How local pushback killed more than 2,600 planned NYC apartments

Plus: Getting cars out of bus lanes [View this email in a browser.]( Our Gift to You! Get this T-shirt when you [donate & help fund]( our non-profit newsroom. [Donate Now]( [Despite NYC housing shortage, developers and politicians trim 2,600 units from rezoning plans]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️ Sunny, with highs in the lower 40s. It's Thursday in New York City, where local pushback is stopping thousands of planned apartments from getting built. [Here's]( how at least at 17 residential rezoning plans submitted to the city since the start of 2022 have been scrapped or reduced. And here's what else is happening: - The City Council had a busy day on Wednesday, passing a handful of bills including: - a [ban on solitary confinement]( in city jails - a ban on landlords discriminating against [prospective tenants with past convictions]( - requirements for NYPD officers to [report low-level stops with civilians]( - and new rules allowing spectators to [bring their own refillable water bottles]( into stadiums and arenas - TSA agents at LaGuardia Airport stopped a man from carrying [a diaper full of bullets]( onto a plane yesterday. - Despite New York's top court ordering a redrawing of the state's congressional district lines, Republicans said they could [challenge any new map if it's crafted to benefit the Democratic Party]( — a move that could keep the current congressional map in place for the 2024 election. - An NYPD officer accused of repeatedly [blasting a man with pepper spray while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground]( has pleaded not guilty to a criminal misconduct charge. - [Police were searching]( Thursday for two men who allegedly stole luxury cars, money and various other items from people at gunpoint in five separate incidents in Queens over the past week. - A new analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union found that the city's child welfare agency [subjects Black families to an unmatched degree of scrutiny](. - Mayor Eric Adams is telling New Yorkers frustrated with his proposed budget cuts to [go to Washington, D.C.]( to demand more federal funding for housing migrants. - The principal of Hillcrest High School in Queens said he's resigning, weeks after [a student protest of a teacher who expressed support for Israel]( turned chaotic. - Thousands of people descend on New York City every December to enjoy the holiday spectacle — but what does it mean for those who live here? What's your favorite New York City holiday tradition? [Record a voicemail and you may hear your voice on WNYC!]( - The NYPD said [more than 230 cars have been towed for blocking bus lanes]( — and more than 4,511 tickets have been written — since the Bus Lane Enforcement Task Force launched on Dec. 4. - A New York City jobs boom [is not in the forecast]( for 2024. - Eric Adams' son, Jordan Coleman, gave Hell Gate an update on [his plans to become an international music star](. - Italian Americans are selling their Dyker Heights mansions, leading to [a drop in the number of Christmas light displays](. - Several clowns are suing [Long Island-based Clowns.com]( for back wages. - A personal finance guru told The Brian Lehrer Show that if you can't afford to [tip your building staff at the holidays]( you shouldn't be living in that building. - This year's Golden Globes [goodie bag]( (for top-tier attendees) is worth $500,000. (It counts as taxable income.) - 2023 was the year a Kansas newspaper opinion editor dared to ask, How come the Taliban and ISIS can have [cool lil' Japanese pick-up trucks]( but the only thing you can buy in the USA is a big honkin' F-150? - Join us in The Greene Space tonight for WNYC's Recipe Swap, an evening of storytelling, education and food celebrating the city's diverse cultural heritage. The Queens Memory project will be on hand to scan your materials for possible inclusion in a WNYC community cookbook. [Reserve a spot here](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. “[The court did enforce the anti-gerrymandering provision in the constitution, and that's still there. So, I think they would be very wise to try and come up with lines that are defensible against the charge of gerrymandering.]( - Richard Briffault, a redistricting scholar at Columbia Law School, on how the state's redistricting commission should [DRAW A NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Connecticut wants you to know that it's more than a highway between NYC and Boston]( In an attempt to win over families and businesses that might otherwise lay down roots in Massachusetts, the Constitution State has undergone some rebranding. [Women authored most-borrowed books from NYC libraries in 2023]( "I’m Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy was the Brooklyn Public Library’s top checkout, while "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros was the favorite of Queens Public Library patrons and "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus was the most popular book at the New York Public Library. [We Rely On Your Support]( [The Tenement Museum has an exhibit of a Black family for the first time]( The 35-year-old Lower East Side museum, which has so far held to recreating the on-site apartments at 97 and 103 Orchard St., will feature an exhibit based on a Black family's apartment at a tenement across town. [Where to donate winter coats for NYC migrants]( Nonprofits and mutual aid groups are gearing up this winter to make sure newly arriving migrant families have clothes to stay warm through the cold months. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.