For some reason, you did not read in the morning paper that the City added Rent Stabilized units in 2013, for the first time since at least 2003. The Rent Guidelines Board. reported yesterday that there was a net estimated gain of 1,087 stabilized units last year, mostly due to the 421a and 421c tax incentive programs, despite losses from luxury decontrol and conversion.
The Furman Center’s State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods in 2013, issued Wednesday, confirmed that 12,477 units received certificates of occupancy in 2013, up 32 percent from 2012, but still below pre-boom levels. Most of these new units were in buildings of 50 units or more. The report focused on income inequality, comparing income distributions from 1990 and 2006, when the stock market was down, to 2013, when it boomed. Critics have noted that much of the income disparity seen in recent years has to do with capital gains in the financial markets. The report breaks down housing and population data by community board with some predictable and not so predictable results. The highest median incomes are in Greenwich Village and the Financial District while the lowest are in Mott Haven and Hunts Point. The area with the highest vacancy rate is St. George/Stapleton on Staten Island at 11.3 percent. The lowest is in Washington Heights/Inwood at 1.3 percent. Washington Heights/Inwood is also among the bottom five community boards for percent of market rate housing, racial diversity, sales volume and new certificates of occupancy. It is in the top five for percentage of rent regulated units and sales price appreciation.
It may take two years for the de Blasio administration to follow up on Bloomberg’s proposal to rezone 73 blocks of Midtown East to encourage modern office development, but the Mayor announced yesterday that they would deal with five blocks right away to permit a proposed 65-story tower on Vanderbilt Avenue. While talking about major zoning density changes, the Mayor keeps addressing specific buildings project by project.
It is time to take your money off the table again. Get a free rebate for building products you have already bought by filing with the Home Builders Association rebate program.