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Details Emerge About Plan for Private Buildings on NYCHA Land
While some agree that the plan has financial merit, others fear the social costs of mixing incomes in NYCHA neighborhoods. The authority's chairman sees it as a win-win.
Warm-Water Fish Invade New York City's Waters
Fishers in Long Island Sound are seeing species that normally swim far to the south. Dramatically warmer waters are challenging both the fishing industry and the regulatory system that governs it.
Queens Residents Pumped Up Over Flooding
After pollution shut water pumps in southeast Queens, the aquifer rose and flooding worsened. Residents are pressing the city to accelerate its plans to deal with the water.
Bail Fund Aims to Free Poor Defendants
After a state law cleared a legal obstacle, Brooklyn public defenders are forming a fund to pay low-level bails that keep a surprising number of defendants behind bars before trial—with devastating effects on work, families and their criminal cases.
Payday Loans, Illegal on the Street, Thrive in New York's Cyberspace
Of the 18 states that ban or strictly regulate payday loans, New York's is the toughest. But that hasn't stopped online lenders from finding customers in the Empire State and charging sky-high rates for small loans.
Occupy Sunset Park: Seeking Change in Many Languages
A long subway ride from the Lower Manhattan epicenter of the Occupy phenomenon, community activists in one Brooklyn neighborhood are trying to translate the movement's goals into local action.
Brooklyn Bureau: NYPD Towers May Defuse Cop, Community Friction
Some Brooklynites who live and work near the borough’s two police watchtowers say the observation posts are affecting more than the incidence of crime.
Sales of HIV Meds Catch Lawmakers' Eyes
Prosecutors and legislators report an increase in illegal sales of HIV medication by people looking to feed their families or support drug habits. Will tougher criminal penalties slow the market?
NY Prisoners Counted Differently, But Still Not Voting
Now that they'll be counted in their hometowns rather than where they're incarcerated, state inmates could shift district lines. One thing neither they nor parollees can do, however, is vote.
Brooklyn Library Facing Lower Budget, Higher Demand
Despite the Internet age and the e-book craze, Brooklyn's libraries are seeing increasing usage. But budget cuts are one challenge the system might not be able to surmount.
Mixed Evidence of Methadone Crackdown
An advocacy group's survey says police harassment of methadone patients is common. Statistics suggest methadone-related arrests are rare.
Costly Lessons: What We've Learned From Firefighter Deaths
A City Limits investigation looked at FDNY fatalities over 20 years, finding common factors and tracking the city's efforts to address them.
Out of 9/11 Tragedy Came Change for FDNY
Serious problems with the emergency response on 9/11 contributed to the loss of rescuer lives. A decade later, FDNY counts itself much better prepared. But some questions remain.
This Building Killed 1 Firefighter but May Save Dozens
Two fires 10 years apart at one high-rise in the Rockaways helped convince the FDNY to reconsider its time-honored tactics when dealing with wind-driven fires.
When Fire Wins: Causes of FDNY Deaths
Each of the FDNY's line-of-duty deaths over the past 20 years involved a unique person and unique circumstances. But according to investigations by the FDNY and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, common contributing factors link many of the incidents.
Firefighter Decisions Hold Lives—Including Their Own—In Balance
The FDNY is committed to "aggressive, interior firefighting." When that's the plan, equipment, training and manpower are all less important that human decision-making.
Deadly Fires, 9-11 And Beyond: A Reading List
Firefighters' Heart Risks Get New Attention
Heart attacks are the single largest threat to firefighters' lives, with everything from stress to heat to noise at fire scenes elevating the risk factors.
The New 911: Emergency Calling Changes
Problems with the performance of the 911 system on Sept. 11 led the Bloomberg administration to undertake a four-pronged emergency communications transformation program
New Phase of Building Code Changes Looms
In the wake of the World Trade Center collapse, the city undertook a comprehensive revision of its building and fire codes. Fire safety advocates didn't get all they wanted. Will they have another chance in the next round?
New York City has a long history of ordinary people affecting extraordinary change through active engagement with their governments, communities, and fellow residents. Read about any one of the many social issues covered in City Limits’ 30-year history that inspired movements formed around the basic need to get involved.
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New York's Top Judge Echoes Our 2007 Bail Investigation - Jarrett Murphy
Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman called for reforms of the bail system, including limiting the use of financial bail to detain defendants in non-violent cases.
Heart Attacks Are Biggest Threat to Firefighters - Jarrett Murphy
In the department's first line-of-duty death in more than two years, the FDNY lost a 17-year veteran to what appeared to be a heart attack at the scene of a warehouse fire in Brooklyn.
Hope for Relief from Flooding in Southeast Queens - Karen Loew
After months of pressure from residents of an area plagued by poor drainage and rising groundwater, the city recently announced a set of measures to keep Southeast Queens dry—or at least drier—this spring and summer.
What’s Not to Like About the Cuomo Budget? - Jarrett Murphy
Amid a sea of praise for Gov. Cuomo's second budget, advocates for low-income New Yorkers raised complaints. That, plus the latest on NYCHA, city job creation and the sick leave bill —all in our policy roundup.
Cuomo Calls For Easier Food Stamp Access - Jarrett Murphy
In a wide-ranging annual speech, the governor said fingerprinting applicants is an unnecessary barrier to access. He also called for $1 billion in investment to renew Buffalo.
Seen Here First: The NYPD's Pot Play - Jarrett Murphy
New York police officials last week distanced themselves from an arrest tactic that nabbed small-time pot users who obeyed when cops asked them to empty their pockets. City Limits broke that story in 2009.
Out of Media Glare, the Bronx Faces Irene - Jarrett Murphy
Even far outside of the Zone A areas, there were signs of the impending danger, though they were subtle. Closer to the water's edge, the menace felt very real.
Decision in the Rockaways: Stay, or Go? - Patrick Arden
Tina Parker tried to convince her neighbors to leave. “I’ve been in two hurricanes in Alabama, and I’m not taking a chance,” she said.
Hugh Carey, 1919-2011 - Jarrett Murphy
The former congressman who guided New York State through the 1970s fiscal emergency as governor, was 92. A 2010 biography reassessed Carey's role during the days of crisis.
EVENTS
A Place at the Table
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
6:00pm -
Word for Word: Dan Savage
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Justice For All: Appleseed at 20
Thursday, June 20, 2013
6:00p - 9:00p
CONVERSATIONS/OPINONS
What Does the City's Recovery Need? More Libraries
Libraries perform a critical role in workforce development for low-income New Yorkers. But budget cuts have so curtailed service that Detroit's libraries are now open more than New York's.
Can NYCHA Be Saved?
Yes, says this writer, but it will require vision and renewed drive by the Bloomberg administration: Doing a few things better will not be enough.
Who Cares About New York’s Teen Fathers?
The city's teenaged dads can make a huge difference in the lives of their kids. Yet they are forced to navigate Family Court with little guidance, and must deal with agencies and jurists who know next to nothing about them.
Firefighter for a Day
After months reporting a story on the FDNY, all it took was three steps into a smoky room for this reporter to realize how much he didn't know.
Why I'm Fasting To Protest Budget Cuts
As leaders in Washington, Albany and City Hall have contemplated huge funding reductions, advocates have mounted protests, written letters and pleaded through the press. Now some are giving up food. One Bronx leader explains why.
MULTIMEDIA
Do Housing Voucher Households Cause Crime?
Potential neighbors often express worries that Housing Choice Voucher holders heighten crime. Yet no research systematically examines the link between the presence of voucher holders in a neighborhood and crime.
FDNY report on fatal fire, January 23, 2005
The fatal fire investigation report on the death of Firefighter Richard T. Sclafani of Ladder 103 at 577 Jerome Street, Brooklyn.
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Defining Brooklyn Launch
City Limits celebrates the launch of its March 2011 issue: Defining Brooklyn.The 35th Anniversary Celebration
City Limits celebrates its 35th Anniversary at BMCC in Tribeca.Brooklyn Bureau Launch
The Brooklyn Bureau launch as part of Social Media Week 2012.Tackling Poverty
The Tackling Poverty Series at Galapagos Art Space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.Tackling Poverty (Manhattan)
City Limits & the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness
