New York, NY - July 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released Below the Line: Estimates of Negative Equity among Nonprime Mortgage Borrowers, a new forthcoming article in the Bank’s Economic Policy Review series. more »

Syracuse, NY - July 2, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced an award of $1.5 million to the Center for Clean Tech Entrepreneurship at the Tech Garden to establish a clean energy business incubator program that will provide business support to accelerate the successful development of early-stage, clean energy technology companies in Central Upstate New York.  Through this award and other ongoing efforts, NYSERDA is building the capacity to foster innovative clean energy companies, grow the clean energy industry in New York, and expand the State’s “green collar” workforce. more »

New Projects Will Help Improve Access to Quality Affordable Housing, Particularly for Senior Citizens and Disabled New Yorkers

Albany, NY - July 2, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) – Governor David A. Paterson and Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins today announced the awarding of funds for critical affordable housing initiatives in Westchester County, including those for senior citizens and disabled New Yorkers. These projects include the construction of a new 49-unit affordable housing complex for senior citizens in the City of Yonkers, as well as grants to two community groups to help improve the quality of existing housing. more »

Project is Part of the Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan Designed to PutNew York City on a Path to Economic Recovery and Growth

New York, NY - June 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Board of the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) has approved a sales and real estate tax incentive package that will help Boundary Fence & Railing Systems Inc. to expand its operations in Richmond Hills, Queens. The company plans to invest approximately $4 million dollars in the expansion project, which will result in a return to City of about $7.5 million over 25 years. The company has leased the property from New York City Economic Development Corporation for 25 years. Boundary received preliminary approval from NYCIDA for up to $1.4 million in sales and real estate tax benefits. Located in the South Jamaica Empire Zone, the company also qualifies for $425,235 in Empire Zone Wage Tax credits. It has decided to remain in New York City despite identifying properties in New Jersey that would be cheaper to acquire and operate. Boundary Fence and Railings employs 64 employees and expects to hire four more in the next three years. more »

UNIONDALE, NY - June 29, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - Joined by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, and Islanders owner Charles Wang, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced his support for the Lighthouse redevelopment project and said that he will push to secure federal transportation funding to upgrade and expand the transportation infrastructure essential for the project’s success. The purpose of the Lighthouse project is to transform the Nassau Coliseum, the surrounding parking lot and ancillary properties into a state-of-the-art sports-residential-commercial-and-entertainment complex that will host the New York Islanders and NY Dragons and a mixed-use “smart growth” community that supplies housing, retail, office, hotel and restaurant buildings while encouraging eco-friendly and energy efficient transportation and living accommodations. more »

New York, NY - June 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber and New York Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky (NYCEDC) today announced the grand opening of the first phase of the Mount Hope Community Center located at 55 Townsend Avenue in the Bronx. The $16 million community center was designed as a sustainable project to serve residents of the Mount Hope section of the Bronx and provide facilities for numerous community-based programs, including youth services, employment services, financial literacy, vocational training and asset building programs. Funded in part by the Bronx Initiative for Energy and Environment and the Bronx Borough President, the project incorporates green building design, enabling participants to use its facilities in an abundance of natural light surrounded by ample green spaces. With the assistance of NYCEDC, the project was one of the first to obtain New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) assistance. About $10 million for the project was provided from city capital funds. A portion of the $10 million in city capital funds was used to leverage $4.2 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing. more »

NEW YORK, NY - June 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) – Today the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and West Harlem Group Assistance, Inc. (WHGA), a 39-year-old Community Development Corporation celebrated the completed renovation and reopening of the Mannie L. Wilson Towers Senior Residence, located at 565 Manhattan in Avenue. The complex is named for the Reverend Mannie L. Wilson, the pastor of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem and a former president of the Council of Churches of the City of New York, who died in 1982 at the age of 76. more »

Precedent-Setting Partnerships with State Agencies Represent a Model for Integrating People with Disabilities into Affordable Housing in New York State

New York, NY - June 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen of the NYS  Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), Priscilla Almodovar, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYS Housing Finance Agency (HFA), Michael Newman, Director, Bureau of Housing Development, OMH, Gloribel M. Cruz, Vice President, Affordable Housing Finance, HSBC Bank USA, N.A.,  Bill Traylor, President, Richman Housing Resources, LLC and Diane Louard-Michel, Director, NY Program, Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), joined Community Access and its partner, Alembic Development Company to break ground on a $37 million project that will create 105 units of affordable housing on Cedar Avenue, in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. more »

New York, NY - June 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. submitted testimony today to the City Council’s General Welfare Committee regarding the Department of Homeless Services’ Family Income Contribution Requirement and Client Conduct and Responsibility Procedure, which was designed to charge homeless New Yorkers rent to stay in City shelters. more »

New York, NY - June 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking development for an approximately 100,000-square-foot site in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. NYCEDC is looking for a developer to acquire and redevelop the site for industrial uses. The site is comprised of two adjacent City-owned lots at 535-537 Zerega Avenue. The site is part of the James J. Lyons Urban Renewal Plan, the Zerega Industrial Business Zone and the Hunts Point Empire Zone. Currently, there is a GreenThumb Community Garden on the site which will be relocated. more »

Albany, NY - June 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) – The New York State housing market posted sales gains for the third consecutive month with an 11-percent increase in closed sales of existing single-family homes in May compared to April, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of REALTORS. more »

Washington, DC - June 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) – Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced that the Kings County Mortgage Fraud and Real Estate Crimes Unit has led to the indictment of eight individuals and the opening of more than 80 cases. One such case involves Thomas Prusik-Parkin, the man accused of impersonating his deceased mother to collect Social Security benefits and rent subsidies. In March, Schumer announced that the Brooklyn DA’s office had been awarded $875,000 for the creation of a Mortgage Fraud and Real Estate Crimes Unit through the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act. The new Unit addresses the recent flood of mortgage fraud cases across Brooklyn that is plaguing homeowners in the borough. In the past several years, local politicians, homeowner advocacy groups, attorneys, state agencies, and homeowners have complained of having nowhere to turn to report mortgage and deed fraud. Officials receiving the complaints have also voiced frustration over having no office to report to that specifically investigates mortgage scams. The creation of the District Attorney’s Mortgage Fraud and Real Estate Crimes Unit has resolved these issues by employing 10 staffers who focus exclusively on real estate crimes that plague the borough and prosecute scammers for their crimes. more »

Albany, NY - June 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - Commissioner VanAmerongen was on hand recently to celebrate the groundbreaking of Canal Village Apartments in the City of Rome. The development of eleven buildings with 33 affordable housing units is the first step of a major revitalization effort of the South Rome neighborhood. more »

Columbia, MD - June 17, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) - Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. commends Governor David A. Paterson for appointing and the New York State Senate for confirming on June 3, 2009 Naomi Bayer to the Board of Directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA). SONYMA is well served to have as a board director someone with Bayer’s expertise in the housing, mortgage, and community development fields. Created in 1970 to help low- and moderate-income families become homeowners, SONYMA offers a variety of low down payment mortgages that provide below-market fixed interest rates, as well as closing cost assistance through a network of participating lenders across the state. more »

New York, NY - June 18, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) today reported that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.10 per share of common stock for the quarter ending June 30, 2009. The dividend is payable on July 15, 2009 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 30, 2009. more »