New York, NY - April 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- “The first three of nine bills before me today relate to our Administration’s continued response to Hurricane Sandy and our efforts to protect New Yorkers and get businesses affected by Sandy back on their feet.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - April 2, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has posted another record-breaking year, ranking first on Thomson Reuters list of multi-family bond issuers and third in Affordable Housing Finance Magazine’s annual ranking of affordable housing lenders. From January through December 2012, the Corporation issued $1.065 billion in bonds and provided more than $1.8 billion in financing that was raised from the sale of bonds and the provision of other corporate subsidies. Over the course of the year, HDC financed the construction and/or preservation of 11,400 apartments

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will institute a program that provides temporary rental payments to landlords in order to help families displaced after Superstorm Sandy. The Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) was put forward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and will provide eligible Sandy victims with a longer-term housing option through the provision of a temporary voucher.

New York, NY - March 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Housing Committee Chair Keith L.T. Wright announced today that initiatives included in the 2013-2014 Budget agreement would increase affordable housing options for working families and seniors by financing $1 billion over five years. The spending plan directs $5.8 million to maintain the Tenant Protection Unit and $62 million for housing and community renewal programs

New York, NY - March 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fourteen building trades contractors participating in the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® program have received awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for “outstanding contributions to energy efficiency” during 2012

NEW YORK, NY - March 29, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- To assist families who are still struggling to locate housing after being displaced by Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today they will reinstitute the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), a unique rental assistance program that provides temporary rental payments directly to landlords to help families displaced by disasters. DHAP-Sandy will help families find intermediate housing as they rebuild their lives

ALBANY - March 27, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York Department of State will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, April 3, 10:30 a.m. at 99 Washington Avenue in Albany, 65 Court Street in Buffalo, and 123 William Street in NYC. The Department’s Division of Licensing Services issues licenses to persons who conduct appraisals on real estate, and the Board of Real Estate Appraisal assists the Department in adopting rules and regulations relating to this discipline.

Bronx, N.Y.- March 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua today announced the latest City-subsidized affordable housing development to offer preference to income-eligible New Yorkers displaced from their homes by Hurricane Sandy. Twenty-five percent of the units in East Clarke Place Court now being marketed in the Highbridge section of the Bronx will be subject to the Sandy preference. All units are subject to a lottery managed by the developer and overseen by HPD and the City’s Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

New York, NY - March 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand today announced over $54 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s (NYCDEP) Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) pilot program. As a result of Superstorm Sandy, the City of New York implemented a Rapid Repair Program that initiates certain emergency protective measures to allow damaged homes to be utilized as shelters by restoring electric service, heat, and hot water. New York City paid for the program, and these funds represent a reimbursement, ensuring that local tax payers don’t have to pay for the entire bill

New York, NY - March 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens & Brooklyn) joined with administrators, senior citizens and local elected officials at the Stein Senior Center in Manhattan to hail the allocation by the New York City Department for the Aging of $752,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding to support the rehabilitation of the Center’s new home, which is located in the Uniformed Firefighters Association’s headquarters building at 204 East 23rd Street in Manhattan. The Center is celebrating its Grand Opening at its new space this evening

New York - March 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations Brad Gair, Director of Rapid Repairs Kathryn Mallon and FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Michael Byrne today announced NYC Rapid Repairs has completed work on more than 99 percent of homes, helping more than 20,000 families – and approximately 54,000 people – return to their homes in communities hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.

Hauppauge, NY - March 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On March 19th, the Suffolk County Legislature approved $1.7 million in funding for infrastructure improvements to support the development of affordable rental housing in the hamlet of Wyandanch. This housing project is part of a comprehensive plan, Wyandanch Rising, to revitalize one of the most economically distressed communities in Suffolk County.

Albany, NY - March 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at the request of the State of New York, has approved a 21-day extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program, which allows eligible survivors from Superstorm Sandy who cannot return to their homes to stay in participating hotels or motels

Washington, DC - March 20, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Congressmen Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) and Steve Israel (D-NY-03), along with 19 bipartisan Members of Congress, called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to include co-op and condo owners among those eligible for disaster aid. Presently, co-ops and condos are only eligible to receive loans and not grants because they are classified as “business associations” under FEMA assistance eligibility rules. Especially in light of the damage from Hurricane Sandy, co-ops and condos are in desperate need of the same vital assistance that other homeowners are eligible to receive.

New York, NY - March 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today reported that the number of New York ENERGY STAR® Certified Homes increased by 10 percent in 2012 over 2011, despite housing starts nationwide remaining at historically low levels.

NEW YORK, NY - March 15, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Disaster assistance to New York survivors of Hurricane Sandy:

New York, NY - March 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of RICKEY SMITH, 42, for stealing more than $250,000 from the low-income Housing Development Fund Corporation (“HDFC”) cooperative, where he was previously employed as the Property Manager. The defendant is charged in the New York State Supreme Court with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and three counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree

New York, NY - March 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the City Council will vote on legislation to create additional criminal and civil penalties for those who commit crimes against vulnerable New Yorkers during a local state of emergency. Reports of crime following recent Hurricanes Irene and Sandy show that some people used these emergencies as opportunities to damage or steal property and to injure individuals, both physically and financially, in mandatory evacuation zones. The legislation recognizes that crimes of opportunity committed during times of emergency are different, more serious and must be treated as such

Washington, DC - March 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- At a hearing today on water infrastructure financing, Congressman José E. Serrano questioned the Environmental Protection Agency on their plans for Hurricane Sandy restoration. The Deputy Assistant Administrator at the Office of Water, Mike Shapiro, laid out the variety of ways that the EPA is contributing to the rebuilding effort and how they are ensuring the reconstruction does not just rebuild the same vulnerable infrastructure again.

New York, NY - March 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- After several discussions on the potential future of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum with the Forest City Ratner team that designed the business model for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano today announced that he is seeking requests for proposals from throughout the real estate community that would reinvent the aging facility as a new and strong economic anchor for the Hub.

New York, NY - March 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a leading mortgage lender for multi-family affordable housing, today announced that it has secured $250 million in financing from Citi for the construction, rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing in New York. The capital will help finance the creation or preservation of nearly 6,000 units of much-needed low- and moderate-income housing throughout New York State, including the construction of approximately 3,000 affordable apartments in New York City.

New York, NY - March 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Senate today passed legislation sponsored by Senator George D. Maziarz (R-C, Newfane) that would help encourage the installation of renewable energy technologies by making them more cost efficient and accessible.

Albany, NY - March 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the official opening of Shiloh Senior Apartments in New Rochelle. The 40-unit development provides quality, energy-efficient, affordable apartments for senior citizens. New York State invested $10 million in tax credits, bonds, and grants for the project through the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City of New Rochelle, Westhab, Inc. and Shiloh Community Development Corporation to create a model of affordability, sustainability, and collaboration.

Albany, NY - March 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today submitted New York State's proposal for housing and business recovery programs to help New Yorkers devastated by Superstorm Sandy, as well as Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. These programs will provide billions of dollars in direct aid to individuals, homeowners, and small businesses using funding from the $60 billion Sandy Aid approved by Congress and signed in to law by President Obama in January. The State designed the diverse array of programs to specifically target federal aid to New Yorkers most in need and ensure the affected communities, and the entire region, builds back smarter and stronger than before

NEW YORK, NY - March 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Disaster assistance to New York survivors of Hurricane Sandy. $2.8 billionin direct assistance to homeowners, renters, businesses and repair or replacement of public infrastructure