News

Trucks will spray pesticides in sections of Manhattan beginning on Thursday, September 5, 2024, between the hours of 10:30 PM and 6:00 AM the following morning. In case of bad weather, application will be delayed until Monday, September 9, 2024, between the hours of 10:30 PM and 6:00 AM the following morning.

To learn more, please click here. 

Let Your Voice Be Heard – Budget Priorities Survey:
Each year Community Boards submit proposed priorities for inclusion in the following year’s City Budget.  CB2/M wants to hear from you on what priorities you would like to see included in the City’s FY2026 Budget (FY 2026 runs from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 – the Budget process starts early).  What programs, initiatives or Agency budgets would you want to receive more funding or support?

Please respond to the Survey by clicking HERE – be sure to indicate your response relates to Community Board 2 – Manhattan.

The Department for the Aging (NYC Aging) recently released a Service Needs Assessment survey to better understand the needs of older adults, so they can live the quality of life they deserve. Please take a moment to complete the survey to ensure all of our city’s diverse communities are represented. All responses to this survey are anonymous; however, NYC Aging will be randomly selecting 50 households for the chance to receive one Visa gift card worth $50; those who would like to be considered for this drawing should provide contact information by September 30, 2024. And by completing the survey, you may be entered into our drawing and may win a $50 gift card. For more information, call Aging Connect at 212-AGING-NYC (212-244-6469). Please download flyer in English, Spanish or Chinese.

The Department of Sanitation is advising property owners and managers that beginning November 12, 2024, all trash must be set out in a bin (55 gallons or less) with a secure lid. This Rule will apply to:

• single-family homes
• two-family homes
• buildings with up to 9 apartments

Initially you may use a compliant bin (55 gallons or less with a secure lid) that you already have, but starting June 2026, you MUST use an Official NYC Bin.
To learn more, please download the flyer here.

New York City’s Local Law 1 of 2024 just went into effect. The bill lets tenants get a City inspection of neighboring vacant apartments with hazards. Click here for more information.

The Department of Transportation has adopted regulations for the new Dining Out NYC program.
To review the adopted regulations, click here.
For depictions of what the new permissible sidewalk cafe and roadway cafes will look like, click here.

For complete details concerning the Dining Out NYC Regulations, the LPC proposed rules and public hearing, and the schedule of upcoming CB2 Outdoor Dining Working Group meetings, please visit the Outdoor Dining Working Group page of the CB2 website here.

The MTA’s public comment period on the congestion pricing structure (here’s a PDF link with the final specifics) will be open until 3/11, and can be submitted in a range of ways:

• Online: https://contact.mta.info/s/forms/CBDTP
• Email: [email protected]
• Mail: CBD Tolling Program, 2 Broadway, 23rd Floor, NY, NY 10004
• Phone voicemail: 646-252-7440
• Fax: (212) 504-3148 labelled “Attention to CBDTP Team.”

•  Thursday, 2/29, at 6 pm
•  Friday, 3/1, at 10 am
•  Monday, 3/4, at 10 am
•  Monday, 3/4, at 6 pm

The GrowNYC Compost Program strives to make composting second-nature for all New Yorkers by operating residential Food Scrap Drop-off sites and partnering with community composting facilities to make compost locally. Part of a larger network of over 200 Food Scrap Drop-off sites in NYC, the GrowNYC Compost Program currently operates 52 food scrap drop-off sites serving 7 thousand regular weekly participants, diverting over 25 tons of food scraps from landfills each week.

See updates on GrowNYC locations, and check the citywide map for more options.

• Curbside Parking and Sidewalk Access Restrictions from February 26 – March 09, 2024 (Monday – Friday from 7am to 3:30p). Please click here for more details.

DEP is offering a $100 incentive credit to encourage customers to enroll in autopay. This limited time opportunity will only run for three months, until Nov. 15, so interested customers should sign up immediately. Those who enroll in autopay are required to receive e-bills, which eliminates physical paper bills and is therefore a more environmentally friendly alternative. DEP is launching this savings program as a follow-up to the successful amnesty program that forgave interest charges for customers who paid their overdue water bills.

Autopay allows customers to pay their bills automatically on the due date, or a specific date each month, and avoid the hassle of remembering to pay on time. The autopay feature automatically deducts a customer’s balance or payment amount from their bank account or credit card. Approximately 100,000 accounts, or 12% of DEP’s customers, are currently enrolled in autopay. This initiative aims to increase enrollment, which will help keep accounts current, increase customer satisfaction, and reduce the volume of bill inquiries to our call center, borough offices and correspondence unit.

Customers are eligible if they sign up for autopay using their My DEP account through Nov. 15. They must be enrolled in monthly billing, e-billing and cannot be delinquent on bills. If a customer has multiple accounts, all accounts can be eligible for the non-refundable $100 one-time credit, if all the program requirements are met.

Plus, setting it doesn’t mean forgetting it—customers will receive monthly notifications that their payment is scheduled and paid. Customers are required to stay current on their bills and be enrolled in autopay, e-billing, and monthly billing for six months after the $100 credit is applied to the account. If any of these qualifying actions are altered, the $100 credit will be revoked.

Additional info can be found at nyc.gov/dep/autopay, on our social media channels @NYCWater, or by calling DEP Customer Service at (718) 595-7000. (Please note that only property owners can enroll in autopay, monthly billing, and e-billing. DEP staff cannot enroll customers’ accounts into these services.)

EPA’s Environmental Justice Community Change Grants 

At the recent Brownfields 2023 conference, I learned about EPA’s Environmental Justice Community Change Grants that will be announced later this fall.  Full details are not yet available, but I wanted to alert NYC community-based organizations (CBOs) to the opportunity so you can begin thinking about applying and partners you might work with.

These are the details available so far:

Funding: $10-$20 million per grant
Eligibility: CBOs, in partnership with other CBOs, universities, or local governments

Deadlines: rolling applications; projects must be completed by September 2026.
Project categories:

• Climate resiliency and adaptation.
• Mitigating climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater emissions, and wildfire events.
• Community-led air and other (including water and waste) pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation.
• Investments in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure.
• Workforce development that supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants.
• Reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution.
• Facilitating the engagement of disadvantaged communities in governmental processes ($1-3 million grants.)

EPA has posted the latest info at https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/inflation-reduction-act-community-change-grants-program and a set of frequently asked questions.

Further, a preview of these grants will be featured at the beginning of the upcoming National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Call on September 19, 2023 at 2 pm.  These calls are free and open to the public.  See below for instructions to register and get the Zoom link.

NYSDOT ADVISORIES FOR THE NYC REGION, AS WELL AS NYCDOT, MTA, AND PORT AUTHORITY-NY/NJ ADVISORIES – through May 5, 2024
Please click here for more information.

Please be advised that the MTA will be closing the street stair to the 14^th St 1/2/3 Station at the SE corner of 14^th St/7^th Ave on or about Monday, February 12^th through mid – March 2024 for repairs and improvements.  This work is part of the overall 14^th St ADA project.

• • Full Roadway Closure (Leroy Street between Greenwich Street & Hudson Street) – August 21, 2024 to September 20, 2024 to to place concrete pump in order to complete work on work on the 9th floor and roof at 609 Greenwich St.
  • Full Roadway Closure on West 4 Street between Greene Street & Mercer Street Manhattan on 08-11-2024 to 09-09-2024 for Boom Operations under application # M00791674. Roadway will be closed from 9 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday.
  • Bond Street, from Lafayette Street to the Bowery, through August 11th.
  • Crosby Street between Bleecker and Houston Streets through August 14th.
  • Clarkson St between West St and Washington St will be closed to through traffic Saturday 12:01 AM through Sunday 11:59 PM, through September 4th.
  • 95 Bedford Street between Grove Street and Barrow Street will be closed to vehicular traffic due to a knuckle boom job, through August 30th, from 9am to 4pm, 1-2 weekdays.
  • Leroy Street between Greenwich and Hudson Streets, from through August 20.
  • West 4th Street, between Greene & Mercer Streets, from August 11th to September 9th.
  • Bethune Street between West and Washington Streets through September 3rd.
  • Jane Street between West Street and Washington Street, August 3rd-4th and 10th-11th through October 7th.

COVID-19 Testing Sites

Walk-in testing is available at no cost to you at these NYC Health + Hospitals locations.

Click to access: NYC.gov/COVIDTEST

Hudson Park Library is now open as a Grab and Go location!  Patrons can start placing their holds by calling the branch at 212-243-6876 or logging into their account on nypl.org and choosing “Hudson Park” as their pick-up location.

Their grab-and-go service allows patrons to pickup and return materials while safely maintaining distance from others. The process is contactless: Once your items are ready for pickup, they will immediately be checked out to your account. This way, all you have to do when you get to the library is grab your items from the holds shelf—then go! There is no need to stop by the circulation desk for checkout. The same goes for returns—rather than visiting the desk, there will be a designated bin where you can return any items you currently have.

The new hours are: Monday: 11-6; Tuesday: 11-6; Wednesday: 12-7: Thursday: 11-6; Friday: 11-5; Saturday: 11-5; Sunday: Closed.

Learn more about the NYPL Grab and Go program.

We would like to announce the formation of the CB2 Equity Working Group to signify our commitment to ending the widespread systemic injustice and violence targeting Black people in America; and to share this letter — our promise to you that we will uphold racial justice within CB2.

Read the Equity Working Group introduction letter.

As New York City continues to see reductions in COVID-19 cases, restaurants are being allowed to serve people outside.

Read DOT’s outdoor restaurant dining rules and regulations.

Please click: Permanent Open Restaurants committee materials.