Council member introduces bill for shelter commission

From the Daily News:

A city councilman wants to take the politics out of locating homeless shelters by having an independent commission decide where new ones should be built.

“This isn’t happening just in one neighborhood, but it’s happening all across the city,” Councilman David Greenfield told the Daily News. “I think it will be a lot easier to get done than the way we have to get it done right now, which is piecemeal.”

Greenfield will introduce a bill Thursday to create a 15-member commission, made up of 5 appointees from the mayor, 5 from the City Council speaker, and one by each of the 5 borough presidents. The commission — which would have to be approved by voters at a referendum — was inspired by the independent board that determines which military bases face closure, another political can of worms.

“It’s an ambitious solution for what is essentially a political problem, where the politics of placing homeless shelters prevents them from getting built and we’re always playing catch up,” Greenfield said.

Crapper cost is astronomical

From Crains:

A 400-square-foot public bathroom in City Councilman David Greenfield's Brooklyn district has cost $2 million to renovate, and after more than 7½ years of work is still not completed, the lawmaker told a Crain's real estate conference today. Greenfield used the project to make the case that more private-sector engagement is needed to rein in the cost of building municipal infrastructure.

"We have to be frank," said Greenfield, who heads the city's land-use committee. "Government sucks at development."

Many high-profile municipal projects are either missing benchmarks or simply costing taxpayers too much. The Second Avenue subway extension cost about $800 million per mile, yet a similar project in London cost around $125 million per mile. And the East Side Access project, which could have alleviated some of the current Penn Station woes, is now 10 years behind schedule and nearly $4 billion over budget. But as Greenfield made clear, even small development projects suffer under the weight of bureaucracy.

Council Land Use Chair is stealthily tweeding

From the Observer:

The chairman of the City Council’s powerful Committee on Land Use, a crucial gatekeeper for all developers seeking zoning changes in the five boroughs, has several hundred thousand dollars from real estate interests socked away in a state political account for an undeclared office — and he has used the money to make periodic payments to an operative known to be plotting his own bid for a Council seat.

State Board of Elections records show Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield has $308,641.71 stashed in a campaign account called “GreenfieldNY” — a separate entity from his re-election committee, “Greenfield NYC.” Both troves of political lucre report as their headquarters the home address of a Democratic Party apparatchik named Kalman Yeger and his wife Jennifer Berger, who works for Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board, with which the Greenfield NYC account is registered, forbids donations from corporations, business partnerships and law firms, so as to reduce the influence of private interests and to amplify and empower individual citizens. The state rules governing the GreenfieldNY account, however, include no such stipulations.

Of the funds in the GreenfieldNY account, $86,600 would be outright verboten under city rules. All but a few of the contributing companies are real estate entities, or are businesses belonging to individuals who also deal in property development and management.

Fixing the ULURP process

From an Op-Ed by Council Member Geenfield and Borough President Gale Brewer published in Crains:

The current Uniform Land Use Review Procedure requires the Department of City Planning to make development applications public when the Planning Commission certifies them, roughly seven months before the City Council would vote to approve them. But applicants often submit paperwork describing their projects much earlier. Their plans can go through months or even years of pre-certification work. These pre-application forms matter because once an application is certified, it is difficult or impossible to make major changes.

One of us, Borough President Brewer, has made a practice of submitting Freedom of Information Law requests for those forms so her office can get a head start. The other, Land Use Chairman Greenfield, formally requested that they be turned over voluntarily. We both think it’s time to take that approach citywide.

If community boards, borough presidents and council members can review these forms at roughly the same time the Department of City Planning can, then they’ll know what’s coming. They’ll be better equipped to think through projects’ merits and demerits, seek out input from affected stakeholders earlier, and flag community concerns before it’s too late to address them.

So today, as the Committee on Land Use holds an oversight hearing on the mayor’s preliminary budget for the Department of City Planning, the council is requesting—as a “term and condition” of adopting the department’s budget—that pre-application forms be shared automatically with the relevant community board, borough president and council member. A range of data on the pre-application forms will also have to be included in the annual Mayor’s Management Report.

Bringing more transparency to the zoning process will make it less of a high-stakes, zero-sum game. When that happens, we’ll be better able to use zoning to deliver the results—whether it is affordable housing, commercial and manufacturing space, infrastructure, or open space—that our neighborhoods need.

City Council Member proposes app for trash truck tracking

From CBS:

They’re a welcome sight when garbage piles up on the sidewalk, but getting stuck behind a sanitation truck is no fun for city drivers.

“Cause I always get stuck behind a garbage truck and it always makes me late in the mornings,” Tamara Mose told CBS2’s Jessica Borg.

Especially — she said — while driving in her neighborhood, on narrow one-way streets, like in some Brooklyn neighborhoods.

“It’s the most frustrating thing as a New Yorker,” City Councilman David Greenfield said.

Greenfield said he has a bill that would bring that frustration to an end.

On Wednesday, he proposed making it a requirement for the Sanitation Department to publicly release its GPS data on trucks so that drivers can see exactly where trucks are in real-time.

“It’s really a win, win, win. A win for the drivers, it’s also a win for the sanitation workers, it’s very frustrating when you’re trying to do your job. People are honking, they’re yelling,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield said the GPS data could then be used to create navigation apps to warn people about what streets to avoid.

Legislation introduced to eliminate LPC backlog

From Curbed:

A bill making its way through the City Council would impose deadlines on the 50-year-old Landmarks Preservation Commission in regards to designating landmarks and historic districts. While its sponsor says the bill is supposed to make things more efficient and help the commission deal with its backlog, advocates are concerned that it would hamstring the LPC, and eliminate dozens of items that are being considered as landmarks.

Intro. 775, authored by Queens Councilman Member Peter Koo and Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield, would impose deadlines on this process. For individual and interior landmarks, the commission would have 180 days to hold a public hearing once an item is calendared and then another 180 days to take action (vote to designate or vote not to designate) once the public hearing is held. For historic districts, it would be one year from calendaring to public hearing and then another year from hearing to designation vote.

The bill, which goes before the council on September 9, also aims to deal with the nearly 100 items (94 buildings and two districts) backlogged at the LPC. Eighty-five percent of these items have been calendared for more than 20 years. Earlier this year, the LPC had proposed de-calendaring all of the backlogged items, but, unsurprisingly, that was met with much public disdain. Instead, the commission backed off and devised a schedule to deal with those items at public hearings organized by borough. The bill would give the LPC 18 months to deal with the entire backlog, but any backlogged items not addressed during that time period would be automatically de-calendared.

There's one more provision in the bill. If the commission fails to designate an item, be it a landmark or a historic district, the property in question would be barred from reconsideration for five years.

New law makes it easier to feed meters

From CBS New York:

A new city law allows drivers to prepay one hour before muni-meters go into effect so that they don’t have to sit in their cars watching the clock tick.

“Let’s say you’re going to a doctor’s appointment or you’re taking your kid to school and the meter starts at 8:30 in the morning and you get there at 8:15, well, up until now, you have to wait until 8:30 to actually get the receipt,” said Councilman David Greenfield, who sponsored the legislation passed in June 2013. “What my law does is it allows you to get the receipt an hour before to prepay that muni-meter.”

The new law also requires parking meters to shut themselves off at the end of their posted hours of service and when they run out of receipt paper.

Moratorium on hotel conversions enacted by Council

From Capital New York:

The City Council approved six bills on Thursday, five of which passed unanimously.

The only measure to face any opposition was a bill to place a two-year moratorium on developers who want to convert hotels into residential condominiums.

Eight members voted against the proposal, which has the backing of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Hotel Trades Council.

In addition to placing a moratorium on developers who want to convert hotels into residential condominiums, the measure would also order a study on the effect those conversions have on the city's economy. The bill is opposed by the powerful Real Estate Board of New York and the Hotel Association of New York City.

Councilwoman Inez Dickens, who voted against the bill, said her colleagues’ attempt to protect hotel jobs was “misleading.”

“Although this new revised bill tried to address some of the issues property owners had, their property rights are still being denied without an explanation or a clear purpose,” Dickens said.

Councilman David Greenfield, a Democrat from Brooklyn, said the bill “was going a little bit too far.” He said some communities may, at some point, no longer have the need for hotels.

An interesting idea for snow problem

From WPIX:

As New Yorkers begin to dig out from the latest snowstorm—property owners beware.

The Sanitation Department issued more than 10,000 tickets this winter to homeowners who failed to clear snow and ice from sidewalks.

“It’s frustrating because really it’s all about making money,” said Councilman David Greenfield of Brooklyn.

Greenfield proposed a measure in the city council that would increase the fine for delinquent property owners, using that revenue to pay for city workers to clear sidewalks.​

Under the plan, the city would hire more seasonal employees to do the job and stick property owners with a bill of $250 or more dependent on the size of the property.

“Some people have gotten 33 tickets in recent years, how does it help you if you’re a neighbor to know that your neighbor got 33 tickets, but you’re still slipping and falling on their ice,” Greenfield said.

Should you have to feed meters in snowstorms?

From the Daily News:

It's an eternal truth in our city, Mayor de Blasio has said — come hell or high water, parking meters will remain in effect.

But City Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) wants to change that — proposing legislation that would take the city’s Muni-Meters out of service whenever alternate-side parking is suspended for snow.

Greenfield said his bill would end a longstanding hassle for motorists.

“You’ve got to climb a mountain of snow to get to a Muni-Meter,” he said. “If we get piles that are 3, 4, 5 feet high, you can’t even get to a meter.”

“I’ve gotten tons of complaints about this,” he said.

While alternate-side-parking rules are routinely suspended to clean up after storms, parking meter rules are almost always left in effect — a pronouncement city officials have grown used to repeating over and over at storm briefings.

Officials say they want curbs clear, especially in commercial areas where meters are more often in effect, to help with snow removal. They also say turnover in parking spots is crucial to local businesses.

De Blasio spokeswoman Marti Adams said the administration would review the Greenfield bill. Sanitation Department spokesman Vito Turso said his agency would also take a look, but would most likely “oppose the bill since the department needs access to the curbs in order to effectively clear snow.”

Park projects take a really long time

From the NY Times:

David G. Greenfield, a city councilman from Brooklyn, is passionate about parks, having allocated $12.9 million to green spaces in his district since taking office in 2010. “Parks are a great equalizer,” he said. “Whether you’re rich, poor, young, old, you use parks. There really is no better expenditure of government funds than parks.”

But so far, none of the projects he has financed — including rehabilitated handball courts at Colonel David Marcus Playground and a bathroom renovation in Gravesend Park — has been completed. His frustration over the delays is shared by other council members and parks advocates, who say that capital projects in the park system take far too long.

With many small- to medium-size projects financed by council members and borough presidents, the delays are not merely frustrating for park users. They also threaten the well-primed spigot of money that flows from lawmakers’ discretionary funds into neighborhood parks. Often, elected officials miss out on the political payoff of their contributions: a ribbon-cutting with beaming constituents.

“We’ve started calling these ‘legacy projects,’ because it’s a legacy you’ll leave for your successor,” said Mr. Greenfield, whose district includes Borough Park, Bensonhurst and Midwood. “In the outer boroughs, we have council members who refuse to fund parks because they know that the likelihood that the project will be completed while they are in office is not very high.”

DeBlasio not all that different than Bloomberg...

From the NY Times:

At issue was the Council’s role in approving development projects that require changes in the city’s zoning ordinances — changes that would have to occur frequently if Mr. de Blasio is to reach his ambitious affordable housing goal. The mayor has repeatedly said he is willing to allow developers to build taller, denser buildings in exchange for setting aside units for low- and moderate-income renters.

Under the city’s charter-mandated land use process, known as the Uniform Land Use Review Process, a developer whose project would exceed the size permitted under existing zoning regulations must first get the proposal certified by the city’s Planning Department.

From there, projects go before the local community board, the borough president, the Planning Commission and finally the City Council — with a public hearing at every step. Approvals are required only from the Planning Commission and the Council.

When the mayor’s office negotiates with developers for public benefits — parks, plazas or low-priced apartments — it typically does so where the administration has the most leverage: before certification, or before the Planning Commission’s vote.

As it stands, members of the Council get to negotiate with developers for even more where they hold power: before the Council votes. For a single project, individual council members can hold great sway; traditionally, the full Council defers to the member or members who represent the affected neighborhoods before even bringing it to a vote. Developers say the Council’s ability to take a second bite of the apple leads them to hold back in talks with City Hall, so that they still have something to give when they come before the Council.

In recent days, according to a Council official aware of the talks, aides to Mr. de Blasio proposed that council members raise their concerns at the beginning of the process — before certification — rather than at the end. The administration would then negotiate on the Council’s behalf and reach what the mayor’s aides suggested could be a better deal for the city as a result.

But at a meeting of the Council’s leadership on Thursday morning, a member briefed on it said that David Greenfield, a councilman from Brooklyn and the chairman of the Land Use Committee, had argued forcefully that Mr. de Blasio was trying to undermine the land use process in a way that would erode the Council’s charter-granted powers. The council member said Mr. Greenfield had warned that he expected the mayor to bring up the idea in a meeting later that day and that he would vigorously oppose it.

Landmarking blamed for lack of affordable housing

From Crain's:

The new chairman of the City Council’s powerful Land Use committee, Brooklyn’s David Greenfield, strongly questioned the Bloomberg administration’s unprecedented landmarking of city neighborhoods as historic districts at a hearing Thursday, saying the policy conflicted with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s goal to build 200,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade.

At the hearing, Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams also called for landmarking in the city to slow down, calling the lack of affordable housing in historic districts "appalling." He said local opposition to projects often played a role in decisions. "It's often one council member, we're not looking at it at a more global scale," Mr. Williams said.

Is that so, Jumaane? I seem to recall a year ago when you were promoting landmarking:

This Sunday, June 9, Councilmember Jumaane Williams will join the newly-formed Landmarks Political Committee at a press conference to promote landmarking applications for Beverley Square East, Beverley Square West, Caton Park, Ditmas Park West, West Midwood, and South Midwood. The conference will be held at 12pm in the South Midwood area of Council Member Williams’ district, at 2684 Bedford Ave. between Foster Ave. and Farragut Rd.

The Landmarks Political Committee, made up of neighbors in and outside of Ditmas Park who have begun engaging more local politicians in fighting for landmark status, have found support in Councilmember Williams, who has recently been involved in trying to landmark Jackie Robinson’s former home. Here's a video.

And another:

City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush) and other elected officials are urging the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to bestow that status on the homes, built 100 years ago by a small group of architects who converted the neighborhood from farmland into a tree-lined community.

“We are big believers in preserving and celebrating the history of what we have in this community,” said Williams’ spokesman Stefan Ringel.

It's sad when pols start doing the dirty work of REBNY. Very sad.

Law proposed to forcibly clean sidewalks

From the Epoch Times:

New York City Councilman David Greenfield is proposing the city clear sidewalks when property owners don’t and then charge them $250 or more.

“Current law does not provide enough motivation for many property owners to do the right thing,” said Greenfield in press release.

He wants to amend existing law and have the city do the work. That, “would actually result in ice-free sidewalks and additional revenue,” said Greenfield.

Greenfield is proposing to use temporary snow laborers to do the work. The city already has a database of such workers to call when needed.

“Existing law doesn’t get to the heart of the problem,” said Greenfield’s communications director, Conor Greene.

When property owners don’t clear their walks the city can fine them, but if they still don’t clear the sidewalk, it will remain icy.

But what about city-owned property?

From the Daily News:

An elderly woman took a tumble on Monday at the intersection of 74th St. and 57th Ave. in Maspeth, thrown for a loop as she tried to make her way to the supermarket.

She was left bloodied and bruised by the incident, said Robert Holden of the Juniper Park Civic Association.

Sanitation Department spokesman Vito Turso said he wasn’t sure which agency was responsible for the 74th St. sidewalk that claimed the woman on Monday.

“Resources are allocated on a priority basis with tens of thousands of crosswalks and thousands of bus stops and hydrants coming first before little used sidewalks adjoining a highway,” Turso said.

Transportation officials pledged to inspect the location on Tuesday.

Can the new land use chair be trusted?

From Crains:

For real estate interests, the election of an unabashed liberal as City Council speaker this month was a setback. Another one holding the gavel of the powerful Land Use Committee could have been a real problem. So, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito's appointment of Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield as chairman drew sighs of relief. Real Estate Board of New York President Steven Spinola said he expects Mr. Greenfield to be "diligent and fair" in running Land Use, which approves projects.

Unlike other powerful committee heads named, Mr. Greenfield is not a member of the labor-backed Progressive Caucus. He owes his position instead to helping broker the speaker deal for Ms. Mark-Viverito. That could grant him a level of independence.

Ms. Mark-Viverito and Mayor Bill de Blasio are promising broad changes in development policy, including mandatory affordable housing in rezoned areas. Mr. Greenfield did not immediately have a comment on that policy, but said he expected new council rules would leave chairmen "empowered to run committees independently."

What was promised

From the Queens Tribune:

Sources say the Progressive Caucus was originally split, 12-9, between Mark-Viverito and Dan Garodnick, with Garodnick getting the support of County Leadership.

That’s when the calls started, with the Progressive Caucus telling Council members that they had the votes, and that if a Council member pushed back, those committees would be gone.

“If you’re not with them, you’re not getting a committee,” QConf was told.

Among the promises made to the Queens delegation, Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) would be named Majority Leader. Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Woodside) would head up the Finance Committee and Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) would get the Education Committee.

Daneek Miller and Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) were also reportedly promised committee slots, although specifics were unknown as of press time. melissa mark-viverito

“The other three we know, because they were openly talking about it,” a source said.

Republican Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) was also reportedly promised a committee chairmanship in exchange for his support of Mark-Viverito.

Sources within the real estate industry, who supported Ulrich in his most recent election battle, have expressed disappointment with Ulrich. The sources say that they feel betrayed, since Ulrich promised he would stand against the Progressive Caucus, but instead went back on his word for a promised chairmanship.

QConf was also told that David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) was offered the Land Use Committee as a means of swaying Brooklyn.

Council seeks to reduce speed limit

From The Politicker:

The New York City Council hopes to pass legislation that would reduce the speed limit on most residential and side streets to 20 miles per hour, Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced today.

“We are actively working on that bill and our goal is to pass it before the end of the year,” Ms. Quinn said during an unrelated press conference this afternoon before the month’s final council meeting. “We’re actively working on it right now.”

The bill, introduced by Councilman David Greenfield, is aimed at reducing serous pedestrian injuries and traffic fatalities. Last year, 148 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents and crashes.

“We are working to fine-tune this life-saving legislation that will slow down automobiles on narrow residential streets. I am hopeful that we can get consensus on this important legislation, which will literally save lives once it is enacted here in New York City,” he said in response to the speaker’s comments.

But there are complications. The city’s Department of Transportation has argued the proposal would conflict with state law, which only allows limits that low if other traffic-calming devices are used. Last Friday, Councilman Jimmy Vacca, chair of the council’s transportation committee, told WNYC the bill was being “tweaked a little bit” and that members were “aiming for 25 miles per hour on narrow, one-way streets.”

In other traffic safety news, a problem intersection in Astoria is under scrutiny and Woodhaven Blvd solutions are being pondered.

Council members attempting to take bitchiness away from next Speaker

From DNA Info:

During her eight-year reign as City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn has been accused of running the group with an iron fist — doling out cash to supporters while stripping the same from dissenters, and holding back broadly popular bills from coming up for a vote.

But in the wake of Quinn’s significant loss in the Democratic primary last week, four returning City Councilmen are reaching out to the rest of the membership in hopes of coming up with a plan that would significantly check the power of the next speaker and instill a measure of balance in the chamber.

While all four of the councilmen say conversations with other members are just beginning, they have a set of initial ideas for checks and balances in mind.

First among them is a plan to get proposed legislation on the table for discussion with or without the speaker's approval.

“The idea is that if you have legislation, there should be a mechanism that it can actually be written, whereby it gets introduced, and whereby it can get a hearing,” Greenfield said.

“We’re looking at making sure that bills and laws have a larger space to be discussed, no matter who put it in and no matter what it is," said Williams.

Another idea is to bring greater equity to the distribution of funds to members. Quinn's critics have regularly accused her of using the process of doling out member items to reward friends and supporters, while cutting back funds to her enemies, regardless of overall needs in individual members’ districts.

City Council looks to fix restaurant grading system

From CBS New York:

Reform is on the menu for the controversial New York City restaurant inspection system.

As CBS 2’s Tony Aiello reported Monday, owners hope they will not be forking over so much dough in fines. They said the current health inspection system leaves them walking on proverbial eggshells.

“It’s absolute panic,” said Leonard de Knegt of Jerry’s Café. “One dead strawberry in a box coming from a vendor — one dead strawberry — can cost you $300.”

Restaurant owners said the city’s beefed up inspections, as they are currently administered, are arbitrarily tough. They said they are fed up with fines.

In the three years since the city cooked up its letter grade system, the amount of fines paid by restaurants has skyrocketed — from about $30 million a year to $50 million.

“Food safety is no longer the focus,” said City Councilman David G. Greenfield (D-44th.) “The focus, really, is about making a quick buck.”

City Councilmembers said the system is choking small business owners, and ripe for reform.

More notice for no-parking zones

From the Daily News:

Spurred by personal experience, a Brooklyn city councilman is proposing a bill to require the city to post signs at least 24 hours before a no-parking zone is created for a special event.

David Greenfield said he parked his Honda Accord legally near City Hall a few months ago, only to find the ride gone hours later.

Cops were slapping up “no parking” signs, he said, but had not done so prior to the time he parked.

His car was towed a few blocks away.

Greenfield, who notes many of his constituents have had the same frustrating experience, said there is no law that places a time frame on when the city must post signs to notify drivers of temporary changes to parking rules.

“There’s no reason why the City of New York cannot provide a courtesy to drivers and put up a sign 24 hours in advance,” the Democratic councilman told the Daily News.

Greenfield said he will submit the proposal on Wednesday.