A group of advocates and elected officials is calling on the Mamdani administration to ensure private businesses that own public spaces in the city follow legal regulations and give all New Yorkers proper access to them.<\/p>\n
A letter<\/a> addressed to Department of Buildings (DOB) Commissioner Ahmed Tigani and sent to other Mamdani administration officials asks the city to take several steps to ensure the more than 590 privately owned public spaces (POPS) encompassing 3.8 million square feet of the city are truly public, including implementing clearer signage, training the private businesses that own them on public access rights and improving enforcement processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese spaces should function as a meaningful part of the city\u2019s open space network and ensuring that this bargain is honored consistently should be a citywide priority,\u201d says the letter, spearheaded by advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks<\/a>. \u201cWhile building owners are responsible for maintaining their POPS and providing the access and amenities required by the City, DOB and other agencies play an essential role in making this public agreement real.\u201d<\/p>\n POPS are created when private businesses make agreements with the city to purchase or maintain a piece of indoor or outdoor property that they allow the public to access frequently; often on a 24\/7 basis. The POPS agreements act as a way to offset certain developments the private businesses are making, or provide the business with a tax break. <\/p>\n The letter, shared with amNewYork, comes as New Yorkers are increasingly reporting on social media<\/a> <\/b>POPS that are closed to the public when they\u2019re not supposed to be. The advocacy also comes at a time when POPS are having a bit of a renaissance<\/a> as organizers take advantage of the public nature of the spaces to hold creative events<\/a> that offer opportunities for friends and strangers to meet.<\/p>\n Advocates and electeds say the city needs to take steps to make POPS \u201cgenuinely public,\u201d visible and accessible via clear signage in all POPS locations and by taking steps to demarcate POPS on common wayfinding apps, such as Google Maps. This, they say, will allow New Yorkers to understand where the POPS are much in the same way that they can see public park locations.<\/p>\n The group also wants the city to incentivize the private businesses that own the POPS to carry out certain improvements in the spaces, such as adding more seating, water fountains, greenery, lighting, shade, trash cans, bike racks, extreme weather protection, climate resiliency measures and bathrooms. It also asks for local communities to have a more meaningful role in POPS oversight.<\/p>\n Right now, people have to go through multiple steps to report when a business is out of compliance with POPS regulations, and advocates say a more streamlined and clear reporting process is needed. To address this, the letter asks the city to implement more training for business owners and security guards to better inform them of the legal regulations governing the public spaces so visitors aren\u2019t improperly removed. It also pushes for the establishment of a clearer citywide compliance and accountability program for POPS.<\/p>\n Spokespeople for Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Department of Buildings told amNewYork that it is committed to enforcing POPS public access regulations and looked forward to working with those who sent them the letter and members of the public on ways to improve access to the \u201ctreasured public spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are committed to the strong enforcement of the city\u2019s POPS regulations, which provides hundreds of high-quality public spaces for the enjoyment of all New Yorkers,\u201d the department said in a statement. \u201cThanks to DOB\u2019s proactive enforcement strategy, we have seen a major 42% increase citywide in compliance with POPS regulations in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n