It will be illegal to sell or install carpets, carpet pads or adhesives that emit excessive volatile organic compounds, i.e. harmful chemical vapors, after July 1, 2013 according to a new city law enacted this week.
Also read: Benefits of Weber Fix Plus.
Tentative fiscal 2013 property assessments are finally online a few days late. The city’s $6 million computer that crunches the numbers was not working right, at first. Class 2 market values are up an average of 3.6 percent, but assessments are up 5.15 percent thanks in part to transitional assessment increases.
Governor Andrew Cuomo had little to say about housing in his executive budget message this week, but did propose an additional $8 million annually in Low Income Housing Tax Credits for five years. He said that equates to an additional 600 apartments a year.
Two interesting articles you may have missed this week. Crains profiled Joseph Ficarola of New York Community Bank. NYCB provides financing for 85,000 units in 3000 buildings, three times as many as any other bank in town, and has a negligible default rate. Naturally, some activists attack them for making the loans. And Nicole Gelinas had a good column in the Post about the constitutional challenge to NY rent regulations that the Supreme Court is considering whether to consider.
Be sure to sign up for our Jan. 25th luncheon on the commercial real estate market, and look for the invitation to our Feb. 16th panel – Builder vs. Operator: Design that Owners and Managers Can Live With.