The number of available apartments for low- and middle- income New Yorkers reached a 30-year low in 2021, according to the results of a vacancy survey used to determine whether rent stabilization laws will remain in place in the five boroughs.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: To Protect Chinatown and the LES, Pass the Two Bridges Community Plan
|
“It’s easy to cast all opposition to developments as NIMBY, but this ignores crucial racial and economic differences between neighborhoods and disparities in who has the power to decide the future of their communities.”
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Displacing and Jailing My Neighbors Does Not Make Me Safer
|
“Our elected officials are threatening hard-fought reforms designed to counteract the historic – and present – racism in law enforcement that targets my neighbors and eventually will target my son. Meanwhile, they fail to invest in our communities.”
Housing and Development
The City is Pushing Homeless New Yorkers Off the Streets and Subways. Where Will They Go?
|
The Adams administration has touted Safe Havens as an alternative for those who would rather sleep outside than in a traditional homeless shelter. But there are too few of the facilities to accommodate the majority of unsheltered New Yorkers.
Podcasts
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.”
coronavirus pandemic
Boosting New York City’s Booster Rate
|
One lawmaker and local health experts are calling for the city to automatically schedule vaccination appointments for New Yorkers who’ve been fully inoculated against COVID-19, but have yet to get a booster shot. Only 36 percent of city residents have gotten the additional dose of the vaccine so far.
Health and Environment
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.
CityPlate: Food Policy in NYC
NYC Street Vendor Enforcement Back at Pre-Pandemic Levels, Despite Shift Away From NYPD
|
From June to December 2021, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), which took over street vendor inspection and enforcement duties in 2021, issued 762 fines, and another 171 fines so far this year. The top five zip codes that saw the most enforcement were those with large immigrant populations.
Podcasts
City Watch: Bottcher Urges City and State to Fund Treatment Beds to Address Mental Illness
|
“The failure that we’re experiencing is the result of decades of disinvestment of mental health services,” Manhattan Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who represents Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, said during an appearance on WBAI’s City Watch this week.
Una Ciudad sin Límites
Tres candidatos de ascendencia dominicana se disputan el escaño en la Asamblea por el Alto Manhattan
|
Nayma Silver-Matos, Manny De Los Santos y Edwin De La Cruz son los tres candidatos que compiten por sustituir a Carmen De La Rosa, quien renunció a su escaño cuando fue elegida como concejal del distrito 10 de la ciudad.
Podcasts
Meet Your New NYC Council: Bronx Students Interview Their Reps
|
To learn more about these new officials and their plans for their time in office, City Limits partnered with students from the Department of Journalism & Media Studies at CUNY’s Lehman College, who contacted their district representatives for audio interviews.