CityLand, a New York Law School publication whose first issue comes out Oct. 15, will cover the monthly activities of the five New York City agencies that have jurisdiction on land use.
The lead article in the first issue is about the City Council’s approval of the 29 story mixed use project at 200 Chambers St. just west of the P.S. 234 school yard, also called Site 5C.
With reports written in layman’s language, each 16-page issue of CityLand will include detailed maps, photos, and comprehensive charts listing every project including new applications, certifications and decisions from the Department of City Planning, Board of Standards and Appeals, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Department of Buildings and the New York City Council.
“The purpose of the newsletter is to keep the public and people working in the land use area informed and allow them to participate in the process,” said Ross Sandler, a lawyer and director of the Tribeca school’s Center for New York City Law.
“We translate everything into English,” said Sandler. “It’s been difficult to keep up with what happens in so many different agencies. Historically it’s been the private preserve of a few lawyers and other specialists. CityLand will help close the information gap by collecting all land use decisions in a comprehensive easy to read monthly publication,” said Sandler, who was Department of Transportation Commissioner from 1986-1990.
For the first issue, more than 100 subscribers have paid $400 for 11 issues per year. “Mostly architects and government officials, but we have a lot of ordinary readers,” Sandler said. The Center for New York City Law maintains a fee Web site, www.citylaw.org, which provides access to more than 20,000 decision from more than 15 agencies in an online data base. “It’s important for use to keep the website free to serve as the public’s library of city regulations,” Sandler said.
Preparing for City Land took a year. “We had to meet with each agency and convince them to make the information available to us electronically. They see the benefit because we will be able to serve as their first link to the public,” said Sandler, a graduate of New York University Law School and a Village resident for 40 years.
Molly Brennan, a land use lawyer who worked in San Francisco before coming to New York, is CityLand’s editor. For more information, call 212-431-2115.
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