New York RealEstateRama

U.S. Reps. Joe Crowley (D-NY), Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ted Deutch (D-FL), and Leonard Lance (R-NJ) announced they led 42 bipartisan members in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry expressing strong and ongoing support for the restitution of Jewish communal, private, and heirless property seized across Europe during the Holocaust. They also urged the State Department to continue efforts to address the issue swiftly and in collaboration with the legislative branch

The John Jay College of Criminal Justice expansion project at City University of New York in Manhattan has earned national recognition in the 2015 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel awards program (IDEAS2). In honor of this achievement, members of the project team will be presented with awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) during a ceremony at the building on Thursday, July 9, at 10:30 a.m.

Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Council Member Dan Garodnick (District 4), Council Member Ben Kallos (District 5), New York State Democratic Committee Vice Chair Trudy L. Mason, and representatives from Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright issued a list of the top five challenges that could delay completion of phase 1 of the 2nd Avenue Subway

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today joined representatives from Bank of America and Citi to announce commitments by both companies to finance the construction or rehabilitation of more than 2,300 affordable housing rental units in New York City. The financial commitments, which arise out of the multi-million dollar settlements the Attorney General announced last summer, are aimed at helping New Yorkers that were hardest hit by the 2008 housing crash. Statewide, low-interest lending by the two institutions will create or preserve 3,780 affordable housing rental units.

Federal Economic Development Funding Would Enable Ulster Performing Arts Center To Make Major Renovations To Facilities, Including Adding Public Safety Upgrades & Public Restrooms, Improving Building Energy Efficiency, And Installing A New AC System So Theater Can Stay Open During Summer Months

The New York Power Authority and an Israeli software development firm have been awarded a $900,000 grant to develop a system that can rapidly detect malfunctioning power transformers before they cause larger problems on the electric grid.

Congressman Gregory Meeks released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to preserve the disparate impact standard under the Fair Housing Act. “The Supreme Court’s decision to preserve “disparate impact” is a major victory for civil rights and fair housing defenders who have relied on this instrument for the past four decades to challenge discriminatory housing practices.

Greenpoint Landing Associates and L+M Development Partners, together with New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, Housing, Preservation & Development Commissioner Vicki Been, Housing Development Corporation President Gary Rodney, Department of Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna, and Council Member Stephen Levin today marked the progress of Greenpoint Landing, the mixed-income 22-acre development along the East River set to transform a section of long-underutilized Greenpoint waterfront

Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic Conference Leader, delivered her closing remarks on the Senate floor Thursday. While important legislation was passed, she also touched on the missed opportunities to create more affordable housing, tax relief for working families, mandate relief for local government and increasing the minimum wage to lift more people out of poverty.

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald today announced that construction is underway on a $1.1 million project to rehabilitate the bridge carrying State Route 19 over Sandy Creek in the town of Hamlin, Monroe County. The bridge will be closed to traffic for the construction beginning Monday, July 6.

Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that construction has started on the first phase of the Meadows at Yaphank – a 322-acre walkable, pedestrian-friendly, neighborhood-style development that will include retail shops, restaurants, office space, parks and open space, as well as 850 housing units. The $400 million project, which is located across from Brookhaven National Laboratory in the town of Brookhaven, is expected to create more than 2,600 permanent, full-time jobs at businesses in the development.

Governor Cuomo announced major progress in signature revitalization projects at Verona Beach State Park and Green Lakes State Park. Made possible by a $13 million investment from the NY Parks 2020 initiative, the improvements include the completion of a new bathhouse and pavilions in time for the summer swim season at Verona Beach and ongoing campground upgrades and a renovation of the golf clubhouse at Green Lakes

Plum Island—Home to a Federal Laboratory—Will Soon Be Put Up for Sale & Be Sold to the Highest Bidder, Regardless of the Private Entity’s Plans for the Site; The 840-Acre Property is a Wildlife Sanctuary & Therefore, Development of the Land Could Threaten the Lives of Endangered Species & Environmental Resources on Long Island

The Erie County Department of Real Property Tax Service has announced it will be holding its annual seminar on how to purchase tax foreclosed properties. The seminar, titled “How to Purchase Tax Foreclosed Properties," will be hosted by the Director of Real Property Tax Services, Joseph L. Maciejewski and will offer insight into the foreclosure process as well as the procedure for purchasing these properties at the next tax foreclosure sale.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued the following statement in response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc

The New York State Senate today passed an end-of-session measure that will bring $3.1 billion in new tax relief to property owners, extend the existing property tax cap to deliver additional savings and create new jobs, improve affordable housing statewide, and continue the Senate’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that every child has access to a quality education.

Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that Access to Capital, a free conference and resource expo to help people in the food-and-beverage, fishing, and agriculture industries access capital and grow their businesses, was a resounding success, with numerous Long Island business owners learning about how to expand their companies

Perkins Eastman and affiliate BFJ Planning are proud to announce that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) has awarded the NY Rising to the Top Award for “Best Inclusion of Vulnerable Populations” to the NY Rising Community Reconstruction (NYRCR) Plan for Gravesend and Bensonhurst, which was completed by the Perkins Eastman/BFJ team last January. The award secures $1 million in additional funding to implement community-specific recovery efforts in the two South Brooklyn communities.

An audit released today by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer found that New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) keeps apartments off the rent rolls for an average of 7 years while doing major repairs. A total of 80 apartments have been left vacant for over a decade, and another 161 apartments have been empty for between three and ten years. In addition, while the Authority claims to have 2,342 vacant apartments, the audit made clear that NYCHA’s figures were estimates at best, with some of the units actually occupied by squatters and other City agencies.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the Chair of the Committee on Aging Steven Cymbrowitz announced the passage of several measures to strengthen the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs that preserve affordable housing for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development’s Office Of Healthy Homes And Lead Hazard Control Program Provides Vital Funding To Rid Homes Of Lead Hazards, But House Republicans Have Proposed Slashing $35 Million In Fed Funding For Key Program

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $500,000 in federal funding for the Town of Machias in Cattaraugus County. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal Grant Program and allows the Village of Arcade and Town of Machias to make critical improvements to their wastewater and sewage systems. Specifically, these funds will allow Machias to construct a wastewater collection system around Lime Lake, as well as a transmission line to connect to an existing sewer main near Village of Arcade Wastewater

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $500,000 in federal funding for the Town of Machias in Cattaraugus County. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal Grant Program and allows the Village of Arcade and Town of Machias to make critical improvements to their wastewater and sewage systems. Specifically, these funds will allow Machias to construct a wastewater collection system around Lime Lake, as well as a transmission line to connect to an existing sewer main near Village of Arcade Wastewater Treatment Plant

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced the release of a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for a mixed-income, live/work development on a City-owned site on Spofford Avenue in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. The RFEI represents an exciting opportunity to develop the City’s next creative live/work community in an area that is well served by public transportation and is in walking distance to residential neighborhoods, recreational amenities and cultural institutions.

Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester), together with Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (D-Bronx), Director of Housing and Community Development at the Neighborhood Initiatives Development Corporation Hazel Miura, community activists and nearly 100 Bronx tenants, today called on New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force and the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to investigate Bronx slumlords Martin Scharf and Phillip Goldfarb for the flagrant harassment and unlawful eviction of residents at 3555 Bruckner Boulevard and the Goldfarb Properties in The Bronx.