New York RealEstateRama

NEW YORK, NY - May 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The board of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) today approved a commitment to insure a $14.25 million mortgage for a 132-unit rental housing development in the Town of Halfmoon, Saratoga County.

NEW YORK, NY - May 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The board of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) today approved a $300,000 grant to Cayuga County Homsite Development Corporation to finance home improvements for 50 homes in the City of Auburn in Cayuga County.

NEW YORK, NY - May 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The board of the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) today approved two grants totaling $600,000 to renovate 125 homes in the City of Rochester.

NEW YORK, NY - May 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — As the global recession continues to affect the retail industry, average asking rents for retail space in Manhattan had the first meaningful decline since 9/11, dropping 11 percent since fall 2008 to $115 per square foot, according to the REBNY Spring Retail Report released today.

Albany, NY - May 6, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Governor David A. Paterson today announced the availability of $35 million in Downstate Regional Blueprint Fund grants to finance business investment, infrastructure upgrades and downtown redevelopment that will advance New York’s economic vitality.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 5, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer unveiled new legislation that would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Treasury Department to draw up a plan to ensure major affordable housing complexes in New York City and across the country do not default on their mortgages and send those properties into a state of total disrepair. More than 60,000 units in New York City are now in buildings in danger of foreclosure.

New York, NY - May 4, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Port Authority today released a report detailing the progress it has made through the first quarter of 2009 to achieve rebuilding milestones at the World Trade Center site and looking ahead to milestones for the second quarter.

Syracuse, NY - April 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The construction of new housing on the near East Side has officially begun, as Housing Visions breaks ground on its 28 unit housing development. Loguen Homes is a continuation of the revitalization efforts undertaken by Housing Visions.

New York, NY - May 3, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced community development projects and programs that will benefit from more than $48 million of federal stimulus funding received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed by President Obama in February.

New York, NY - May 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The New York State Banking Department today issued a legal opinion stating that New York lenders are able to participate in the federal Hope for Homeowners program.

Albany, NY - April 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced today that the Low-Income Forum on Energy (LIFE) will hold a series of meetings across the State to help address the challenges and opportunities facing low-income families as they seek affordable energy in the wake of the downturn in the economy.

New York, NY - April 28, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — CPower (www.cpowered.com), a leading energy management firm, today announced the closing of its Series B round of financing. This $10.68 million investment was led by a new investor in the company, Mayfield Fund, as well as returning investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Expansion Capital Partners, Schneider Electric Ventures, New York City Investment Fund and Consensus Business Group.

New York, NY - May 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York welcomes today’s implementation of the Treasury Market Practices Group’s (TMPG) recommendation that settlement fails in U.S. Treasury securities transactions be subject to a financial charge when short-term rates are low.

Hauppauge , NY - April 29, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Seeking to ease the transition for returning veterans who have served honorably in the Middle East, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy announced passage of legislation he drafted which provides a preference for returning veterans in the county’s 72-h affordable housing program.

Albany, NY - April 28, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — State Senator Joe Robach announced today that he has created an online petition on his State Senate website for citizens to register their support for reinstating the STAR Rebate Check Program.

With home builders convening at their annual trade show this week, news of the state mandate that fire sprinklers must be included into any new home built beginning in 2012 was met with concern by many in attendance.

Albany, NY - April 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assembly Housing Committee Chair Vito J. Lopez and Assembly Mitchell-Lama Housing Subcommittee Chair Jonathan L. Bing today announced the passage of a legislative package to preserve thousands of affordable apartments units by strengthening the Mitchell-Lama program.

New York, N.Y. - April 22, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The New York State Banking Department and RealtyTrac® released New York county-level foreclosure statistics for the first quarter ending March 31, 2009. According to RealtyTrac there were foreclosure filings on 11,017 properties in New York during the first quarter, representing a 23% decrease compared to the first quarter of last year and a 32% increase over the previous quarter.

New York, NY - April 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark and Acting Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Steven Lawitts today...

NEW YORK, NY - April 7, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Apr. 7, 2009: The average sales price of a home in New York City (which includes cooperatives, condominiums and one-to-three-family dwellings) declined 23 percent to $660,000 in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same time last year, according to a report released today by ResidentialNYC.com, the real estate listings web site of The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).

NEW YORK, NY - April 07, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — The Empire State Building is “going green,” profitably. Today Jones Lang LaSalle and its program partners unveiled a landmark energy sustainability program for the iconic property that will reduce the Empire State Building’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 38 percent. Once completed, the building is expected to achieve an ENERGY STAR score of 90, placing it in the top 10 percent of efficiency for Class A buildings, a major feat for a pre-war property. In addition, the Empire State Building will pursue LEED Gold building certification.

Albany, NY - April 1, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Ways and Means Committee Chair Herman D. Farrell, Jr. today announced that the SFY 2009-2010 budget includes $502 million for the Public Housing Capital Fund to rehabilitate, modernize and develop public housing as well as $141 million for the Homelessness Prevention Program to fund homelessness prevention services on a county-by-county and statewide basis.Silver and Farrell said the state budget restores $48.5 million in critical funds to programs that help community-based organizations preserve and restore housing in depressed areas.

New York, NY - March 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Today on Public Advocate's Corner, Betsy Gotbaum called on the city to take immediate action on a stretch of abandoned railroad tracks that has turned into a swamp in the South Bronx.

New York, NY - March 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg commended the New York City Council today for its approval of the City’s development plans at Hunters Point South and Willets Point in Queens.

Albany, NY - March 20, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Statement from New York State Association of REALTORS President Daniel J. Hartnett: The New York State Association of REALTORS and its more than 56,000 members strongly oppose any increase to the personal income tax (PIT) and urge lawmakers to make the difficult, yet necessary, decision to cut costs to balance the state’s budget, instead of continuing an overreliance on taxing the residents of this state.