December 28, 2015
One Architect’s Revolutionary Plan to Make Old Buildings Energy Efficient

BROOKLYN — An East Village-based architect responsible for designing the city’s first new affordable buildings that met strict energy efficiency standards has been tapped for an even more challenging task — retrofitting a collection of existing affordable housing buildings. Chris Benedict is working with The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council — which runs complexes that […]

November 23, 2015
Meet 421a’s real beneficiaries: Landowners

When state lawmakers in June agreed to an overhaul of the 421a tax abatement program, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the revisions the “best rent reform package in history.” Mayor Bill de Blasio even called them a “game-changer.” But the overhaul could also be, according to several studies, a giant boon to landowners. Programs like 421a […]

November 23, 2015
Developer Tax Break in Limbo

The New York Mets were still on a post-season winning streak when construction-union leaders joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo to watch a game in a prime box at Citi Field, paying about $5,000 a seat for the fundraiser ticket. Some of the same leaders were also in negotiations with top players in the city’s real estate […]

October 28, 2015
Can Steve Buscemi Create Affordable Housing For NYC Artists?

Artists/everyone outside of a small, moneyed elite can no longer afford a comfortable life in New York City. It’s been discussed at length in the past few years, especially among the creative class, and most notably David Byrne. The Talking Head wrote a lengthy essay on the subject in 2013. New York was legendary. It […]

October 20, 2015
Stuyvesant Town Said to Be Near Sale That Will Preserve Middle-Class Housing

Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, the largest apartment complex in Manhattan, is expected to be sold for more than $5.3 billion, an agreement that will preserve nearly half the 11,232-unit complex for middle-class families, according to officials involved in the negotiations. The sale, to the Blackstone Group, a Wall Street investment firm and one of the […]

October 20, 2015
NYSAFAH Co-sponsored event with Goldstein Hall and Thacher Associates on Affordable Housing Construction: Best Labor Practices

Jennifer Redmond, Counsel to Goldstein Hall, was a featured speaker at the Panel on Tuesday, October 20th, along with Toby Thacher (Thacher Associates), Lucy Joffe (NYC HPD) and Ashley Swopes (US DOL, Wage & hour Division). This event was held to educate NYSAFAH members on new procedures and technologies to enhance oversight and help ensure […]

October 20, 2015
New York City, State Said to Be Cooperating on Homelessness Initiative

New York City and New York state are in talks to create a new program that would provide more housing and support services for homeless individuals in the city, according to two people familiar with the matter. Such a program would mark a moment of policy cooperation between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City […]

October 8, 2015
Affordable Housing Developers Want to Ditch Mandatory Parking Spots

BROOKLYN — At King Garden Seniors, a 66-unit affordable housing complex for the 62-and-over set in Brownsville, the building’s 15-spot parking lot is nearly empty. Only two households have cars and pay the $10 monthly fee to keep them in the lot at the building, which is one block from the No. 3 train at […]

October 6, 2015
EXPERTS SAY STRINGER’S REJECTION OF HOMELESS SHELTER CONTRACTS IS ‘ILLEGAL’

Giuliani vs. Hevesi. Bloomberg vs. Thompson. Bloomberg vs. Liu. Given the historic – and often litigious – disagreements between New York City’s mayors and comptrollers, the current standoff between Bill de Blasio and Scott Stringer over the registration of homeless shelter contracts is far from shocking. Read more on City & State…

July 1, 2015
New York City Board Votes to Freeze Regulated Rents on One-Year Leases

The board that regulates rents for more than one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City voted on Monday night for a freeze on one-year leases, an unprecedented move in its 46-year history. The 7-to-2 vote by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board was an acknowledgment of the precarious situation of many tenants whose incomes have […]