Politics

Adams Reforms Process for Small Business Violations & DSNY Pilots New “Smart Bins”

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a “Small Business Forward” executive order on Tuesday, Jan. 4, to reform existing business regulations, with the aim of helping local businesses face fewer and what was described as “needless” fines and penalties.   The executive order builds upon Local Law 80, and calls on the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Sanitation (DSNY), Fire Department (FDNY), Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (CWP), and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to review business regulations with the goal of reducing fine schedules, and allowing


Read More

De Blasio, Detective’s Endowment Association Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

By SÍLE MOLONEY
There are those who say the response by outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio to the Black Lives Matter protests of June 2020 defined his time in office. In attempting to meet the moment, while he refused then President Donald Trump’s proposal to send in the National Guard to quash the protests, he was criticized by some for not reigning in the NYPD when, in some instances, officers responded to the protests with violence. On the other hand, he was also criticized by others within the agency who believed he did not always have their backs.   On Thursday, Dec. 30,


Read More

UPDATE COVID-19 Testing at Bronx Zoo & E. 180th St., Test Price Gouging & Reduced Isolation Requirements

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Amid massive COVID-19 testing shortages, Somos Community Care and NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (NYC DOH) are launching a new testing site at Bronx Zoo for New Yorkers aged 5 and older.   As cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant continue to rise in New York City, and despite many NYC Health + Hospitals sites reinforcing testing availability, demand for tests is skyrocketing. It is hoped the new testing site will help alleviate some of the pressure. The Bronx Zoo testing site will also help support the zoo’s Holiday Light Show and officials say the first 300 guests


Read More

New Law Sponsored by Jeffrey Dinowitz Will Require Board of Elections to Offer Voters Absentee Ballot Tracking

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As more New Yorkers get comfortable with absentee voting, a new law sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) will make it easier for voters to keep track of where their ballot is from start to finish. The new law (A4186-B) was signed on December 22, 2021 and will create a statewide online absentee ballot tracking system, something which is already in effect in New York City, and was used in recent municipal elections. The new law was also carried by State Sen. Leroy Comrie, a Democrat, who represents New York’s 14th senatorial district of South Eastern Queens.  As part


Read More

UPDATE Oswald Feliz Regains District 15 Seat in General Election, Joins Adams’ Public Safety Transition Team

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  As expected, District 15 City Councilman Oswald Feliz won the Nov. 2 District 15 City Council general election, regaining the seat he won for the first time in the March 2021 special election, as reported. Feliz won 70 percent of the vote share in the November general election, his third election of 2021, securing 7,224 votes out of a total of 10,264 eligible ballots, with runner up, Ariel Rivera Diaz, who ran on both the Republican Party and Conservative Party tickets, gaining 1,340 votes. The New York City Board of Elections certified the results on Nov. 30.   In


Read More

Kingsbridge Heights: Housing Lottery Launches for Units at 2779, 2781 University Avenue

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A new affordable housing lottery has launched for units in a pair of four-story residential buildings at 2779/2781 University Avenue in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx, as reported by YIMBY.   Designed by Woody Chen of Infocus and developed by Yaniv Zohar, the structures yield a total of 18 residential units.   Available on NYC Housing Connect, the online portal for New York City Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD), are six units for residents at 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $61,715 to $167,570.   According to NYC Housing


Read More

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center Honors Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz

By DAVID GREENE
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) was honored by Van Cortlandt Jewish Center on Sunday, Dec. 19, as part of a “Celebration of Appreciation” event held at the center in the Van Cortlandt Village section of the Bronx.   The assemblyman, who is Jewish, was elected to the New York State Assembly to represent the 81st Assembly District on February 15, 1994, and has been the elected assemblyman since then. The district broadly covers the Northwest Bronx section of the borough and includes Van Cortlandt Village where the the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC) is located.   The gesture of appreciation


Read More

University Heights: Housing Lottery Launches for Units at 140 West Fordham Road

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  An affordable housing lottery has launched for units in a seven-story, residential building at 140 West Fordham Road in University Heights, as reported by YIMBY.   Designed by Marin Architects, and developed by the Stagg Group, the structure yields 54 residential units. Available on NYC Housing Connect, the online portal of New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD), are 18 units for residents at 120 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $56,572 to $154,680.   Residents will reportedly have access to a wide range of amenities including pet-friendly policies, a


Read More

Dinowitz, Biaggi Ensure Co-op Shareholders Can Access Reverse Mortgages  

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. So goes the maxim for perseverance, a trait which describes the now successful, multi-year efforts of legislators to grant cooperative housing shareholders the same access to reverse mortgages as other homeowners. On, Wednesday, Dec 1,  Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S760/A1508), sponsored by Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) and State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34) who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester county, into law. The bill was strongly supported by advocates for cooperative housing in New York and now allows cooperative housing shareholders to obtain reverse mortgages


Read More