Community

New York City has seen an increase in the number of "superscrapers" being built throughout the city. These tall buildings are not only out-of-scale, but often unwanted in residential neighborhoods. One notable example that has mobilized community members is the proposed development of a 900-foot tower threatening the Sutton Area, a historic and residential area on the Upper East Side. 

On this episode of Represent NYC, Ben Kallos, whose City Council District 5 will be directly impacted by the Sutton Area development, talks about this issue with Mike Ernst, the Director of Planning at the Municipal Arts Society, Rachel Levy, a Preservation and Planning Associate at FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, and Dieter Seelig the President of the Sutton Area Community.

The city wants to hear from residents about how best to spend $1.3 million to upgrade a run-down playground at Carl Schurz Park.

A meeting dedicated to the topic on Dec. 15 will gather ideas from the community about how to improve the play space at East End Avenue and East 84th Street, according to City Councilman Ben Kallos, who earmarked the funds.

New Yorkers who say they’re seeing a lot more homeless on the streets better brace for next year — when even the de Blasio administration is projecting an increase.

The numbers are contained in small type in the mayor’s Management Report, which predicts that 3,350 individuals will be sleeping “on the streets, in parks, under highways, on subways, and in the public transportation stations in New York City.”