$1,000 penalty proposed for aggressive buyout offers, more cuts to L train service, & more

By Austin Havens-Bowen | September 6, 2019 - 11:00AM

State Senator Julia Salazar introduced a bill that creates a $1,000 penalty for a buyout offer to a rent-regulated tenant that qualifies as harassment (The Real Deal)

Two popular blocks in Soho will be closed to traffic for the inaugural Soho Broadway First Fridays Program, the latest addition to the DOT's Weekend Walks program (The Villager)

Williamsburg residents, beware: The MTA has announced cuts to the already problematic L train evening and weekend service (Gothamist)

The Department of Sanitation is set to restore the new street cleaning and alternate side parking regulations in western Astoria this month (QNS.com)

Breaking Ground, the state's largest supportive housing provider, is set to start construction on its first affordable housing development in Mott Haven (press release)

At a joint hearing about Con Edison's response to last month's blackout, legislators questioned whether a public agency could be more effective instead of a private one (QNS.com)

Austin Havens-Bowen

Staff Writer

Staff writer Austin Havens-Bowen covers the rental market and answers renters' questions in a column called Realty Bites. He previously reported on local news for the Queens Ledger and The Hunts Point Express in the Bronx. He graduated from Hunter College with a BA in media studies. He rents a one-bedroom apartment in Astoria with his boyfriend and their two cats.

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