Manhattan Community Board 3 Jan 2026 Report

DOT's Canal Street redesign debates, legislation addressing ICE oversight, and budget realities for community boards

As always, the below summary of the Full Board Meeting is not complete but represents my best attempt to highlight key takeaways from the meeting. If you attended the meeting and believe I missed or misstated any important points, please comment below or reach out!

Any opinions expressed below are solely my own and do not represent the views of Manhattan Community Board 3.

Find your community district and key information about it here.

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Manhattan Community Board 3 Jan 2026 Full Board Meeting

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2026 - 6:30pm

Virtual - Zoom only due to weather

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Meeting Highlights:

• Canal Street redesign dominated the meeting. Speakers supported pedestrian safety improvements, such as shorter crossings, while raising concerns about eliminating parking, accessibility for people with mobility needs, and emergency vehicle circulation.

  • CB3 advanced support for the eastern portion of DOT’s Reimagining Canal Street plan with a friendly amendment requiring clearer information on emergency access and traffic impacts.

• ICE enforcement and detention conditions were a major focus. Congressman Dan Goldman’s office outlined opposition to federal funding for ICE, oversight visits to 26 Federal Plaza, legal action over denied access, and local concerns about ICE vehicle contracts at Pier 40.

• Limits of community board influence were made explicit. The District Manager noted CB3 currently lacks a direct line to the Mayor’s Office, that community board feedback rarely changes the preliminary budget, and that emergency orders allow all meetings to remain fully virtual through February 22.

Notes from board meeting:

Public Session

• Debate over NYC DOT’s Reimagining Canal St plan

  • Concern that all parking spaces on Canal Street will be removed as part of the plan, reducing accessibility and delivery truck access

    • still support some safety measures, such as reducing crosswalk distances and protecting pedestrian paths

  • some residents expressed concern over numerous traffic fatalities on the street and support a redesign that would improve pedestrian and cyclist safety

  • other residents were worried that restricting vehicles’ access to some roads would impede emergency vehicles

  • Councilmember Phil Wong, who grew up on Mulberry Street (off Canal Street) and now represents the 30th Council District in Queens also spoke, voicing worries about the potential removal of all parking spots affecting those with mobility issues and local businesses

    • prefers cyclists use the bike lanes on Grand Street than to expand bike access on Canal Street

    • does support curb extensions, pedestrian safety islands, and traffic bollards

The targeted segments of Canal Street in the Phase 1 redesign are within the connected lines. Future targeted segments are in the dotted lines. [source]

• Speaker in support of the landmarking of Church of St. Mary

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Elected Officials Reports

• District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Liaison

  • internships application for high school juniors and seniors are now open!

    • running a resume workshop for high schoolers on Feb 20th - any high schooler can attend who would like help with their resume or help starting a resume

• Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal’s Liaison

  • Manhattan’s new BP, previously chaired Manhattan CB2 and represented Manhattan’s west side

  • Manhattan community board applications are now open and remain open until Feb 27th

    • contact the Manhattan BP’s office if you have any questions!

  • BP’s public swearing-in ceremony will be on Feb 22nd, invitations have not yet been sent out

  • application for capital funding is now open, more details on the application process on the BP’s website - apply by Feb 19th!

• Congressmember Dan Goldman’s Liaison

  • U.S. House voted for three separate funding bills - Congressman Goldman voted NO on all three

    • The Homeland Security Bill would increase funding for ICE, which Congressman Goldman particularly opposes

    • note: The Senate combined the three bills into one big bill for their vote

    • there is a possibility of a partial government shutdown if funding bills are not passed

  • Hosting triage clinics in his office to support families with members who have been detained by ICE

    

    Goldman said during an extensive interview with TPM earlier this month, “But we also are sitting across the street from families who are being torn apart, and if there’s a way for us to help them, I’ve told my staff, do anything possible.” [source[

  • Congressman gained access to the floors at 26 Federal Plaza where those detained by ICE are held and made an unannounced visit, witnessed 11 detainees

    • on a second visit in December, he saw 5 people sleeping in cells and 5 more people being processed - with conditions much improved over his first visit

    • on a third visit on Jan 5th, was told he could not make an unannounced visit - now appealing this decision in Court

• Assemblymember Grace Lee’s Liaison

  • Joined her colleagues to call for passage of the MELT Act and RADAR Act - responses to federal government’s failures to act in the wake of the violence in Minnesota

  • Hosting a town hall on Feb 5th at P.S. 20 at 6 PM with State Senator Brian Kavanagh

    

• State Senator Brian Kavanagh’s Liaison

  • Heard reports of ICE vehicles parked at Pier 40, calling for the pier to terminate its parking contract with ICE

    • the Trust controlling the pier has promised not to renew its contract with ICE, but elected officials are calling on the Trust to cancel its current contract now

  • Governor Hochul recently released the NY State Executive Budget for 2026

    • working to secure a full $250 million for housing assistance in the budget

  • Co-sponsored bill to raise income threshold for critical rent freeze programs

• Councilmember Christopher Martre’s Liaison

  • Appointed to be chair of the subcommittee on Landmarks

    • also now co-chair the BLA Caucus in the City Council

• Councilmember Harvey Epstein - attended the meeting!

  • Lots of work by the City to prepare for the snowstorm that hit on Sunday

  • Holding conversations between NYC DOT and CB3 SLA Committee to ease the process for permitting sidewalk cafes

    • ready to support legislative changes if needed to make the approval procedure easier for the community board

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Board Reports

• District Manager’s Report

  • In order to be counted as a member present and participating in a virtual meeting, you must be present on camera and provide your full name

  • Governor signed an executive order that NY is in a state of emergency until Feb 22nd

    • one downstream effect of this is that all community board meetings (full board and committee) can be entirely virtual during this time

  • Mayor’s preliminary budget will be released on Feb 17th

    • community boards can respond to the preliminary budget by Mar 15th

    • our DM has never seen a community board submit a response to the preliminary budget and the Mayor’s office change the budget because of that

  • Our community board currently has no contact with the Mayor’s office - the office we previously communicated with was disbanded by the current administration

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Committee Reports

See Committee Meeting recordings here!

• Executive

  • Sending a letter to Mayor Mamdani, Deputy Mayor Julie Su, and other relevant parties to provide context and background on Essex Market in the LES

    • CB3 has previously raised concerns about the change of use in the Market Line space and is seeking intervention on the future management of the market

• Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency

• Transportation, Public Safety, & Environment

  • Resolution in support of low-impact block parties

  • Resolution against NYU private shuttles as they are redundant with existing forms of public transit

  • Resolution in support of NYC DOT’s Reimagining Canal Street redesign for the eastern portion that crosses through CD3

    • note: passed unanimously at the committee level

    • Committee heard lots of support for shorter, safe crosswalks and concern for illegal vendors and space for loading zones

      • resolution supports the redesign generally but asks DOT to take into account community concerns and adjust the plan accordingly

    • Friendly amendment passed to request DOT come back to CB3 to provide more information on emergency vehicle access and traffic impacts in the finalized plan

      

      Proposed project timeline, helpfully provided in two languages. [source]

• Health, Seniors, & Human Services / Youth, Education, & Human Rights

  • Resolution requesting City and State elected officials provide more financial support for NYC Health + Hospitals

  • Resolution in support of the Treatment Court Expansion Act to expand access to treatment for court-involved individuals

• Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing

  • Planning Fellow assigned to the committee is working on a policy analysis of affordable housing opportunities for CB3 under the City of Yes zoning changes

• Landmarks

  • Resolution to support landmarks designation for the Church of St. Mary