New York RealEstateRama

Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein (D-Westchester/Bronx) and State Senator Tony Avella (D-Queens) on Monday joined leaders from New York’s senior organizations across the state, to launch the IDC Seniors First Initiative.

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced over $4.8 million in federal FEMA funding for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) for repairs to electrical substation G in Building #386 and Dry Dock No. 1/Caisson Gate and Pump Well No. 124 at the Brooklyn Navy Industrial Park damaged as a direct result Superstorm Sandy. The funding was allocated by the Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through two grants, $3,122,543.70 for the electrical substation repairs and $1,764,921.60 for dock renovations.

The New York Department of State will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 11:30 a.m., regarding the profession of real estate salespersons and brokers. The meeting will take place at the following office locations: 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, 65 Court Street, Buffalo; and, 123 William Street, New York City. The public has the right to attend the meeting at any of these locations.

The New York Power Authority has begun a lighting upgrade project at the New York State Museum in Albany that is expected to save more than $160,000 in annual energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 900 tons a year, the equivalent of taking 190 cars off the road.

Tom Reed was joined this afternoon by the superintendents of the Gowanda, Lake Shore, Salamanca and Silver Creek school districts to announce that those four districts will collectively receive more than $6 million in Federal Impact Aid in 2016. Impact Aid compensates local schools for “substantial and continuing financial burden” resulting from federal activities such as when Native American populations and activities adversely impact the local tax base. This is why aid is available to these school districts.

A non-profit provider of supportive housing for the City’s Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) overbilled the agency by $1 million according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. DOHMH’s weak oversight of the Center for Urban and Community Services (CUCS) made the overpayments possible and raises concerns about potential overpayments to other vendors

With a housing affordability crisis that includes thousands of New Yorkers sleeping in shelters, an audit released by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer revealed that New York City owns over 1,100 vacant properties that could be used to site thousands of units of affordable housing.

The Mechanical Contractors Association (MCA) and Steamfitters Local 638 members, who install the fire suppression systems that have helped make New York City the safest big city in America, laud the near-record low in fire fatalities last year. In 2015, the FDNY responded to a record 1.7 million calls, yet reported just 59 fire fatalities—the second lowest number since the city began record keeping a century ago

With a housing affordability crisis that includes thousands of New Yorkers sleeping in shelters, an audit released by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer revealed that New York City owns over 1,100 vacant properties that could be used to site thousands of units of affordable housing.

Building service workers union 32BJ SEIU said today that 24 contracted cleaners at WeWork who fought to improve their jobs last year returned to the co-working start-up’s offices in New York this week for their first days of work with a new contractor.

U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has agreed to extend the Interim Mortgage Assistance (IMA) Program beyond 20 months to a total of up to 36 months for victims of superstorm Sandy in the State of New York who are still displaced. The IMA Program provides up to $3,000 a month to displaced homeowners who are making monthly mortgage payments on a damaged primary home while also paying for temporary housing

The New York Department of State today announced four Local Government Citizens Reorganization Empowerment Grant (CREG) awards to implement dissolutions as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s plans to make New York State more affordable and provide much needed relief to taxpayers. Grants were awarded to the Village of Herrings in Jefferson County to develop a Dissolution Plan, to the Town of Trenton in Oneida County to implement the dissolution of the Village of Prospect, and to the Town and Village of Hermon in St. Lawrence County to implement dissolution of the Village of Hermon.

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) today announced that it is requiring New York City to take a series of actions to ensure the safety of residents in the New York City shelter system. These requirements follow the stabbings of a mother and her three daughters earlier today at an emergency shelter under New York City’s jurisdiction.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, on behalf of the states of New York, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, the District of Columbia, the cities of New York, Boulder, Chicago, Philadelphia, South Miami and Broward County, Florida, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the United States Supreme Court to temporarily stay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan

Huntley Generating Station Plant Has Been An Economic Anchor in Tonawanda For Years, But Decreased Demand & Increased Coal Costs Have Slashed The Plant’s Output – The Town Has Lost Nearly 50% Of The Plant’s Tax Revenue, Forcing Tonawanda To Consider Cuts to Services & Threatening Further School Closings in Ken-Ton School District; NRG Recently Submitted a Plan to Fully Retire the Plant as of March 2016

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced UrbanTech NYC, a comprehensive program to help entrepreneurs and innovators address New York City’s most pressing urban challenges in sectors such as energy, waste, transportation, agriculture and water. In partnership with New Lab and Grand Central Tech, NYCEDC has committed up to $7.2 million to create two Urban Technology Growth Hubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, which will open in the summer of 2016.

A state agency’s failure to adequately monitor and inspect homeless shelters allowed violations and squalid living conditions to go unchecked, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

On Wednesday, following news of a tragic stabbing of a mother and three children being sheltered at a Ramada Inn on Staten Island, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer called on the Administration to conduct an immediate and thorough review of the safety and conditions of every commercial hotel being used to house homeless families throughout all five boroughs

Household debt increased moderately and repayment rates improved during the last three months of 2015, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The $51 billion increase put total household indebtedness at $12.12 trillion as of the end of last year. Additionally, only 5.4 percent of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, the lowest rate since the second quarter of 2007.

On Wednesday, following news of a tragic stabbing of a mother and three children being sheltered at a Ramada Inn on Staten Island, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer called on the Administration to conduct an immediate and thorough review of the safety and conditions of every commercial hotel being used to house homeless families throughout all five boroughs.

Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) today reacted to President Barack Obama’s final budget request of his administration with praise for support of several priorities rarely in the national discussion – but also with disappointment and urgency for Obama to press Congress for higher, more ambitious and realistic funding levels for our nation’s failing water infrastructure.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced a $470 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Stephen G. Burns to immediately order an investigation to determine the extent of possible ground water contamination and prevent future water contamination. According to the NRC, the water leakage was the result of a non-functional water pump at Indian Point. Schumer said, part of the investigation should be to determine why the pump failed.

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) issued the following statement after reports that radioactive tritium-contaminated water leaked into the groundwater at Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan.

New York Power Authority President and CEO Gil C. Quiniones today unveiled an economic development report that could create as many as 1,900 new jobs and up to $190 million in new economic activity by 2020 in St. Lawrence County. The report details an aggressive plan to diversify the county economy by focusing and investing in agriculture, advance manufacturing, small businesses and tourism to reverse decades of economic decline.