Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk has won the disputed upstate Senate seat from builder George Amedore in final vote counting this morning. This leaves the State Senate Republican leadership completely dependent on the Independent Democratic Conference for control of the chamber.
Class 2, multifamily property values, including co-ops and condos, rose 6.6 percent according to the tentative City tax roll out this week. Purely rental building values were up 9 percent, the Department of Finance reported. About one quarter of that increase, however, is attributable to new construction and renovations. The total assessed value for Class 4 commercial properties increased 8.56 percent. The bottom line is that even when tax rates are flat, assessment increased are powering taxes up.
Who owns those taxable properties? The Department of Finance may know, but the Department of Housing Preservation and Development may not, according to the Furman Center at NYU. Apparently only 23 percent of the rental buildings required to file annual Property Registration forms with HPD do so. Most of the delinquents are one and two family rental properties, but 15 percent of buildings with over 50 rental units aren’t registered according to Furman researchers.
Congress may have trouble agreeing on balancing the budget, but it seems that all parties think paying for LEED certification, as opposed to actually making energy saving improvements, could be a waste of money. The new National Defense Authorization Act prohibits the Department of Defense from seeking LEED platinum or gold certification because of doubts about the criteria.
Looks like ex-HPD Commissioner and current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan will be one of the handful of Obama cabinet members staying on.
Our condolences to the family of Phyllis Seavey, who passed away January 10th. Mrs. Seavey was active in ABO member firm the Seavey Organization for many years.
Still haven’t reserved your seat for our January 29th Awards luncheon? Call 212 385-4949 to reserve, or email today, or buy a ticket online here.