HOUSING

 Planetizen- New York City’s City of Yes zoning reform initiative is taking a step forward with a proposal for Midtown Manhattan that would, according to city officials, make way for nearly 10,000 new housing units.

According to a New York Times article by Mihir Zaveri, the proposal would rezone 42 blocks to allow for residential construction and adaptive reuse in an area struggling to recover after the pandemic. The two councilmembers representing the neighborhood favor the plan...

Zaveri notes that “The Midtown plan is also designed to boost retail in the neighborhood, where vacancies in commercial buildings and less foot traffic have contributed to a feeling of gloom.”

 Who What Why -  “Portland just elected a new mayor, an outsider who’s never served in public office. Keith Wilson, a truck company CEO, swept into office in a landslide on the strength of one pledge: to stand up 25 emergency shelters around town to end Portland’s chronic street homelessness. In his first week on the job, he’s already opened two shelters with 200 beds. ‘We are here to come together to treat the crisis on our street like a crisis,’ Wilson said in early January. I think he means he’s not going to just look the other way.”