The city has bought more than 125,000 acres of land to provide a buffer around water reservoirs. It’s much cheaper than spending billions on filtration systems, officials say. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Land Use Policies”
City Council Approves Plan That Could Bring 14,700 Homes to Queens
By Gotham Rex on November 12, 2025
The New York plan would open up 54 blocks of Long Island City, which are mostly warehouses and parking lots, to housing. Source: New York Times
New York City Is Full of Green Space. You Just Have to Find It.
By Gotham Rex on October 5, 2025
The city’s millions of residents are crammed together, competing for space to live, play, work and rest. Source: New York Times
New York Faces Painful History as It Marks the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial
By Gotham Rex on September 28, 2025
As the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal approaches on Oct. 26, organizers are seeking to temper the celebration with an acknowledgment of the waterway’s displacement of Native American communities. Source: New York Times
Manhattan Will Not Get a Casino as Final Proposal Is Voted Down
By Gotham Rex on September 22, 2025
The defeat of a plan to build a casino just south of the United Nations headquarters leaves five remaining proposals, all outside Manhattan. Source: New York Times
NYC Community Boards Usually Oppose New Housing. Not This One.
By Gotham Rex on December 15, 2022
Local groups are known for opposing new development. But amid a housing shortage, one community board representing parts of Manhattan’s West Side wants to see a lot more. Source: New York Times
Amtrak Awards Contract to Expand Penn Station Train Tracks
By Gotham Rex on June 23, 2022
As debate rages on a plan to renovate the nation’s busiest hub, Amtrak awarded a contract to design a $12 billion expansion that would add train capacity. Source: New York Times
Donald H. Elliott, Innovative Urban Planner, Dies at 89
By Gotham Rex on December 27, 2021
He preserved landmarks in New York through creative zoning, involved communities in decision-making and insisted on aesthetic standards for urban design. Source: New York Times
He’s Still Fighting Developers for the Park His Father Founded
By Gotham Rex on August 26, 2021
A large, contaminated tract of Liberty State Park in New Jersey will be cleaned and cleared for trails, sports fields and wetlands. Source: New York Times
Should an Oasis Be Replaced by Affordable Housing? SoHo Is Divided.
By Gotham Rex on July 9, 2021
When the creator of a quirky sculpture garden died, the debate over the plot’s fate intensified. Source: New York Times
These Wetlands Helped Stop Flooding From Sandy. Now a BJ’s May Move In.
By Gotham Rex on October 28, 2020
A group of Staten Island residents concerned about climate change is challenging the project. Source: New York Times
Buried in N.J.’s Budget Cuts: a Break for a Billionaire
By Gotham Rex on July 2, 2020
A stopgap budget with $4 billion in cuts also includes an opening for private development in state parks, like a long-desired expansion of a golf course into Liberty State Park. Source: New York Times