New York RealEstateRama

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 15, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons and North Fork held its Annual Meeting at the legendary John Drew Theater at Guild Hall in East Hampton. Terra Holdings Co-Chairman William Lie Zeckendorf and Christie's International Real Estate Vice President Kathy Coumou were amongst those making presentations describing the robust year Brown Harris Stevens as well as Christie's real estate affiliates enjoyed in 2012.

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

The Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill Only Required Feds to Pay For 65% Of the Projects, Leaving States & Local Governments On The Hook For Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Without Full Federal Funding, Many of These Projects Likely Wouldn’t Have Been Completed – Cost To Local Governments Would Have Been Too Great Projects Include Higher Dunes, Stronger Beaches, Seawalls, Jetties, Raised Homes and More Along Over 100 Miles of Coasts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of Financial Services, announced that representatives of the Department of Financial Services will be at locations in Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens to help homeowners, renters and business owners with insurance-related issues stemming from damage caused by Storm Sandy

NEW YORK, NY - March 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced today the arrest of a 25-year-old Certified Nurse Aide from Centereach, New York, who shared a humiliating cell phone picture of a resident in his care at the Woodhaven Center of Care in Port Jefferson Station. David Rover is accused of surreptitiously taking a picture with his cell phone of the resident’s genital area covered with feces and texting that picture to a nurse aide student without the patient’s permission and for no legitimate purpose. Rover was charged with two felony counts and faces up to 1 and 1/3 to 4 years imprisonment if convicted.

CHICAGO, IL - March 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York City real estate executive Howard C. Gelbtuch, CRE®, will address an audience of international real estate professionals Tuesday, March 12 at MIPIM, the world's largest real estate conference, held annually in Cannes, France

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

NEW YORK - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest and arraignment of Mohammad T. Riaz, the owner of Applied Construction Inc., and two of his employees for failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages to his workers. Hired to complete a restoration project in the Bronx financed and overseen by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Riaz and his two employees on the project are charged with scheming to avoid prevailing wage laws by underpaying workers with cash payments, failing to provide supplemental benefits to workers and directing some workers to return portions of their wages. They face felony grand larceny charges and up to 15 years in prison

NEW YORK, NY - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Real Estate Board of New York has announced the submissions for the industry’s most coveted commercial honors, the Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards. The awards will be presented on April 23rd at the annual cocktail party of the Sales Brokers Committee at the 101 Club. Nineteen of 2012’s most creative deals -- completed by 37 top notch real estate dealmakers -- are competing for REBNY’s first, second and third place prizes.

MINEOLA - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- At a news conference today in Nassau County, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the results of two key programs aimed at providing New Yorkers the assistance they need to keep their homes. He was joined at the event by two homeowners who received assistance from the programs. Through the Attorney General’s Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), a $60 million initiative to support housing counselors and legal services providers working with homeowners at risk of foreclosure across the State of New York, 688 at-risk homeowners on Long Island received foreclosure counseling and legal representation in the program’s first three months

New York, NY - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will allow Community Development Block Grants Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to help housing cooperative and condominium owners impacted by Superstorm Sandy. Co-op and condominium owners are not currently eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants to cover the cost of repairs to common areas and infrastructure. The move comes after Schumer requested that HUD establish program guidelines to establish eligibility requirements to help co-op and condo homeowners repair damage incurred by Sandy. The funds can be used to repair the common areas in the building, such as lobbies, boilers and elevators.

New York, NY - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Department of Financial Services is initiating a review of practices by banks and mortgage servicers to determine whether homeowners hit hard by Superstorm Sandy and allowed to forgo mortgage payments are now being unfairly burdened by being required to make up all past payments in immediate lump sum repayments. The Department is asking banks to allow more time for homeowners to make back payments and checking if banks have delivered on their promise not to use late payments to start foreclosure proceedings or hurt homeowners’ credit ratings

NEW YORK, NY - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Low-income renters of New York and New Jersey are in greatest need of Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA), according to two new reports released today by Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise), the nation’s leading provider of affordable housing and community development capital and expertise, and New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy. The reports indicate that with low-income households disproportionately impacted by the storm and in need of FEMA assistance, the ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts must allocate resources to meet the needs of people who have limited resources to rebuild their lives

Albany, NY - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Department of Financial Services is initiating a review of practices by banks and mortgage servicers to determine whether homeowners hit hard by Superstorm Sandy and allowed to forgo mortgage payments are now being unfairly burdened by being required to make up all past payments in immediate lump sum repayments. The Department is asking banks to allow more time for homeowners to make back payments and checking if banks have delivered on their promise not to use late payments to start foreclosure proceedings or hurt homeowners’ credit ratings

New York, NY - March 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The State Board of Real Property Tax Services will meet at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 19th, 2013. The meeting will be held in Conference Room A on the second floor of Building 9 on the W.A. Harriman State Campus in Albany.