On June 29th, the City Council’s Committee on Land Use held a hearing to discuss Intro. 1219-2016, a proposed bill that would require the Department of City Planning to report to the City Council about the status of Privately Owned Public Spaces, known as “POPS.”

The bill, introduced by Council Members David Greenfield, Donovan Richards, and Ben Kallos, calls for the Department of City Planning to report biannually on the status of select POPS. Although there are over 500+ POPS in the city, the bill as proposed would only pertain to a small number of them. In addition, the Department of City Planning would be required to create and maintain an interactive online map of the spaces, and provide an annual report on the complaints and violations of some POPS around the city. One of the modifications proposed by FRIENDS would be for all of the city’s POPS to fall under these requirements.

FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts testified at the hearing – read our testimony HERE.