Nearly two years after the Gowanus rezoning’s passage, signs of change are all around: demolition projects and new builds are transforming the neighborhood. According to the Department of City Planning, roughly half of the expected 8,500 apartments along the canal are in planning or construction stages.
Of the 2,308 homeless New Yorkers present during the city’s encampment sweeps over more than eight months in 2022, only three people—about 0.1 percent—had landed in permanent housing placements as of January, according to an audit from Comptroller Brad Lander.
“If you charge someone less than what they’re supposed to be paying they might not shout about it quite as loudly,” said Comptroller Brad Lander, whose office conducted the review. “Undercharging people relative to their income, they might not complain, but then the agency might not have the money it needs.”
At a a recent hearing, members of the NYC Banking Commission heard from advocates who described redlining, predatory and discriminatory lending practices, and substantial investments in the fossil fuel industry by major banks applying to hold tens of millions of city dollars. Yet the commission promptly approved all of the nearly 30 banks that applied.
The New York City Comptroller’s Office will investigate oversight of NYCHA contractors and eviction rates at privatized developments — the first of two probes under a new initiative that lets NYCHA tenants weigh in directly on public housing audits.
A newly formed committee of NYCHA residents is advising Comptroller Brad Lander as he prepares to audit the public housing authority, with the task force first targeting the most common complaints made by peers. Sanitation and repair orders being closed without repairs topped the list.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called the short-lived tent complex a “debacle” for humanitarian and financial reasons.
Brad Lander’s Basement Resident Protection Law would create a “basement board” to oversee the conversions and ensure residents of these apartments—called accessory dwelling units or ADUs—have access to tenants’ rights and basic safety protections. It comes a year after rains from Hurricane Ida killed 11 New Yorkers in basement units.
Queens tiene el menor número de centros de enfriamiento de acuerdo con la densidad de su población, con sólo cinco centros por cada 100.000 habitantes, mientras que Manhattan tiene siete, según un análisis realizado por la oficina del Contralor de la Ciudad, Brad Lander. East Flatbush fue el barrio con el peor acceso a los centros de enfriamiento en relación con el grado de vulnerabilidad.
Queens had the fewest number of cooling centers based on population density with only five for every 100,000 people, while Manhattan had seven, an analysis by City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office found. East Flatbush was the neighborhood with the worst access to cooling centers based on vulnerability.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
