City Council

Now that the City Planning Commission has called for 1,260 parking spaces at the Riverside Center development -- instead of the 1,800 requested by the developer -- the project moves on to the City Council for the final step of the city's land use process. Traditionally, the local Council member representing the district is given a lot of deference by her peers, so we checked in with West Side representative Gale Brewer to see whether she'd be pushing for a further reduction in the number of spaces.

The City Council Transportation Committee held a hearing yesterday on four bills that would release new information about traffic crashes and how the Department of Transportation decides whether to install traffic calming measures and traffic control devices like stop lights and stop signs. All together, the bills would cover a wide spectrum of information, but committee chair Jimmy Vacca said the goal of each is "empowering citizens who want to fight for traffic calming measures in their own community." The measures drew opposition from DOT representatives, however, who seemed to bristle at the prospect of Council-imposed mandates even while pledging support for the intent of the bills.

Attempts to expand car-sharing in New York City got a big boost yesterday when the City Council passed a measure intended to help companies store shared cars. The near-unanimous vote opens the door for businesses that have been shown to reduce car-ownership and driving in other cities. Neither the City Council nor the City Planning Commission, however, took the opportunity to maximize the impact of car-sharing by linking it to reduced parking minimums.

The Flushing Commons development sailed to a 44-2 vote of approval in the City Council yesterday after the city arranged a set of concessions to local merchants who had opposed the project. Chief among them: $3 million to keep the project's oversized parking lot even cheaper. 

The fight over Flushing Commons shifted to the City Council yesterday, as a key subcommittee turned its attention to the contentious megaproject and the battle royale over parking in booming downtown Flushing. Though the developers propose to redevelop an 1,100-space municipal parking lot and still increase the total amount of parking on-site, that isn't enough for most members of the City Council or the vociferous critics who turned out for the hearing. The pressure on the developer is pushing in only one direction: build more parking and charge less for it.

The New Domino development slated for the Williamsburg waterfront passed the City Council's land use committee yesterday in a unanimous vote, thanks to a last-minute deal between the developer and project critics. Under that agreement, the project's tallest towers will shrink from 40 stories to 34, though the total number of units will remain the same. The project is now expected to sail through the remainder of the approval process.

As the City Council considers the parking-laden New Domino mega-development, sustainability-minded representatives have the power to ensure that the project doesn't put thousands of new cars onto Williamsburg's streets. All council members have to do is to request reductions in the amount of off-street parking included at the site, currently 1,428 spots. The developer's only stated objection to reducing the amount of parking is that compliance with environmental law requires it. That's not a concern that need constrain the City Council. 

The results are in from the City Council Progressive Caucus budget survey, and when it comes to road pricing, they're telling, if unscientific. Road pricing remains unpopular across a broad swath of New York City, though among proponents, support is intense.

The New York City Council moved on two big pieces of environmental legislation last Wednesday. One bill was introduced which would require landlords to participate in a major public experiment to reduce asthma rates. A second, which passed the full council, aims to keep dangerous chemicals out of city parks. Both could be important steps forward for preserving our environment and promoting public health, but you just have to ask, what happened to the internal combustion engine?