This afternoon, Mayor de Blasio announced that Central Park will become entirely car free as of June 27, 2018. Earlier this year, Mayor de Blasio designated Prospect Park’s loop drive car-free as well. The transverse roadways at 97th, 86th, 79th and 65th Streets are not affected by these changes, since they were built into the park’s original design as fully-separated, below-grade streets to accommodate thru-traffic.

This press release provides more details.

Commissioner Meenakshi Srinivasan announced her departure from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission after being named Commissioner in 2014. During her tenure, the Landmarks Commission has granted over 3,800 buildings landmark status, protecting them from demolition or out of context alterations.

To read more, click here.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation announced new rules on Wednesday banning “doors off” helicopters from taking off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. This heliport is the only NYCEDC regulated heliport that allows tourist helicopters. Currently, no “doors off” helicopters take off from downtown Manhattan; however EDC wants to ensure they are not allowed in the future, following an incident earlier this month.

On Tuesday, a Manhattan judge ordered the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to conduct lead inspections in apartments where young children reside. This serves as a first victory for tenants who sued the housing authority following revelations in November that NYCHA did not conduct lead inspections mandated by federal and local law. This preliminary injunction is part of a larger lawsuit, which asks the court to impose an independent monitor for the housing authority. The law suit additionally alleges:

• NYCHA did not protect nor mitigate tenants’ exposure to lead.
• NYCHA failed to provide heat and hot water to tenants as required by law.
• NYCHA did not meet its statutory obligation to provide residents with economic opportunities or “share meaningful opportunities with tenants that arise from the billions of dollars of federal funding provided to NYCHA annually”.
• NYCHA failed to consult tenants on meaningful policy-making decisions, alleging that NYCHA does not give tenants sufficient notice ahead of policy discussions.

To read more, click here.