Five articles curated by the Wagner Planner staff: Here’s what the Wagner Planner staff is reading. This week: implications of the budget deal, a three-part investigation of ‘ghost tags’, and a Rent Guidelines Board debate.
M.T.A. Averts Fiscal Crisis as New York Strikes Budget Deal (The New York Times) – “Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman, praised the budget agreement and said it would “assure the M.T.A’s long-term financial stability.” Transit advocates also thanked the state for moving to put the authority on more steady financial footing.”
Ghost Tags: Inside New York City’s Black Market for Temporary Plates (Streetsblog) – “A Streetsblog investigation uncovered scores of used car dealerships that have fraudulently issued temporary license plates, which flow through a thriving black market to drivers who use them to skirt accountability on the road.”
Tenants and Landlords Make Pitch to Rent Guidelines Board Ahead of First Hike Vote (THE CITY) – “Both groups responded to research on landlord income and expenses, reported for buildings with more than 10 apartments.The board found that the average citywide monthly income for tenants was $1,667, barely outpacing the average rent of $1,495. Owners’ average operating cost was $1,091 while the net operating income tallied at $576 per unit per month.”
NYC plans 10 miles of hardened bike lanes, other safety improvements as bicycling fatalities rise (NY Daily News) – “Some of the proposed lanes are still in the planning stages, and the total mileage of the planned lanes is yet to be determined, but the spokesperson said the agency planned to install more bike lanes this year than in any previous year.”
Madison Square Garden’s $42M tax break stays put in new state budget (Crain’s New York) – “The Garden has paid no property taxes on its prime Midtown location since 1982, when the Legislature enacted the abatement to prevent the Knicks and Rangers from moving to New Jersey. That perpetual arrangement has cost the city $916 million in lost revenue in those four decades, according to the Independent Budget Office.”