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NYC Real Estate & Business NYC
September 2024 / NYC Real Estate & Business NYC / NYC Neighborhoods & NYC History / Gotham Buzz.
This section is dedicated to the Real Estate & Business section on Gotham Buzz NYC.
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City of Yes - Sweeping Overhaul of NYC Zoning Laws
How Corrupt is the 'City of Yes' Zoning Legislation?
Proposed Massive Overhaul of Zoning Regulations Strips Power from Local Communities and Neighborhoods & Transfers it to Wealthy & Super Rich International, National & NYC Real Estate Developers & Investors
Updated September 24, 2024 & began February 21, 2024 / NYC Real Estate & Business / City of Yes Special Report Section / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.
The 'City of Yes' - By, for and of, the Billionaire Investors & Real Estate Developers
This section contains the reporting we've been doing on the proposed City of Yes legislation. The City of Yes legislation appears, in essence, to be a major effort by Mayor Adams to have New Yorkers almost completely give up their power vis-a-vis having any kind of say with respect to real estate development in their neighborhoods and communities. The power is transferred to the Mayor's Office & NYC Department of Planning which is controlled by the Mayor, as well as to the billionaires, international investors & wealthy real estate developers - many of whom have contributed generously to the Mayor's election campaigns and legal defense fund, and appear to be continuing to do so. If this doesn't look right, then you're seeing what I'm seeing.
Is Mayor Adams Selling New York Out from Under Our Feet?
The City of Yes legislation seems a complete capitulation to the billionaires and real estate developers interests. In fact they are the ones who put together the 1366 page legislation. Given Mayor Adam's other ethical and legal problems, it is very troublesome that many of the same folks who will benefit significantly from the passing of this legislation, are also major contributors to the Mayor's - and also many City Councilmembers' - re-election bids / campaigns. It's time to pay attention, because this matters and with the election coming up, you can do something about it.
It's an Election Year - Pay Attention to What the NY City Council does
Mayor Adams isn't the only Mayoral candidate taking wealthy real estate developers' and billionaire property investors' cash, which oftentimes contain invisible strings that seem to be used to manipulate what gets done at City Hall ... like the City of Yes legislation appears to be.
Pay attention to whether any of the candidates running this election cycle, have the courage and integrity to call out this legislation for what it appears to be - a sell out of the masses of New Yorkers by their elected representatives - to the wealthy and super rich people who fund their campaigns.
Democracy only works if 'We The People' pay attention to who is who, and what they do, before we vote.
Unfortunately, you're not likely to be informed about this by the TV news teleprompter readers, who recite lullabies, while showing NYPD crime and social media accident videos, instead of reporting the news. Even on their best days, the TV teleprompter readers barely scratch the surface of what's really going on in this city - and on those rare occasions when they do - they seem oblivious to it.
Is the 'City of Yes' the Mayor's [and City Councils?] Quid Pro Quo?
What follows below are the reports we've done to date on the City of Yes - a nearly complete overhaul of New York City's zoning regulations.
More reports to follow, as time and resource allow.
The City of Yes or Planning Mess? Proposed NYC Zoning Changes
City of Yes or Planning Mess? Zoom Conference with City Club NY
Three Presentations [Awaiting a Fourth] About the City of Yes Proposal
April 16, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Last Thursday, April 11, 2024, I attended a Zoom Conference Call hosted by the City Club of NY, wherein four zoning experts presented their assessments of the sweeping zoning changes proposed in Mayor Adams' City of Yes zoning legislation.
The City of Yes zoning proposal is being pushed hard, and it is being pushed fast, by the Adams Administration in tandem and with the strong support of the billionaire class and the real estate development industry. These two groups are supportive of Mayor Adams' proposal because it will free them from the time, expense and hassle of answering to us, the locals ... the people who actually live in the places, where the uber rich and real estate developers want to transact business.
Remember - Democracy Doesn't Work on Auto Pilot
So you'd better pay attention before the people's [aka your] input - into the sorts of structures and activities allowed in their [your] communities - is rolled back sixty years, and possibly far further back. The City of Yes legislation will provide the super wealthy and the real estate developers, from all around the world, with the power to dictate to NYC community neighborhoods what structures they're going to erect, in many cases where, and what sorts of activities will take place on the property - within the very lax parameters embedded into the City of Yes legislation.
We've been tracking this legislation for a couple of months now. First via Alicia Boyd of MTOPP [Movement to Protect the People], a community activist in Brooklyn; then via the Mayor's Office of Ethnic & Community Media [MOECM] via Zoom; then via Community Board Meetings in Sunnyside Queens where the NYC Planning Department presented the City of Yes, followed by a Community Board Six in Manhattan Zoom Conference Call; and most recently with the City Club of NY, whose presentations are being published today.
We are thankful to these people and organizations for investing the time to help do the work of a functioning democracy, which is to engage and inform the people about the decisions being made by those in power on their behalf that - may or may not - be on their interest.
- CLICK here to view the slide show presentations given at the City of Yes or Planning Mess NYC Zoom conference call on April 11, 2024.
City of Yes - Sweeping Overhaul of NYC Zoning Laws
How Corrupt is the 'City of Yes' Zoning Legislation?
Proposed Massive Overhaul of Zoning Regulations Strips Power from Local Communities and Neighborhoods & Transfers it to Wealthy & Super Rich International, National & NYC Real Estate Developers & Investors
Updated September 24, 2024 & began February 21, 2024 / NYC Real Estate & Business / City of Yes Special Report Section / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.
The 'City of Yes' - By, for and of, the Billionaire Investors & Real Estate Developers
This section contains the reporting we've been doing on the proposed City of Yes legislation. The City of Yes legislation appears, in essence, to be a major effort by Mayor Adams to have New Yorkers almost completely give up their power vis-a-vis having any kind of say with respect to real estate development in their neighborhoods and communities. The power is transferred to the Mayor's Office & NYC Department of Planning which is controlled by the Mayor, as well as to the billionaires, international investors & wealthy real estate developers - many of whom have contributed generously to the Mayor's election campaigns and legal defense fund, and appear to be continuing to do so. If this doesn't look right, then you're seeing what I'm seeing.
Is Mayor Adams Selling New York Out from Under Our Feet?
The City of Yes legislation seems a complete capitulation to the billionaires and real estate developers interests. In fact they are the ones who put together the 1366 page legislation. Given Mayor Adam's other ethical and legal problems, it is very troublesome that many of the same folks who will benefit significantly from the passing of this legislation, are also major contributors to the Mayor's - and also many City Councilmembers' - re-election bids / campaigns. It's time to pay attention, because this matters and with the election coming up, you can do something about it.
It's an Election Year - Pay Attention to What the NY City Council does
Mayor Adams isn't the only Mayoral candidate taking wealthy real estate developers' and billionaire property investors' cash, which oftentimes contain invisible strings that seem to be used to manipulate what gets done at City Hall ... like the City of Yes legislation appears to be.
Pay attention to whether any of the candidates running this election cycle, have the courage and integrity to call out this legislation for what it appears to be - a sell out of the masses of New Yorkers by their elected representatives - to the wealthy and super rich people who fund their campaigns.
Democracy only works if 'We The People' pay attention to who is who, and what they do, before we vote.
Unfortunately, you're not likely to be informed about this by the TV news teleprompter readers, who recite lullabies, while showing NYPD crime and social media accident videos, instead of reporting the news. Even on their best days, the TV teleprompter readers barely scratch the surface of what's really going on in this city - and on those rare occasions when they do - they seem oblivious to it.
Is the 'City of Yes' the Mayor's [and City Councils?] Quid Pro Quo?
What follows below are the reports we've done to date on the City of Yes - a nearly complete overhaul of New York City's zoning regulations.
More reports to follow, as time and resource allow.
City of Yes - Huge Zoning Changes in the Works - Part II
City of Yes Text Amendments - Huge Zoning Changes in the Works - Part II.
The Proposed 'City of Yes Text Amendments' will Roll Back Local Community Board [and Hence Communities] Input into What is Built & What Activities are Allowed in Their Communities
April 2, 2024 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Real Estate / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Just over a week ago I attended a Zoom call, organized by Community Board 6 in Manhattan, regarding the proposed City of Yes Text Amendments Part II being promulgated by Mayor Adams and his Administration. We collectively sat through about an hour long presentation, which I found to be most enlightening as well as a bit disconcerting should the proposed changes pass without significant alteration.
I have obtained permission to publish the slides, which due to technical issues, I have had to publish in the three [vs one] slide shows you see below [they are in chronological order]. I'll post my full report early next week, but in the meantime the slides should give you an idea of how big the changes really are and has been done in such a manner that you can begin to figure out how these changes may affect you.
Whether you are a tenant, landowner or real estate developer - and no matter in which borough you live - these changes, if passed unalterred, are going to significantly change how things are done in NYC. And the more I dig into this, the more it seems to be a roll back of community input, which is - in my mind - an essential / core element of any democratic process.
Isn't it?
While I'm still not done with the research, these changes look to be quite harmful to the people of NYC, in so many different ways, while failing to provide any sure path to growing our inventory of truly affordable housing.
Much more coming next week and over the next couple of weeks.
- CLICK here to view the slide show presentation made regarding the City of Yes at the Manhattan Community Board 6 Meeting on March 25, 2024.
Public Park Land Grab?
Billionaire Looking to Privatize Queens Parkland?
Bill Pending in Albany Would Enable it
May 10, 2023 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Real Estate / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz.
NYS Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubrey has sponsored a bill to allow a billionaire to build a casino on Queens parkland. Why can't the billionaire buy his own land to build the casino? And why has Aubrey supported this public park land grab?
Click here to read the OpEd by the President of a local non-profit explaining the situation - scroll down to May 9, 2023. Billionaire Steve Cohen appears to be making bid to essentially privatize Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.
- CLICK here to directly to the OpEd on Billionaire Steve Cohen Mets Owner Making a Public Park Land Grab with the help of Jeffrion Aubrey?
What Happened at the LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast?
LIC Real Estate Owners, Managers & Tenants Discussed the Current State of the Long Island City Real Estate Market
April 25, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Queens Buzz NYC / 1067.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be / Weather coming tomrorrow.
I never thought I would become one of the 'old timers' covering the LIC Partnership Real Estate Breakfast. But I think that perhaps I am. I hadn't covered one of these breakfasts since before the pandemic, so I found myself looking to regain my balance, vis a vis my Queens real estate sea legs.
But some things are like riding a bike, meaning they come back to you quickly, and covering the LIC Real Estate Breakfast seemed to fit that bill. As I sat there listening to the panel assembled to discuss the current state of affairs, I noticed a number of folks from prior gatherings, and while the issues were largely the same, the current state of them is constantly changing.
And I'll provide the update this weekend.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the LIC Real Estate Breakfast of 2023 / real estate in Queens NYC.
What's to Become of the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx?
Efforts Underway to Solicit Ideas for Repurposing the Century Old, Once Largest, Armory in the World [WWI] in the Bronx
April 25, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Bronx Buzz NYC / 185.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be / Weather coming tomrorrow.
The photo at right shows the inside of the Kingsbridge Armory in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. There's an effort underway to repurpose the ancient structure.
We'll provide a full report this weekend.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx NYC.
NYC Economic Outlook / Forecast 2023
Economic Outlook 2023
Employment Steady, Inflation Subsiding, Consumer Confidence Up, Government Stimulus Fading, Fed Tightening 'Should' Stop After .25% Increase at Next FOMC Meeting, Most Global Supply Side Issues have been Corrected, Oil Prices Below a Year Ago, and the Dollar is Strong
January 17, 2023 / NYC Business News / New Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
NYC Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 40's and the temperature lows will be around 40, dropping to 35 degrees on Friday. No rain is expected EXCEPT on Thursday, where up to an inch of rain will fall during the day. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph on Tuesday and Thursday and will be 10 - 15 mph on Wednesday and Friday. Humidity will rise from 45% to 80% on Tuesday, fall back into the 60% range on Wednesday, rise into the 80% range on Thursday with the rain, and fall back into the 60% range on Friday.
I. Economic Background - CoVid Disruptions of Global Supply Chains and U.S. Government Fiscal & Monetary Policy Responses
In recent months I have spent a fair amount of time catching up on what's happening in the economy overall, in an attempt to guage what lies ahead. It's important to realize where we are in the business cycle, in order to figure out what to expect going forward.
* Since March of 2020, we've been in a bit of a pandemic spin. The 2020 pandemic essentially halted most hospitality businesses and softened demand for some services, but drove high demand for both durable and non-durable goods. This is on the demand side. Meanwhile on the supply side, businesses were closing down, or working at far less than capacity, because of the health impact of the pandemic. For example in China, they didn't just appear to shutter businesses, but almost entire cities, to curb the spread of CoVid. China is where much of our electronics are made so this impacted the availability / supply of electronics at a time when Americans were spending more on them, because they weren't traveling, vacationing or even eating out much, so they had extra cash to spend on items, most notably electronics.
The U.S. federal government [as did many governments throughout the world] kept many businesses afloat through expansive monetary policy and generous fiscal spending via CoVid Relief packages which put money in the hands of local businesses, governments and individuals. The fiscal stimulus / excess government spending began in 2020 during the Trump Administration, and ended in early 2021 under the Biden Administration.
The first chart above right shows the federal government excess fiscal spending during the pandemic. Both Trump and Biden temporarily increased government spending in order to keep the economy rolling through the pandemic.
- CLICK here for our report on our perspective on the economic outlook for NYC in 2023.
Weekend Things To Do NYC CoVid & Monkey Pox Updates and Economic Psychological Shifts of Pandemic
NYC News Updates
CoVid Update, Monkey Pox Update, Tourism Return Dampened by Strong Dollar, Pandemic Spending Shifts & Psychological Impacts
August 9, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather. The temperature highs will be in the mid to high 90's today, falling into the mid 80's for the rest of the week. The temperature lows will be around 70 all week. The humidity will rise from the mid 50's early Tuesday to the mid 70's by Wednesday, falling back to about 60% on Thursday and a comfortable 50% on Friday. There's a 50% chance of a 1/10th inch of rain between 5 - 10 pm Tuesday, and a 50 - 75% chance of about a half inch or more of rain between 11 pm Wednesday and 9 am Thursday. By Friday it's a very nice day, leading into a very nice weekend.
CoVid Containment in NYC - MTA Should Either Enforce the Mask Mandate or Withdraw it
This past weekend I noticed that half or less of the passengers on the subway appear to be following the mask mandate. To the MTA I suggest either enforce the mandate, or withdraw it. You weaken the government's credibility and ability to enforce compliance, when you mandate something and then do not follow through by properly / evenly enforcing it. Every good parent knows that.
The BA.5 variant of CoVid grew rapidly from under 10% at the beginning of June 2022, to above 80% by the end of July. Cases rose briefly during that period, before falling back again. About 79% of all Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while about 68% have received two or more. In NYS 91% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose, while 78% have received two or more doses. Because the population has finally come around to getting vaccinated, the hospitalization rates for CoVid are fairly low, with only a small percentage of hospital beds being utilized for CoVid patients, most of which are occupied by the non-vaxers.
Bear in mind that it's the summertime, which is the off season for the disease, because folks are outdoors.
- CLICK to continue reading our report update on Covid, Monkey Pox & NYC Economic and Psychological Displacement in all five boroughs of NYC.
The Great Supply Chain Crisis 2021: Hype vs Reality
TV & Murdoch News Sensationalized the Great Supply Chain Crisis of 2021 - Telling us for Months on End No Pumpkins for Halloween, No Turkeys for Thanksgiving, No Trees for Christmas & No Cream Cheese in NYC
But How Much of that Hyping was a Murdoch Inspired Perspective in Pursuit of Political Profit & Fear Mongering Ratings at the Expense of Reporting What's Really Happening?
January 3, 2022 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The closer I pay attention to what's happening in our mass media, the more concerned I get. Nearly half of our daily nationally branded news media is controlled by one man, Australian born billionaire Rupert Murdoch - who strikes me as either a sociopath or psychopath. Based on the seven years I've been covering Murdoch, it appears as if he doesn't care about anything other than enriching and empowering himself, even at 90 years of age [his mother lived to 103 so he's likely going to be with us for a while].
What Those Who Know Murdoch Say About Him
In Australia - where Murdoch has been operating all his life - former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described,
"Murdoch's media empire as a cancer on democracy".
And in Britain, a Parliamentary Report stated that,
[Murdoch] "was not a fit person" to exercise stewardship of a major international company].
Keith Rupert Murdoch, controls the Wall St. Journal, Fox News, the NY Post, Harper Collins Publishing, MarketWatch, Barrons - and along with two of Fox News largest shareholders - Murdoch appears to have a controlling interest in Disney / ABC by virtue of what seems his proximity to their relatively new CEO. Murdoch's influence appears to be manifesting itself in personnel moves being made since he became one of their largest shareholders in March of 2019. The personnel moves are in their news and related programming areas, and ultimately impact what ABC News presents to the public. I just witnessed one of many subtle changes on Sunday, while watching This Week with George Stephanopolous. I'll say more about this at the end of this report.
Fox News Lyin' Laura Ingraham, earned that moniker, as you can see in the image above. Fox News has repeatedly used misleading photos and images to lend deceptive and misleading support to their news accounts, which appear designed to influence the unaware and low information voters, in order to get them to vote for billionaire Murdoch's favored pols and against the very government officials who are trying to help the manipulated victims.
- CLICK here for the rest of the story about mass media's ratings-driven hype, and media manufactured distortions about the global supply chain disruptions.
Economic Update NYC - Omicron, CoVid, Omicron, CoVid ... Stop
hyped supply chain problems nyc covid impact on transit subway airlines office workers in manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island broadway shows cancellations covid omicron impact on daily life in nyc
Omicron, CoVid, Omicron, CoVid ... STOP
NYC News Update With as little CoVid Omicron Specific Info as Possible
This Report includes the Over Hyped 'Supply Chain Xmas Tree Shortage', Broadway Show Cancellations & Postponements & Economic Impact, MTA Subway Trains & Airline Flights Cancellations due to Staffing Outages, the Tug of War between Office Workers & their Companies, JFK getting New Terminals & Staten Island getting New Ferries
December 27, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather. Temperature highs are between 40 and 50 degrees each day, and the lows are about 40 each day. Humidity will be between 60% - 80% all week. And the wind will be fairly steady at 5 - 10 mph daily. There's a chance of showers around 8 pm tonight and a chance of a tenth inch of rain on each day - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Given the low amount of precipitation and that it's spread out over the entire day, each day, I'd say your chances of getting very wet are pretty slim.
CoVid, CoVid, CoVid ... How We Moved Beyond it as a Conversation Centerpiece at an Xmas Party
So I attended a Christmas party a couple of weekends ago, and at one point someone asked is there anything else to talk about besides CoVid? This was near the end of the party, so there were only about a dozen of us there. So, someone asked, how about those Nets? And of course, Kylie Irving soon came up, and his anti-vax stance on CoVid, and that the Nets had to postpone a number of games because of ... CoVid.
Someone else asked, whose traveling for the holidays? As you can imagine, it wasn't long before CoVid came up and how it was going to affect everyones' holiday travel plans. Another asked, whether people were going to see their kids over the holidays. And of course, the discussion about vaccinations, testing and masks ensued. And then someone asked about gifts being given this season, and eventually the impact of CoVid on shipping and supply chain ensued. How about going out to dinner ... and so forth.
Actually, it turned out to be kind of funny, in an ironic sort of way, as the pandemic was still touching most parts of people's lives.
But the good news is that we eventually did move on past CoVid. Onto what? Well that's personal and thus not going to be shared here publicly, but we did eventually make it past the CoVid goal line ... but it wasn't as easy as one would think it should have been.
So the rest of this report is going to be about other things affecting our life, but recognizing that the pandemic and our community health affects just about everything else.
How Real was the TV News Hyped Supply Chain & Xmas Tree Shortage?
Retail Sales Hit a Level Not seen in 17 Years in Spite of "No Supply"?
How is it that network TV news, still a primary source of information in this nation - and the only source by many of the uneducated - can get a story so wrong?
For months they've been hyping the SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE, SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE, SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGE. I've seen little on TV news saying anything else to the contrary, and yet somehow, retailers magically had the best holiday sales season in 17 years, with department store sales up 21% [that's huge] and online sales up 8% [also very solid performance].
Did retailers MAGICALLY turn in their best performance in 17 years without any inventory? Come on.
People need to start questioning the information they get on TV, because too often, it's so distorted in order to generate an emotional or fearful response that's good for ratings and profit - but not in the public interest.
A December 26, 2021 report in Politico provided the following update on retail sales,
"... By category, clothing rose 47%, jewelry 32%, electronics 16%. Online sales were up 11% from a year ago and 61% from 2019. Department stores registered a 21% increase over 2020 ..."
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the NYC economy facing ongoing challenges due to CoVid including cancelled Broadway shows, airline flight cancellations, ongoing subdued mass transit ridership, and ongoing delays of workers returning to the office. But for the nation, holiday retail sales were good.
Economic Update NYC During CoVid Pandemic - September 2021
nyc things to do manhattan brooklyn queens bronx staten island
Economic Snapshot NYC & US
In spite of Non-Vaxers’ Negative Impact on the Recovery, Generally the Economy Appear to be Steadily Improving
September 21, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Business & Economy / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
It’s been a while since I have done an economic update, and as we head into the Fall, it seems a good time to look through the tea leaves to figure out where we are and what risks lie ahead between now and the New Year.
The graph at right, created by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, shows employment in the U.S. from 1940 to date. To the far right of the graph, you can see the huge dip in employment in the Spring of 2020, as the pandemic hit. Since then U.S. employment has recovered, but not yet completely.
Unemployment Back to Normal Levels & Stimulus Winding Down
Unemployment continues to decline, and the unemployment rate reflects a growing economy and a tight labor market. One debated theory about the tight labor market, is that it was fueled in part by some of the generous government spending programs, designed to cushion folks from the pandemic, which some believed kept workers out of the employment market. As of this posting, we’ve not seen any good study that proves or disproves that hypothesis. So for now, I recommend you consider that hearsay, at least until you or I find one or more reliable studies that proves or disproves that hypothesis.
In any event, a good measure of both the federal and states stimulus programs have begun to wind down. Beginning in late Spring / early Summer, both states and the federal government began reducing or withdrawing the funding for extra [federal] and extended [states] unemployment benefits.
- CLICK here to read our multi-part series with a snapshot of the U.S. economy in the third quarter of 2021 Q3 2021 Economic Snapshot NYC.
SHORT
Tribeca: Crane Falls Kills One
Mayor de Blasio Responds with Increase in Oversight
February 15 , 2016 / NYC Neighborhoods / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
On Friday February 5th at around 8 am, crane operators began lowering a very long extended steel arm [565 feet according to the Mayor's Office], to reduce its exposure to high winds. Instead of a controlled descent, the crane arm fell to the ground, killing one and injuring three others. This occurred on Worth Street between Hudson Street and Church Street in Tribeca.
The crane was located between Hudson and West Broadway and the winds were estimated to be in the neighborhood of 20 - 25 mph at the time of the crash. This is a mobile crane, and various cranes have different specifications for being secured at certain wind speeds. The last time there was a crane accident in New York City was in 2008, when there were two building crane accidents.
The crane was put in place only a week earlier, on January 30th, and a few days earlier had been inspected by the NYC Department of Buildings. The crane was authorized or designed to go to the 565 feet to which it had recently been extended. The crane was owned by Bay Crane Company and it was being operated by Galasso Trucking and Rigging.
I went down to the site on the Saturday after occurrence to take photos and while there talked to a few bystanders. You could see that the stationary crane, which was based on the street level, had toppled the length of Worth Street. The crane was put in place to install generators and air conditioning units atop the building at 60 Hudson Street which was the former Western Union Building.
It appeared that the crane just fell and in its wake crashed upon a few cars and pedestrians who fled. The one who was killed was an Upper West Sider. The area was secured in the aftermath, but Con Ed reported that their infrastructure appeared to be ok. One of the subway lines (#1) skipped a couple stops in the vicinity over the weekend and pedestrian and street traffic around Worth Street between Church and Hudson was blocked off. Overall the scene appeared relatively peaceful, although there were police tapes up and rerouted traffic as the police and the Department of Buildings conducted their investigations and follow up.
On Sunday, February 7th, the Mayor made a statement announcing several new policies. The first is with respect to mandates for the securing of mobile cranes, which is to be whenever winds are forecast to be 20 mph or above and for gusts of 30 mph or above. Secondly the Mayor said that there will be stricter guidelines for enforcing and ensuring pedestrian compliance and safety while cranes are being secured, and there may be some additional assistance / oversight from the NY City police [NYPD], NY City Fire Department [FDNY], the NY City Department of Transportation [NYCDOT], NY City Department of Buildings [NYCDOB]. Now when a crane is being secured or to be secured, the operators will be required to notify the community in advance. And lastly, a task force is being assembled to see what can be learned from this accident so that best practices may be learned and put in place so that this doesn't happen again.
NYC Landlord Harassments Continue
NYCCM Helen Rosenthal Hosts Housing Clinic to Inform Renters of Their Rights
May 29, 2018 / Upper West Side Neighborhood / Manhattan Real Estate / Manhattan Neighborhoods / Manhattan Buzz NYC.
MB - S.
On Wednesday, May 25th I went to the Goddard Riverside Community Center on Columbus Avenue at 88th Street to attend a housing clinic designed to inform renters of their rights.
***The following introduction is based on prior research done by me, and was not information provided at the housing clinic. I'll let you know when I segue out of my preamble and into the housing clinic.***
Over the past decade landlords appear to have become increasingly aggressive in trying to wriggle out of NYC and NYS rent stabilization regulations, that govern the rental payments under which about two million New Yorkers live.
It is my understanding that the government contributed land and / or financing to build or repair the buildings governed by NYC / NYS rent stabilization laws in exchange for the pricing rights on rent stabilized units. Many of the new landlords who have acquired rent stablized buildings, may possibly be in violation of approaching their business contract(s) in good faith, as the definition of good faith according to Wikipedia is:
"In contract law, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is a general presumption that the parties to a contract will deal with each other honestly, fairly, and in good faith, so as to not destroy the right of the other party or parties to receive the benefits of the contract. It is implied in every contract in order to reinforce the express covenants or promises of the contract. A lawsuit (or a cause of action) based upon the breach of the covenant may arise when one party to the contract attempts to claim the benefit of a technical excuse for breaching the contract, or when he or she uses specific contractual terms in isolation in order to refuse to perform his or her contractual obligations, despite the general circumstances and understandings between the parties. When a court or triar or fact interprets a contract, there is always an "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing" in every written agreement."
What is at stake, throughout the city, is literally hundreds of millions and more likely billions of dollars in - rental benefits or rental income streams - depending on which side of the struggle you're on. The landlords appear to be trying - using the torturtous side effects of construction including noise, health risk dust [inhalation], privacy loss and apartment functional loss - to wrest away the billions of dollars of rental pricing rights benefits from tenants to be pocketed by the landlords themselves. Given the high dollar value of what's at stake - including people's homes - this seems like attempted grand larceny, especially in cases where landlords are breaking the law to achieve their goals.
This will be continued at a later date. Including the segue into the information provided by the Housing Clinic to inform tenants of their rights.
Tenants' Rights March & Rally - June 14th Midtown at 4.30 pm
P.S. There's a March & Rally scheduled for June 14th, beginning at 4.30 pm, at the NY Public Library at 5th Avenue and 40th Street. They plan to march to Governor Cuomo's office at 3rd Avenue and East 41st Street. For details contact info@realrentreform.org or call 212.979.6958. All but one of the No IDC NY senatorial candidates have been invited to participate, and there's a possibility that NYS gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon will be there too - as this seems to coincide with her reasons for challenging Governor Cuomo.
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Things To Do & News Updates NYC
Event, Arts & Entertainment Venues to Reopen 4/2, NYC Movie Theaters Reopen Today, Small Business Funding, CoVid Testing & Vaccines Update, Eviction Moratoriums Tentatively set to Expire & the 'Real Economy & Employment' Picture
March 5, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / Things To Do NYC / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather. No precipitation is in the forecast. The temperature highs will be around 40 and the temperature lows will be in the high 20's throughout the weekend. On Friday the humidity will rise from about 30% to between 40% - 50%, where it will remain for the rest of the weekend. Winds will be 10 - 15 mph on Friday, falling to 7 - 12 mph the rest of the weekend.
Things To Do - Event, Arts & Entertainment Venues Can Reopen at 33% Capacity April 2nd, Movie Theaters Reopen Today 3/5/21, Many Restaurants Now Open til 11 pm & Who's in Charge?
McGolrick Park farmers market in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn opens on Sunday, March 7th from 10 am - 3 pm.
On Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Governor Cuomo announced that effective April 2nd, 2021 the Events, Arts & Entertainment venues can reopen at 33% capacity. He also said that effective March 22nd, 1) residential outdoor gatherings could include up to 25 people, while 2) non-residential outdoor gatherings could include up to 200 people, while non-residential indoor gatherings would be limited to 100 people.
Some NYC movie theaters reopen today. They will open at 10% capacity or a limit of 50 people per screen and at this time will not be offering concessions as we knew them [generally you have to order concessions via an app]. As of this post the Angelika, IFC, The Village East, and AMC theaters in Manhattan and NiteHawk Cinema in Brooklyn have made announcements that they will be open today. More than half of all movie theaters have not yet announced their reopening plans including many in Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island and Queens.
On February 12th, when NYC restaurants reopened indoor dining, Governor Cuomo extended their opening hours to 11 pm. Since then most restaurants have taken opportunity of the longer hours to accommodate diners.
Who's in Charge? It's worth noting that a number of people I have conversed with - were under the impression that restaurant closures were being managed by the Mayor - but this is not true. Since the pandemic began, Governor Cuomo was granted emergency powers by the NYS Legislature, and Cuomo has been managing most of the healthcare restrictions, including restaurant closure times, as well as all of the other closures and reopenings. If I'm not mistaken, under ordinary circumstances the opening and closing times would be managed at the municipal level [meaning normally it's the Mayor's call but during the emergency CoVid pandemic it was the Governor's call].
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the gradual NYC / NYS reopening of the economy near the end of the CoVid pandemic, including vaccine distribution, eviction moratorium, unemployment and the economy.
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The Last Week of 2020 ... Hooray
A Very Turbulent Year Comes to a Close, Out of the Ashes Rises the Phoenix
CoVid Impact on Real Estate, Restaurants, Hospitality & Travel
December 28, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Weather. The temperature highs will be Monday, Thursday and Friday, and just below 40 on Tuesday and Wednesday. The temperature lows will be will be in the low 30's on Monday and Tuesday, in the high 20's on Wednesday and in the high 30's on Thursday and Friday. A quarter inch of rain is expected Thursday, New Years Eve and a full inch of rain on Friday, New Years Day. Winds will be 5 - 10 mph all days except Tuesday, when the winds will pick up to between 10 - 15 mph. Humidity will range from 45% - 65% in the earlier part of the week, rising to between 70% - 80% for New Years Eve and New Years Day.
The photo at right shows the Kwanzaa candles at City Hall which Mayor de Blasio erected in recognition of this fairly recent [1960's] African American holiday. The holiday runs from Saturday, December 26th to New Years Day 2021.
Last Week of December 2020 Events - Mulchfest & Photo Exhibit Ending
The MMiXX d-up photo exhibit at Lety Bakery & Cafe at 77-07 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights ends Thursday evening.
NYC Parks returns with its Mulchfest program to recycle trees between now and January 9th. See the Parks Department website for times / dates / locations - https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest.
There are about 400 million Christmas trees in the U.S., of which about 10% are harvested annually.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the economic impact of CoVid on NYC retail, travel, real estate and hospitality and restaurants.
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Weekend Wondering NYC
NYS Eviction Moratorium Extension, is Unemployment Rate 10% or 20% & Other News
August 7, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC CoVid 19 Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Rent Moratorium Extension
Well this is good news for far more people than for who it will be bad news. Governor Cuomo has extended the eviction moratorium in NYS for another month [technically until September 4, 2020], and possibly longer, as he seeks to give those who are rent challenged in the midst of this pandemic, an opportunity to turn things around or find other housing.
Mayor de Blasio had simultaneously stepped in to help those facing eviction, telling New Yorkers to call 311 for help from an attorney funded by NYC. There are reportedly 14,000 NYC evictions pending with the City Marshall.
Nationally, the Republicans can't seem to agree on a follow on the terms of the next stimulus bill, which would include extending the eviction moratorium nationally. So it seems - like the handling of the Corona Virus itself - the Governors of each state will have to make their own rent moratorium decisions.
Many NYC Restaurateurs are also Rent Challenged
An August 3, 2020 report in Eater New York informs us that the NYC Hospitality Alliance did a survey of 471 bars / restaurants and found that 83% weren't able to make the full rent, and that included a whopping 37% weren't able to pay any rent. The silver lining in the report was that for 30% of them, their landlords didn't require full rent, and in many cases giving them a temporary 50% off price. The curbside / street dining program implemented by the Mayor seems to be helping, as I see a fair amount of business being done daily, in spite of the weather.
Total Unemployed and the Unemployment Rates
In another Trump first, GDP broke all historic records in the second quarter, sinking 9.5% [at an annual rate of 33%], beating George W. Bush's record in the fourth quarter of 2008, during the financial meltdown.
Jobless claims continued to come in at over a million plus this week [1.18 million], continuing to set records for the longest string of million plus unemploymenbt claims since the end of March / beginning of April of this year, when the pandemic began impacting the economy. The silver lining in this news is that it is the lowest number of new unemployment claims, since mid March.
On June 15th I pointed to the discrepancy between the unemployment rate reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics [around 12% - 13%] and the headlines / news reports of some 30 million plus unemployment claims, which would put the unemployment rate at closer to 19%. An August 6, 2020 report by CNBC did the best job of clearing up why there's such a huge discrepancy between the reported unemployment claims of 32 million which translates into an unemployment rate of 20%, and the lower figure that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been reporting of about 10 - 12%. The CNBC report stated the following,
"... The four-week moving average, which smooths volatility in the numbers, fell by 413,250 to 16.6 million. But the damage to the labor remains deep and this was the 20th consecutive week that claims have run above 1 million. The total of those claiming benefits, which lags the current data by two weeks, rose to 32.1 million as of July 18, an increase of 1.3 million from the previous week... "
The ADP payroll report was up 167,000 jobs in July, way below the 4.3 million gains made in June.
- CLICK here for a report on the Economic Impact of CoVid on NYC and NYS in August 2020.
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The Evolution of an Interesting Year
Interesting Doesn't Connote Good or Bad, but Rather One About which the Grandkids will Inquire
July 28, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC CoVid 19 Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The CoVid pandemic for most of us began just over four months ago in mid March. In the early stages the Governor and Mayor seemed a bit alarmist, but as events unfolded, they began to appear wise.
New York City is one of the world's great cities and thus one of the great global gathering places. So it's not surprising that NYC was one of the first American cities hit, and because of the city population density, we were hit hard.
The photo at right shows a few guys relaxing at the end of the day in Greenpoint Brooklyn.
But here we are four months out and - knock on wood - we seem to be operating at one of the higher functional levels, vis a vis other states and other nations. But as both the Mayor and Governor caution us - the pandemic is still alive and well and still being transmitted - and not likely to depart anytime soon. It will remain a threat for some time, for the same reasons it first arrived here, which is that we are a national and global destination / gathering place. And so we must continue to manage the viral threat by continuing to take the same precautionary steps we did to flatten the curve and beat the virus back.
George Floyd Protests, the Police, CoVid & the Economy
The year was further discombobulated by the death of George Floyd in the hands of the Minneapolis Police. The video of what could be a murder, went viral and caused a national outrage at the use of excessive force in a situation that didn’t appear to necessitate it. A single incident of this nature likely wouldn’t have caused a national outrage on its own. But because Floyd's untimely death seems to reflect a pattern of use of excessive force by individual policemen [repeated many times over the past couple of decades, in multiple locales, and captured and disseminated on video] that the death of George Floyd was the spark that ignited what seems to be national outrage at this sort of abuse of power by individual members of police forces around the nation.
The good news is that the demonstrations were generally peaceful, in recognition that it’s not the police departments per se, but rather bad actors within the police departments around the nation - who time and again seem to be protected by the police unions. Many of the policemen involved in these sorts of incidents, are reported to have histories of repeated failures to perform their fiduciary responsibilities in a proper manner, and yet are kept on the police force. This makes it possible for these bad actors to become repeat offenders.
The photo at right was taken of the protesters encamped outside of City Hall earlier this month, not long before the Mayor moved them out.
So I keep asking myself where are we now?
We’re in the midst of a raging pandemic, with social unrest vis a vis law enforcement, and then the Donald seems to exacerbate the situation by deploying the Department of Homeland Security to Portland, Oregon in what seems an effort to provoke protesters, not de-escalate the situation. The Donald has been accused of trying to inflame the situation in an effort to land bigger headlines and create the perception - with the help of mass media manipulator Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, Wall St Journal and NY Post - that the world is on fire and America needs an authoritarian strong man who will use decisive force to quell the masses.
Trump has also been accused of attempting to use the DHS deployment to Portland as a distraction from the Administration’s failed response to the pandemic, his failure to respond to reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid bounties for the heads of U.S. G.I's in Afghanistan and a rallying cry to get the Donald (aka Rupert Murdoch’s choice) re-elected in November - in spite of what can only be described as the Administration's horrific record of dysfunctionality over the past four years.
The photo at right is a mural on the Richard Rodgers Theater near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan.
What Trump Administration dysfunctionality am I talking about? In addition to the colossal failed response to the CoVid pandemic, there's a near record of unemployment which the BLS appears to be consistently understating (the BLS says 12% unemployment, but that doesn’t jibe with the fact that some 30 million are collecting unemployment insurance out of a labor force of 160 million aka 19% unemployment), America’s worst deficit ever by a country mile [in the month of June alone Trump racked up an $864 BILLION federal deficit], failure to effect any meaningful healthcare reform, stagnating or worsening reading and math scores by America's students, the alienation of our closest trading and military allies, and the list could go on. Those are the failures of the Trump Administration and unfortunately for both Trump and America there’s little to offset their failures with any meaningful accomplishments.
But despite these enormous failures at the federal level, life does go on. Thanks in part to the leadership of local government officials.
- CLICK here for NYC Economic Reopening into Phase IV During CoVid Pandemic & CoVid Science Update in July 2020.
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Week & Weekend Update of Events in NYC
Planned Openings & Fireworks, Phase II & III Economic Reopening, Life in the City & Primary Election Results Remain Open Due to Large Mail in Vote
June 26, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC CoVid 19 Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
On Monday NYC entered Phase II of the economic reopening, which among other things included curbside restaurant service, limited office openings and limited capacity retail. That put a lot of people back to work and seemed to give the city more of a normal feel. The Mayor quipped that it was the first time in a while that he got caught in a traffic jam.
NYC Plans Move to Phase III on 7/6/20
Assuming New Yorkers maintain their CoVid protocol vigilance, we’ll be moving to Phase III on Monday, July 6th. This includes the reopening of Personal Care services such as nail salons, gyms, as well as limited capacity in restaurant dining.
A Word of Caution - CoVid Resurgences in Reopened States
But it's worth making a note of caution, as other states - such as Texas, Florida, California and Arizona which beat us to the punch in reopening their economies - have sparked a huge resurgence of new CoVid infections. Texas, Florida and Arizona have put their economic re-openings on hold. Florida beat its previous high rate of CoVid infections on Thursday, nearly reaching 9,000 new infections in a single day. And an increasing share [about half] of these infections have been found in people between the ages of 25 - 45.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the NYC Phase II & III, planned reopenings, Macy's July 4th fireworks 2020, cancellations & NYS Primary Election.
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CoVid Vaccine Update, Gauging Timeline for Return to the New Normal, Economic Snapshot & ...
May 25, 2020 / NYC Neighborhoods / CoVid in NYC Special Section / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Memorial Day was a beautiful sunny day, with temperatures into the 70's, and dry. Given the month of May is nearly over, I thought I'd do a recap of what has transpired during the month to gauge how far we've come and how far we have to go to return to the new normal.
Let's start with a quick update on the CoVid virus itself. As we entered the month of May, new CoVid hospitalizations were running about 800 per day. As of Governor Cuomo's last few reports, the number of new hospitalizations is running at between 200 - 300 per day. The net daily intubations have been running negative [meaning more people coming off than going on] for most of the last couple of months ranging from close to zero [meaning folks coming off intubations were about equal to those going on] to nearly 150 more coming off than going on.
As we exited April, NYC and NYS were closing the popup hospitals located primarily around the city, as the existing facilities were moving into a position where they were able to handle the sick patients entering the healthcare system. Overall both NYC and NYS have freed up a considerable amount of hospital and respirator capacity, so that most parts of the state will be economically open in the Phase I stage by this coming week - with the exception being NYC. NYC has met six of the seven metrics required to enter Phase I of the reopening of the economy. The seventh metric is to free up enough hospital capacity [30% available capacity is the target] in order to reopen safely, according to the guidelines outlined by NYS Governor Cuomo.
It's important to remind folks that NYC, with a population of about 8.5 million, represents nearly half of the approximately 19.5 million population of NYS - and that we're far more densely packed into a far smaller space than likely anywhere else in the nation. I mention this to help folks understand that we, in NYC, have the highest hurdle to transcend to move toward the new normal. But that said both the Mayor and the Governor believe that if the trends continue, NYC should be in a position to move into Phase I sometime within the first two weeks of June.
Phase I allows for construction, manufacturing and curbside retail to resume.
In prior reports we've identified the people most at risk of dying from the disease should they contract it. These folks still need to tread cautiously, as well as the folks who surround them, as no cure is in sight - regardless of what you may hear on the ratings-driven TV news or from a flailing president who oftentimes seems more concerned about the impact of the virus on his re-election chances, than on Americans' health.
Scientists and pharmaceutical organizations around the world on working on numerous different therapies which may help speed recoveries. There are eight new vaccines that are in some stage of clinical trials, and a reported 110 vaccines in the works. The eight in clinical trials are only in the early stages of clinical trials, which are used to determine the efficacy and safety profile of a drug.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on CoVid Vaccine Update, Timeline to Return to Work & Economy NYC & NYS.
NY Real Estate Expo
NYC Professionals Discuss Manhattan & NYC Metro Real Estate
April 23, 2018 / NYC Neighborhoods / Manhattan Real Estate NYC / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I attended the 10th annual NY Real Estate Expo at the New York Hilton last week. The event was well attended by hundreds of real estate, development and financial professionals from the NYC and metro area. Anthony Kazazis, Director of the event, had organized a series of panels to discuss key aspects affecting the real estate market ranging from software platforms, to financing, to NYC real estate market assessments.
Generally the mood was upbeat, but not without some concern about the future, given changes in the tax laws, foreign interest in NYC investment, interest rates forecasts and technological challenges facing the industry. But, I thought, that is why everyone is here. To find out what's going on so they can navigate the market changes - rather than be surprised by them.
While I had intended to stay only a short while, I found the topics and panelists too interesting to leave, so I stayed most of the day. I started with a discussion of a new information technology platform called Blockchain, which is intended to serve as an information clearing house, and it includes some artificial intelligence capability. I then found my way into a discussion about New York City versus Silicon Valley with respect to attracting large technology companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google. And I ended my visit after listening in on a discussion by NYC and metro area realtors discuss the residential real estate market in Manhattan and outer boroughs.
Sound like an interesting NYC real estate conference? It was. In the photo above you can see the audience at the well attended panel discussions at the NY Real Estate Expo this year.
I'll have more on this later in the week.
Update: LaGuardia Airport Development Project
First Phase Moving Along with Second & Third Phases About to Begin
April 24, 2017 / Astoria Neighborhood / Queens Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I attended a Community Board One meeting at the Astoria World Manor on Wednesday, April 19th. People representing the LaGuardia Airport development project were scheduled to provide the community with an update regarding several of the multi-billion dollar renovation projects associated with LaGuardia Airport, that are either currently in the works or nearing the end of the planning process.
The presentation was split into three parts: 1) LaGuardia Airport development project construction updates, 2) traffic mitigation efforts and 3) community outreach including job opportunities related to the projects.
Click here to read our report on the LaGuardia Airport development project & expansion, related job opportunities, its possible impact on travel times to the airport and the public hearing details on May 3rd, 2017 in Flushing. We have also included a small bit of history about the airport and the fight over the property and development in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The graphic at right was created as part of the LaGuardia Airport development project.
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Superscraper Forum
CCM Ben Kallos Hosts Superscraper Zoning Forum
July 23, 2015 / Manhattan / NYC Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I attended a 'Superscraper Forum' hosted by NYC Councilmember Ben Kallos of the Upper East Side neighborhood on a comfortable Thursday evening at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. It was to begin at 6.30 pm and 250 people had reserved seats for an auditorium that held 140 seats and had space for about 40 standing.
To be sure the auditorium was full when I arrived and I caught only the tail end of what the first speaker had to say. There were over a half dozen speakers, including NYC Councilmember Ben Kallos who organized the meeting which was attended by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer who arrived near the end of it.
The other speakers included the first speaker who was from the NYC Department of Housing & Planning, who I missed, as well as the following: Emma Marconi Bologna of Civitas NYC, Tara Kelly of the Friends of the Upper East Side, Margaret Newman of the Municipal Art Society, and three other people whose names and associations I did not catch. One may have been an architect, one may have been a representative of the East 50's Association which is a group dedicated to reining in Superscrapers, and there might have been one from the Sutton Area Community neighborhood association.
Click here to read the rest of our report about NYC Zoning Laws: Superscraper Zoning for the Upper East Side & Sutton Place.
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Sterling Equities & Related Companies Lose A Court Battle
Plans to Build Shopping Mall on Flushing Meadows Corona Park Land Reversed on Appeal, but Legal Wrangling will Continue
This report is based on an Associated Press report dated July 2, 2015 and a Queens Tribune story dated August 28, 2014.
In August of 2014, New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez decided in favor of Related Companies / Sterling Equities by throwing out a lawsuit filed by the City Club of New York and NYS Senator Tony Avella.
The plaintiffs alleged that billionaire Stephen Ross's Related Companies, the real estate developers of Hunters Point South and the Hudson Yards, and the Sterling Equities which was co-founded by the NY Mets owners, mega-millionaires Saul B. Katz and Fred Wilpon, had not gone through the NYS legislature for the approval of the transfer of the parkland as required by law.
The lawsuit, filed in February 2014, alleged that the transfer of 47 acres of Flushing Meadows Corona Park land that currently represents the western part of the Mets parking lot, was done without following the procedure for a proper public review [see photo above right]. The City had proposed transferring the 47 acres to Related Companies / Sterling Equities who had planned to build a 1.4 million square foot shopping mall next to Citifield.
The NY City Council and the billionaire former Mayor Bloomberg approved the project in October 2013, but the proposal never went to Albany for a vote. According to the Queens Tribune report one of the plaintiffs said that the Judge Manuel Mendez's ruling goes against the Public Trust Doctrine, ignores longstanding case law history, and bestows too much power that was formerly the purview of the Board of Estimate in one person: the NYC Mayor.
On Thursday, July 2nd, 2015, the four-judge Appellate Court overturned Judge Mendez's decision and ruled that the Willets West Mall Project was illegal because the land is a part of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, in spite of its current paved over status as a parking lot [see 2009 photo above].
And because it is a part of the public parkland of the people, it may not be turned over to the real estate developers without approval of the NY State Legislature. The judges rejected the ruling in favor of the mall development made by Judge Manuel Mendez, wherein Mendez sided with the wealthy real estate developers who argued that the 54 year old, 1961 law authorizing the construction of Shea Stadium, also included a mall.
The photo above shows the Citifield parking lot in 2009, as it was being paved over following the demolition of Shea Stadium which was authorized in 1961. The new Citifield stadium built to replace Shea, is smaller.
According to the Associated Press report, a spokesman for the real estate developers said that they would appeal the decision.
Click here for the full report on Sterling Equities Saul Katz Fred Wilpon / Related Companies Stephen Ross lose court battle over Flushing Meadows Corona Park development in Flushing Queens.
BALCONY - Business And Labor Coalition NY
Forum Discusses Challenges & Opportunities Of De Blasio's Affordable Housing Plan
February 23, 2015 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
One day after Mayor de Blasio gave his State of the City Address, the Business And Labor Coalition of New York [aka BALCONY] met to discuss affordable housing and their role in it.
A high quality panel of speakers had been enlisted to help stimulate the discussion which happened on an early Wednesday morning in February. The panelists included a real estate lobbyist, a unionized labor representative who oversees the management of labor pension investments, Public Advocate Letitia James, a representative from the Governor's Office and others. The BALCONY forum attracted a full house of real estate, financial and labor professionals, as well as government officials.
By the end of the morning I had heard how a number of large and important participant groups were processing Mayor de Blasio's plan to address NYC's affordable housing shortage. We'll have more a bit later this week about this informative housing forum.
New York Boat Show @ Javits Center
Full Steam Ahead For Boat & Yacht Dealers & Manufacturers
January 25, 2015 / NYC Neighborhoods / Manhattan Business / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
For the price of a small apartment in Manhattan you can buy yourself a floating power palace with about the same amount of space, and water views on all sides.
It was my first venture into the New York Boat Show on Sunday at the Jacob Javits Center in Midtown West. There were about 400 boats and yachts on display [364 was the unoffical count] for those looking to buy, trade or just look at the state of the art in boating technology and comfort.
Again unofficially - using one of the dealer's gate count numbers - it seems attendance was up a bit this year versus last year. They surmised that the lower gas prices, the better economy and apparently a few folks were looking to replace what had been damaged or that they'd lost to Hurricane Sandy. And so it was ... show on.
Later this week I'll post a photo slide show of the event and take you onto a few of the boats and yachts so you can see what owning or riding on one of these floating palaces would look like. Ship Ahoy.
Hudson Yards Real Estate Development NYC
Manhattan Real Estate: West Midtown Undergoing Massive Transformation
October 6, 2014 / NYC Neighborhoods / Manhattan Real Estate NYC / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
I spent a fair bit of time surveying the construction projects underway in west Midtown Manhattan this weekend. I went to see for myself what was going on in the area just adjacent [kiddy corner south and east] to the Jacob Javits Center which is located on 11th Avenue and 31st Street.
The deals were cut during the Bloomberg Administration with two real estate development companies - the Related Companies of NYC and Canadian partner Oxford Properties of Toronto, Ontario. The negotations took about five years and involved the MTA leasing the airspace above their track space - the Hudson Yards.
Most of the development will reside atop a huge platform covering the yards, but the building in the photo to your right - the first of the development to come online - has been erected ajacent to the yards on terra firma.
Click here later this week to read more about the Hudson Yards real estate development in NYC, including numerous photos in a slide show.
New York Market Expo
Marketing Your NYC Business In The 21st Century
June 2, 2014 / NYC Neighborhoods / Manhattan Small Business / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
On May 29th I attended the New York Market Expo at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. There were dozens of vendors there to help small businesses with their sales and marketing efforts.
It seems the online media has moved front and center at this expo with a multitude of vendors generally representing national firms offering a variety of online services. Many of the large social media firms sponsored slide show presentations showing how their offerings differed from the others.
There were also a number of other organizations there, including the traditional media, as well as a number of government and non-profit business organizations whose missions are to help businesses in their endeavors. The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce is shown in the photo to your right. The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce is a very active sponsor of networking events, seminars and workshops in NYC.
We'll post more including a photo slide show of the New York Market Expo of 2014.
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Hunters Point South Opens Spring 2015
'Affordable' Housing Applications Set To Begin Mid October
September 29, 2014 / Queens Real Estate / News & Analysis / Gotham Buzz NYC.
On Monday evening I headed over to Sunnyside Community Services Center to attend the Hunters Point South Affordable Housing meeting. Several years ago the Hunters Point South development was approved by Community Board 2 and subsequently approved by the New York City Council and former Mayor Bloomberg. Click the link above to read the earlier report.
The site has been under construction for years, and according to a Related Companies spokesperson at the meeting, the two towers containing affordable housing are to open to residents in the Spring of 2015. Naturally this assumes that all goes according to plan.
Hence on Monday evening, Related Companies representatives in tandem with Community Board Chairman Joe Conley, NY CCM Jimmy Van Bramer, NYS Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan [and NYS Senator Michael Gianaris was scheduled to appear but did not make it] - began the outreach to the community regarding the application process for the low income and affordable housing units in the two buildings.
Attendance and interest by the community was very high and folks who arrived late were turned away as the Sunnyside Community Service Center was filled to capacity. That said there are two more of these outreach programs scheduled, the details of which you can find in our Things To Do calendar in the Business section. Click these links to gain a broader perspective of the Long Island City Neighborhood in which these units reside, as well as of the LIC real estate market for apts and condos or the Long Island City real estate market in general.
Full Report Contains Slides & Info On Qualification & Application Process For Hunters Point South Affordable Housing Units In LIC & Evaluation Of Affordability Versus Income & Apt Rents In LIC
Click here to read the rest of our report, including a photo slide show of the presentation of Affordable Housing in Hunters Point South in LIC Queens. I left out most of the presentation that dealt with how to set up a Housing Connect Profile and how to fill out the online application as it seemed pretty straightforward and you can also call the NYC Housing Authority [aka NYCHA] if you need help.
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Real Estate Loans - Manhattan Mortgage Market Condition
Expo Highlights Opportunities, Risks & Other Considerations
May 28, 2014 / Manhattan / NYC Real Estate NYC / Gotham Buzz.
I attended the 2014 NYC Finance Expo at the Roosevelt Hotel on May 14th. The expo was well attended by Manhattan real estate professionals and financiers of Manhattan real estate including banks and other lenders.
The organizers had three or more seminars running simultaneously throughout the morning, with most sessions running between 20 minutes and an hour. About every 15 minutes a new session started, so there were plenty of ways to spend one's time productively.
The topics of the seminars covered a cross section of interests of those in the Manhattan real estate financial industry, from social marketing to real estate finance to real estate planning. I sat through a couple of sessions where I listened to Manhattan real estate and financial executives talk about where we are in the current cycle in the Manhattan real estate market, with an eye toward Manhattan real esate prices and valuations from a lender's point of view.
Billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis is shown in the photo at right at the NYC Finance Expo in Manhattan.
Click here to read the rest of our story about NYC real estate mortgage market conditions & the NYC Finance Expo.
NYC Manhattan Real Estate & Realtors
Manhattan Real Estate & Realtors
December 28, 2013 /Manhattan Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
Real estate in Manhattan was been 'on the rise again' in 2013 with prices rising as the economy gained ground and the super low interest rates made payments on high priced properties possible.
Interest rates began to rise in 2013 as the year wore on and are expected to continue rising in 2014 and beyond. But not too fast say the pundits as the U.S. and world economies are fragile and the central bankers do not want to upend the recovery.
This section will begin to be populated with stories about condos and co-ops in Manhattan NYC, as well as stories about apartment rentals in NYC.
How The Other Half Lives
September 23, 2013 / Long Island City Neighborhood /Manhattan Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
I attended a reception hosted by TF Cornerstone in late September to celebrate the official opening of their fifth property. The building had been completed earlier this year and the first tenants had moved in sometime in May. I understand they've rented about 70% of the units, so they've been moving briskly.
I visited a couple of the units for rent, including a studio that started at about $2,300 per month and a two bedroom corner that likely rented for something like $5,000 per month [give or take several hundred]. To those of us who live in Queens, these are expensive units, but to those who live in Manhattan - given the views and amenities - these are good value. Like the headline says : )
The photo to your right shows a view of one of the new properties currently lining the LIC waterfront, with a northward looking view of Manhattan.
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LIC Real Estate: New Face of a Changing Borough
LIC Real Estate Development Continues - Just Across From Midtown
October 1, 2013 / NYC Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I, like many in the borough, have been watching in near amazement at the rapid pace of real estate development in Long Island City. On September 18th of 2013, I attended the Grand Opening of 4545 Center Blvd, the fifth of the six TF Cornerstone buildings to go up along the Long Island City waterfront.
As you will see from the photos in the slide show at the end of the story, the apartments are beautiful. The new high rise is an airy, modern building with amenities, and apartments that have breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline and the Queensboro Bridge. I saw a studio and corner two-bedroom apartment, which rent for about $2,300 and $5,500 per month respectively - so it's not only the views that are breathtaking, but the rents as well. Five of the six TF Cornerstone buildings along Center Blvd in LIC are rentals, and only the condominiums in The View [the only building TF Cornerstone named] were for sale.
Click here for a story about apts for sale / apartments for rent near Midtown Manhattan NYC, including a bit of the history of TF Cornerstone, Rockrose Real Estate and real estate development in the LIC neighborhood of Queens.
Stringer Conditionally Approves Midtown East Development
September 12, 2013 / Manhattan Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC _ D.
We attended the Community Board 6 Meeting in Manhattan on Wednesday following the election and heard the announcement that outgoing Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer had conditionally approved the large scale development in the eastern section of Midtown Manhattan.
Stringer noted that the new developments would put significant stress on existing infrastructure and must be addressed as part of the plan.
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Roosevelt Island To Become Techno Queens
Borough of the Arts, will one day become Borough of the Applied Sciences
Updated Summer 2016 / March 7, 2012 / Queens / NYC Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I just returned from a breakfast where the NYC Deputy Mayor of Economic Development presented the NYC plan to develop an eleven acre campus on the southern end of Roosevelt Island, into an applied sciences academic institution.
Development of the new facility will take place over the course of the next thirty years, but the first classroom will open [somewhere in a leased facility] in the fall of 2012. When the applied sciences campus is done, the facility is expected to include about 2 million square feet of new construction and a half million feet of open space. Over the course of the next few decades, the institution is expected to become the academic home to 280 faculty members, a student body of 2,500, and to provide ongoing employment for about 8,000 people.
Click here to read the rest of our report on the presentation given by Robert K. Steel at the LIC Partnership breakfast about the new applied sciences development on Roosevelt Island, which legally is considered Midtown Manhattan real estate.
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Real Estate In Flushing - Willets Point
April 14, 2011 / Flushing Neighborhood / Queens Buzz / Gotham Buzz NYC.
This winter I attended the State of the Borough Address given by Queens Borough president Helen Marshall and a month later I attended a speech given by NYC deputy mayor of economic development, Robert K. Steel. This report captures their brief comments about Willets Point condominium and retail development project, as well as a considerable amount of research I did following those two presentations.
In the following report we provide you with a history of the effort to transform the Willets Point area and an outline of the proposed plans and including a detailing of some of the issues associated with the proposed development. A graphical depiction of the Willets Point development is shown above.
Click here to read more about Sterling Equities, Saul Katz & Fred Wilpon, Stephen Ross, Related Companies, Mayor Bloomberg use eminent domain on Willets Point real estate development project - controversy in Flushing Queens.
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Sunnyside & Woodside Zoning Plan
Proposal Moving Through The Process - Timetable Set
April 13, 2011 / Sunnyside & Woodside Neighborhood / NYC Real Estate / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Queens Borough president Helen Marshall highlighted the effort to re-zone Sunnyside and Woodside in her State of the Borough Address this winter. Following the release of the proposed zoning changes on February 28th, I spent time studying the proposal to re-zone the Sunnyside and Woodside neighborhoods and followed up with a representative of the NYC Department of City Planning to be sure I properly understood the proposed changes. It's worth mentioning that the rezoning changes were recently approved by Community Board 2, about two weeks ahead of deadline.
The thrust of the Sunnyside Woodside rezoning effort appears to be to standardize construction regulations within these neighborhoods in order to prevent out-of-character development, reduce commercial overlays, enhance street life through the allowance of sidewalk cafes and to set height limits on new buildings which is not specified in the existing zoning. Current Sunnyside and Woodside zoning only specifies how much you can build by way of limiting the Floor Area Ratio [FAR] - and doesn't set limits on specific building dimensions, most notably building height.
Click here to view the timetable of the Sunnyside & Woodside Re-zoning proposal and to read the rest of our report, which includes a brief zoning history, and a summary of existing and proposed zoning changes incl
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