’s eviction moratorium expires in May.
A a state Supreme Court judge partially lifted a temporary restraining order related to the project Thursday, but the public review process is still on hold.
The city’s Law Department argued their second appeal in court Wednesday against two lawsuits which resulted in an earlier injunction stopping the project, which would build four new skyscrapers on the Lower East Side.
Los defensores esperan que la legislación se someta a votación en el pleno del Ayuntamiento en abril de este año.
A lawsuit has temporarily suspended the start of the land use review procedure for the controversial rezoning, which critics want halted until the city can resume in-person meetings once the threat of COVID-19 passes. But other community members are frustrated by the delay.
‘The way in which land is rezoned in this city has subsequently made it difficult for many New Yorkers to find a home, let alone stay in their homes,’ Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who co-sponsored the bill, said at a hearing last week. Advocates expect the legislation to come before a full City Council vote by April of this year.
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.
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