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REVOLVING DOOR AT THE SEAPORT NEWS A city economic development official moves to a consulting firm tied to the Seaport developer BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
A lobbying firm that works on behalf of the Howard Hughes Corp. recently hired a high-level official from the NYC Economic Develop Corporation, raising
concerns over whether such a move represents a conflict of interest given Howard Hughes’ plan to redevelop the South Street Seaport, which is owned by the EDC and leased by the company. Ashley Dennis, who was chief of staff to former EDC President Kyle Kimball, is now a vice-president at Kasirer Consulting, New York City’s highest-grossing lobbying firm. Kasirer counts
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LANDMARKS COMMISSION CLOSER TO ADDRESSING BACKLOG Agency to determine what to do about properties sitting on its books for years BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently closed a public comment period on what to do about the backlog of properties that have been languishing - in some cases for decades - on the agency’s hearing calendar. In December, after fervent pushback from the preservation community and elected officials, the agency abandoned a plan to simply remove the properties from their calendar altogether. For a building to be designated a historic landmark it has to be nominated to the LPC for consideration and placed on the agency’s calendar.
However, an actual hearing date does not have to be set. Being on the commission’s calendar gives a potential landmark some measure of protection because the Dept. of Buildings notifies the LPC if a demolition permit has been filed for a site that’s under consideration. In this way, close to 100 potential landmarks and two potential historic districts have stagnated on the calendar for more than five years, and were the target of the LPC’s “decalendaring” initiative, as the process is called. Of the 95 sites that were set to be decalendared, more than 30 have been on the calendar for over 40 years. Twenty-five have been on the calendar for 30 to 40 years, and 24 have been under consideration for 20-30 years, according to the LPC. The remainder of the items have been
WEEK OF MAY
14-20 2015
Our Take WHERE’S THE MAYOR? There’s something maddening about Bill de Blasio’s wanderlust. Our young mayor, in office barely 16 months, has spent more time in national political speeches outside the city than he has on the Upper East Side. In recent weeks, he’s traveled to D.C., to Iowa, and to Silicon Valley. According to a tally in The New York Times, de Blasio has spent a third of the months of April and May on the road. His body language is that of the glad-hander at the cocktail party, the guy always looking over your shoulder, an eye out for the next, more interesting person, to talk to. The thing is, there’s more than enough for him to do at home, if only he’d engage. Tensions with the police are at a boiling part. City schools are creaking from too many kids. Small business owners are begging the mayor for help as their rents soar. Mayor Michael Bloomberg understood that running a city this big meant paying close attention to the guts of government. He dove into budgets and spent hundreds of hours understanding the government jobs that make the city work. De Blasio apparently has more important things on his agenda. The problem is, the mayor has a day job. For the city’s sake, now might be a good time to get back to work.
The LPC plan was designed to clean up a backlog that includes projects on its calendar for decades. on the calendar for between five and 20 years. After the LPC backed off the bulk decalendaring plan, they opened the problem up to suggestions from the community. According to a LPC
spokesperson, the agency is now evaluating the ideas that came in from the public. “Currently we’re reviewing the
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FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
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