Restaurant owners say they’ve been in limbo for months as city departments point fingers at each other for delays in permit approvals.

Is New York City’s outdoor dining scene dying? It appears likely, writes Chris Crowley in New York Magazine. As of January 30, just 40 of 3,700 applications for outdoor dining setups were approved by the city’s Department of Transportation.
City comptroller Brad Lander expressed “grave concerns” over “the scale of DOT’s shortcomings,” but a DOT spokesperson said one-third of applications were rejected for just causes, while two-thirds were passed on to community boards in the review process. “That does not explain the gap in approvals, however; only applicants wishing to build new outdoor structures — somewhere around 1,400 of the pending applications — need community-board approval. Applications for traditional sidewalk seating do not. So, the question is, where are all of these outstanding applications?”
According to Lander, “The DOT knew when the law was passed that they were going to have this responsibility. They knew that the applications were coming in by last August. And they just were not approved to hire up the staff necessary to approve all these applications.” Now, restaurant owners are stuck waiting to find out whether or not they should invest in outdoor seating infrastructure as the April 1 opening date for outdoor dining season approaches.
FULL STORY: Outdoor Dining’s Return Might Really Be Doomed

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Research Shows More Roads = More Driving
A national study shows, once again, that increasing road supply induces additional vehicle travel, particularly over the long run.

Which US Rail Agencies Are Buying Zero-Emissions Trains?
U.S. rail agencies are slowly making the shift to zero-emissions trains, which can travel longer distances without refueling and reduce air pollution.

San Diego School District Approves Affordable Housing Plan
The district plans to build workforce housing for 10 percent of its employees in the next decade and explore other ways to contribute to housing development.

Lawsuit Aims to Stop NYC’s ‘City of Yes’ Zoning Reforms
A lawsuit brought by local lawmakers and community groups claims the plan failed to conduct a comprehensive environmental review.
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