New York

Old apartment building with restaurants on ground floor in NYC.

Over half of NYC luxury second properties may be exempt from pied-à-terre tax

Complicated laws around buildings owned by LLCs are making it difficult for NYC officials to determine which buildings can be taxed.

August 27, 2026 - Gothamist

Mamdani in an apartment

NYC creates fast track court for tenants in unsafe housing

Owners of buildings with vacate orders or major safety problems will have five days to answer the complaints in court.

August 26, 2026 - Gothamist

A traffic jam on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

NYC to erect ‘temporary highway’ while rebuilding crumbling BQE

The city estimates it will spend $4 billion on the renovated expressway, which will reopen by 2040.

August 25, 2026 - Gothamist

People drinking at outdoor tables in front of Bua bar on the Open Street, a car-free pedestrian zone, on St. Mark's Place in the East Village, Manhattan, New York City

NYC will add nearly 10,000 acres of ‘urban forest’ by 2040

The city aims to increase canopy tree coverage by nearly 30% to cool streets and decrease heat-related illness.

August 24, 2026 - Brooklyn Paper

A graph from New York City's first study on the Congestion Relief Zone Tolling Program’s impact on air quality. The graph shows that air quality improved at the rate predicted, and in some cases, slightly more than predicted.

First study of NYC congestion zone’s air quality impact shows improvements

The study also examined air quality around freeways which experts worried would see increased traffic from people avoiding the tolls.

August 21, 2026 - Mass Transit

Crowd crossing the street in Astoria, Queens.

NYC needs 700,000 new homes to resolve housing crisis, report states

The report gave every neighborhood a non-binding development target.

August 20, 2026 - Gothamist

Workers fixing the East River Tunnel

Amtrak reopens New York’s East River Tunnel

The reopening marks the halfway point of rehabilitation efforts at Penn Station in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

August 19, 2026 - ABC7

An illuminated highrise in NYC

NYC “pied-à-terre” tax moves ahead amid court case

A city appeal has stayed a court order to halt the tax until it moves through a higher court.

August 18, 2026 - Spectrum News 1

A crowded subway platform in NYC on a hot day

NYC's sweltering subway tunnels might soon provide heat to nearby buildings

The MTA is studying how a Thermal Energy Network could capture extreme excess heat from subway platforms to warm nearby municipal buildings.

August 18, 2026 - Mass Transit

Citi Bike riding through NYC

Art project makes NYC Citi Bikes physically harder to pedal in rent-burdened neighborhoods

Ground Truth, created by Brooklyn artist Justin Blinder, slows bikes down to make cyclists feel the burden of high rent.

August 14, 2026 - Wired

People sitting and standing on a New York Coty subway train.

Unlocking the full potential of NYC's Interborough Express

A few strategic investments could turn the IBX into an essential spine of the regional transportation network, not just another branch of New York's subway system.

August 10, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

Giant Louis Vuitton "trunk" facade on NYC LV store.

The building wears Prada: Fifth Avenue designers raise the bar on sidewalk sheds

New York City fashion houses are getting creative with scaffolding.

August 9, 2026 - Curbed

Giant metal globe sculpture in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York City.

Historic Queens park is getting a $120M upgrade

The borough's largest park will undergo significant upgrades for accessibility, flood mitigation and historic preservation.

August 8, 2026 - Secret NYC

Boy in stroller being pushed onto bus.

MTA plans to outfit all buses with stroller storage by next year

All buses will have seats that flip up to allow for stroller storage or more standing room.

August 7, 2026 - Gothamist

Green and yellow congestion peicing zone sign on post in NYC next to street with moderate traffic.

Study: NYC congestion pricing didn't impact parking demand

A city report shows that free parking, not congestion pricing, is the main driver of limited parking demand in the city.

August 3, 2026 - Cities Today

Brooklyn public library branch.

Mayor Mamdani unveils map of 100 public lots that could become housing

The city identified properties that could be available for new housing development.

July 31, 2026 - PIX 11

Workers in orange vests work on replacing Park Avenue Viaduct.

New York completes Park Avenue viaduct 5 years early, $200M under budget and with no delayed trains

The MTA was able to keep trains running on time while working to replace a key viaduct.

July 30, 2026 - Mass Transit

Close-up on NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani during an election event.

NYC landlords sue Mamdani administration over rent freeze

The suit charges the administration with unfairly promoting the rent freeze and accuses the city's Rent Guidelines Board of yielding to pressure from the mayor.

July 28, 2026 - City Limits

Workers screwing down wood panels on NYC sidewalk to prepare subway system for flooding.

NYC plans sewer upgrades after back-to-back floods

The city is working to expand sewer capacity and improve other stormwater storage and capture systems to prevent flooding.

July 24, 2026 - PIX 11

People wearing K95 masks holding a banner calling for renters' rights in a protest in New York City.

NYC 'Rental Ripoff' report calls for crackdown on negligent landlords

The report outlines strategies for empowering renters and transferring properties from 'low-road' landlords to those who focus on improved tenant outcomes.

July 19, 2026 - City Limits

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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