New York RealEstateRama

The New York State Department of Financial Services has directed New York banks to comply with New York's abandoned property law -- a statute that helps ensure consumers and businesses receive old, unclaimed account funds. NYDFS has identified several recent public notices issued by banks regarding unclaimed account funds that are confusing or non-compliant with the law -- such as newspaper notices of unclaimed accounts that are organized alphabetically by first, rather than last name

Combining the cumulative expertise they have garnered through decades in the residential and commercial real estate industries, respectively, real estate powerhouses Esther Muller and Faith Hope Consolo have formed a strategic alliance to help business newcomers and seasoned veterans take their success to the next level. Together, Muller and Consolo are booking information-packed business-building sessions through the Academy for Coaching and Training (ACT), including speaking engagements, as well as individual mentoring sessions, tailored to the needs of attendees.

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement that requires Evans Bank, N.A. and Evans Bancorp, Inc. (together, “Evans”) to end unlawful discriminatory mortgage practices, known as “redlining.” The practices denied access to mortgage loans to borrowers in predominantly African-American neighborhoods in the city of Buffalo because of the racial composition of those communities.

Tenants at 90 Elizabeth Street today filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Housing Court against their landlord, James Fong, who has taken actions that have made their lives intolerable in an effort to force them to surrender their tenancy rights. (Above, Legal Services NYC Manhattan program client Betty Eng shows off a pipe that was ripped from her bathroom by building workers.)

landmarks legislation NEW YORK – Yesterday, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer offered testimony (PDF) at a hearing of the New York City Council Land Use Committee, raising her deep concerns about the current version of Int. 775. In its current form, the legislation sets up hard deadlines for the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s consideration of items on its calendar, and would ban any and all items not designated within the set time frame from reconsideration for at least five years, regardless of whether a decision was made on the item’s merits. Borough President Brewer issued the following statement after the hearing: “As I testified yesterday, I think Land Use Chairman Greenfield, Landmarks Chairman Koo, and I share a common goal – property owners, residents, and preservationists alike all deserve a more transparent and predictable landmarking process, with real timelines. That said, the current draft of this bill does more harm than good. “I’m encouraged that Chairmen Greenfield and Koo indicated their willingness today to listen and consider changes to the bill. I think we can accomplish our common goal of a better landmarking process without undermining the work of the Landmarks Preservation Commission or dramatically weakening the Landmarks Law. With the input and help of all stakeholders, including real estate, community boards, and our city’s passionate and sophisticated preservation advocates, I think we can come up with effective reforms that make sense. “I offer my thanks and congratulations to the many preservation groups who mobilized to raise concerns about this legislation and made their presence felt at yesterday's hearing, including the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the Historic Districts Council, Landmarks West!, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, and Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. In addition, I thank my fellow elected colleagues who submitted testimony, including Assemblymembers Richard Gottfried, Deborah Glick, and Jo Anne Simon.” Brewer identified three key problems in Int. 775 that a good compromise would need to address. These are: • Five-year ban on reconsideration of items. The current draft of Int. 775 would tie the agency’s hands in an unprecedented manner by banning for five years the reconsideration of any individual landmarking item that does not receive a landmark designation within the timeline set by the bill (up to a year for individual landmarks and up to two years for proposed historic districts). • Inflexible, impractically short timelines. The 1- and 2-year time frames are too short to allow for the additional research and negotiation that often are part of finalizing more complex items. Under the framework in the current version of Int. 775, more than a quarter of the city’s historic districts would not have been created, including Mott Haven in the Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, Hamilton Heights and Mount Morris Park in Manhattan, and Jackson Heights in Queens. • Forcing LPC to clear its entire existing calendar within 18 months. This provision of the bill includes no requirements for public hearings or any public process, and it too applies a five-year ban on reconsideration for any item that is not designated within the time limit. This would interfere with the execution of LPC’s already-announced plan for clearing its backlog, and it virtually guarantees a large number of calendared items would not be considered in a public or transparent manner.

New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer wrote an op-ed published today in the New York Daily Newson steps the City can take to help alleviate the homeless crisis in our City. Some of the main points from the op-ed are highlighted below

Standing on Post Avenue in Rochester, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today launched his push to fight steep funding cuts that have been proposed in the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill that would negatively impact Rochester and Finger Lakes Region communities. Schumer explained that this cut would effectively decimate critical funding that Rochester relies on for home rehabilitation and ownership programs, neighborhood revitalization efforts and more. Schumer explained that the FY 2016 THUD bill, which was passed out of the Appropriations Committee

LSNYC is gratified that the New York City Council and Mayor de Blasio have given New York City tenants new protections against aggressive "buy-out" practices used to force tenants out of their homes

Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) today filed a lawsuit against the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) on behalf of two tenants who speak little to no English, and for whom NYCHA refused to provide interpretation and translation services as required under federal and city law, as well as under NYCHA’s own policies.

Westwood Financial Corp. (WFC), one of the largest privately held owner-operators of grocery-anchored retail properties in the United States, has announced the opening of Dollar Tree at its Albion Shopping Center. Located in the Albion Village of western New York, this location marks the sixth Dollar Tree to open at a WFC-owned center

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein announces that the Mount Marion Bridge also known as the “3 RRR’s Bridge,” a critical thoroughfare over the Plattekill Creek at the Saugerties/Ulster border, has been reconstructed and is now open for all motorists to safely travel.

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in partnership with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) today announced the release of a Housing New York Request for Proposals (RFP) to create a mixed-use development that contributes to the overall vibrancy of the dynamic Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. This RFP will help meet the City’s goal to build or preserve 200,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years.

Hunt Mortgage Group, a commercial real estate lender, announced today that it has provided a $6.75 million loan, through the Freddie Mac Co-Op program, to refinance a multifamily property located in Flushing, New York

Governor Cuomo announced that he is deploying trained personnel from the Department of Financial Services to Johnstown and Ilion to continue offering foreclosure prevention assistance to financially struggling homeowners in the Mohawk Valley. The deployment will also provide information and guidance to student borrowers facing difficulties in repaying student loans.

The Tenant Rights Campaign, a joint initiative of Legal Services NYC and The Legal Aid Society, working in collaboration with New York Communities for Change, today launched an anti-displacement initiative in East New York and Brownsville. (Above: Residents of 650 New Jersey Avenue gather before this morning's press conference).

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by Commissioner James S. Rubin of New York State Homes and Community Renewal and Commissioner Vicki Been of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development, today announced that notices have been sent to 194 building owners who accepted lucrative tax breaks under the state’s “421-a” program without fulfilling the law’s rent-regulation requirements. The building owners who received notifications provide housing to more than 2,400 families and individuals in New York City who are entitled to rent-regulated leases under the law.

Today, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz was joined by Erie County Legislator Peter Savage (3rd District), Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Anthony Caruana, Mayor of the City of Tonawanda Rick Davis, elected officials, representatives of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (“NFTA”) and New York State Department of Transportation (“NYSDOT”), and residents to review the Tonawanda Rails to Trails Project, a 4-mile long connecting trail that runs from Kenmore Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda to State Street in the City of Tonawanda.

Members of the Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) senior management team joined Governor Andrew M. Cuomo at his Capital for a Day in the Mohawk Valley recently to demonstrate the agency's commitment to New Yorkers in the region through its various revitalization programs. The day featured a walking tour of the Cornhill community in Utica, a neighborhood that is undergoing revitalization, and a roundtable discussion in the City of Amsterdam on housing and community revitalization needs and priorities

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a federal grant of $3,365,733 in Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration funding and $325,000 in Healthy Homes supplemental funding for the City of Rochester. This critical funding will provide necessary resources to spur collaboration between the Rochester Housing Authority and the Monroe County Department of Health to prevent lead poisoning accidents. With this funding the City of Rochester will now be able to address lead hazards

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a federal grant of $2,217,833 in Lead Hazard Control funding for Chautauqua County to address lead hazards in 150 housing units. This critical funding will provide necessary resources to spur collaboration between Chautauqua County and local organizations, including the Jamestown and Dunkirk Housing Authorities, in order toreduce the number of lead-poisoned children and protect families by targeting health hazards in homes with significant lead and other home health and safety hazards.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced today that Verizon will, in response to local concerns regarding a long-abandoned building in the Village of Camillus, level and clean up the property that has become a community eye-sore for the last 20 years. Last week, Schumer visited the Village and urged Verizon to be a good neighbor and clean up this site so it is no longer an eye sore or can one day be used for other purposes

Members of the Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) senior management team joined Governor Andrew M. Cuomo at his Capital for a Day in the Mohawk Valley recently to demonstrate the agency's commitment to New Yorkers in the region through its various revitalization programs. The day featured a walking tour of the Cornhill community in Utica, a neighborhood that is undergoing revitalization, and a roundtable discussion in the City of Amsterdam on housing and community revitalization needs and priorities

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $6 million dollar settlement with Empire State Home Care Services, Inc. (Empire), a home care agency operating out of Brooklyn, NY. The settlement resolves claims that Empire improperly reported its home health aide hours as well as administrative and general expenses on cost reports filed between 2002 and 2005. These cost reports were used to set the reimbursement rates that Empire received from the state for the years 2004 through 2007 and resulted in over $3 million in reimbursements to which Empire was not entitled

Current Senate Bill Slashes HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) Funding By More Than 90% From Fiscal Year 2015 Levels – Effectively Decimating Critical Funding Streams For Capital Region

Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Queens officials, the Arker Companies today to break ground at the Beach Channel Senior Apartments in Far Rockaway, Queens. When completed in 2017, the seven-story, mixed-use development will be 100 percent affordable, providing apartments for 154 low-income seniors, including 46 for formerly homeless seniors.