Stringer Fumbles Key Housing Data + Lancman Announces DA Run
No 83
Monday, October 01, 2018
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Local News:
- Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office issued a report on the City’s loss of affordable housing, initially calculating that between 2005 and 2017 the city lost 1.069 million apartments renting for under $900. Stringer later admitted that this was a calculation error, and and that the correct number is 425,492.
- A new nonprofit local news website called The City will begin publishing this January, with help from New York Magazine.
- A coalition of community groups, working with Council Members Antonio Reynoso (District 34, North Brooklyn) and Rafael Espinal (District 37, Central Brooklyn), released the Bushwick Community Plan in an attempt to guide the terms of an upcoming rezoning plan for the area and limit overdevelopment. The plan is not without its critics, including a number of anti-gentrification groups who feel the plan will be inadequate in protecting existing residents from displacement.
- Despite efforts at reform, party boss Frank Seddio continues to hold court at Brooklyn Democratic County Committee meetings, as reported by Gothamist.
- The NYCLU opened a pop-up museum on Broken Windows in Greenwich Village.
- New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is coming under scrutiny due to a spate of recent of private home seizures triggered by building violations such as unpaid property taxes and water bills.
- Emails released last week show how Mayor De Blasio’s “Progressive Agenda” campaign failed to gain momentum during the 2016 election cycle.
- Over 21% of the Citi Bike fleet of bicycles have disappeared in the last two weeks, leaving only about 7,000 of the service’s 12,000 bikes in service.
Elections:
- Council Member Rory Lancman (District 24, Fresh Meadows) announced his candidacy for Queens District Attorney in next year’s election, citing Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner as a model.
- City & State New York released an updated guide to New York State Senate seats that appear to be in play in shifting the balance of power in the chamber.
- Governor Cuomo spent $28 million on his primary win last month, almost ten times what his opponent, Cynthia Nixon, spent. He has roughly $11.6 million on hand for the general election.