According to new data from the city’s Department of Finance (DOF), the total tentative market value for all assessed properties in New York City increased to $1.157 trillion this year, an 8.74 percent increase from 2016, when the total crossed $1 trillion for the first time.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recently joined affected tenants and housing lawyers in announcing a lawsuit based on data from a technology partnership that monitors heating-related harassment in Brooklyn apartment buildings. They discussed how residents across the borough are utilizing...
According to the DOB, there are 9,000 sidewalk sheds in NYC. They are installed to protect people from falling masonry and other debris. However, some feel they are staying up too long. City Councilman Ben Kallos, who represents the Upper East Side, recently proposed a new law that would give...
The Regional Plan Association, an urban research and advocacy organization, recently came out with a new report that draws attention to the threat to the New York metropolitan area from sea level rise cause by climate change. The report is called “Under Water: How Sea Level Rise Threatens...
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has reached a deal with developers and union construction officials to revive the 421-a program. The program expired in January. It grants cuts in property taxes to developers who set aside subsidized apartments for low-, moderate-, and middle-income families or...
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently signed legislation that will expedite approval of demolition and construction work performed by city-procured contractors under the Build it Back program, which aims to rebuild communities and homes devastated by Superstorm Sandy.
Two bills, Int. 1366 and Int. 1359, were recently introduced in the City Council by the chamber’s housing committee chair, Jumaane Williams, and Stephen Levin. The first bill would require HPD to audit a certain number of buildings receiving benefits under section 421-a of the real...
As a response to two deadly gas explosions that occurred in February 2016 in the East Village and March 2014 in East Harlem, the City Council recently passed a package of bills to tighten gas safety rules at city buildings.
Airbnb is trying to counter the lobbying force of its opponents in the hotel and real estate industries by organizing its 46,000 New York users. Airbnb is pushing back against the Share Better coalition, which includes many city and state politicians, housing groups, and the New York Hotel...
The City Council recently held a hearing on a bill, known as 214-a, that would make New York City the first jurisdiction in the country to guarantee lawyers for any low-income residents facing eviction. Unlike defendants in criminal cases, individuals who cannot afford an attorney in civil...
Last year, NYC’s buildings phased out the dirtiest type of heating oil. And, on Sept. 28, the City Council passed Intro 642, a bill requiring buildings to use cleaner biodiesel blends for heating oil. Biodiesel is a clean-burning and renewable diesel replacement fuel that is produced from...
The federal government recently reported that median household incomes jumped by 5.2 percent in 2015, the largest gain on record, meaning the typical American family got a raise for the first time in seven years. In New York City, the median household income rose by 5.1 percent, to $55,752.
