Never mind whether you are building in one of the 15 neighborhoods targeted for upzoning or seeking 421a tax incentives, every residential project that requires any rezoning will have to have at least 25 percent affordable apartments according to a report in Capital New York this morning. The e-zine says Mayor de Blasio will announce the details soon.
That could bring a crashing halt to the record number of new building permits issued this year–driven largely by fears of the 421a program expiring or changing, as Crains noted this week. Even without new affordable housing requirements, projects that might have begun in 2016 or 2017 were rushed into the ground to beat legislative deadlines and a drop in permits next year is likely.
New and existing buildings will pay 14.1 percent more in property taxes due to rising assessments from 2016 to 2019 according to a NY Financial Control Board analysis issued Tuesday. As usual, Class 2 can expect to pay a disproportionate share.
Just when you thought Uber was Uber Alles, Airbnb is back in the news. NY Communities for Change issued a report this week claiming that more than 20 percent of the rental apartments in Williamsburg, the East and West Villages, and the Lower East Side were being listed as illegal full-year rentals on Airbnb. Airbnb spokesmen called the claim “faulty.” Interestingly, the 2014 New York City Housing Vacancy Survey showed the number of units held vacant for occasional use, which would probably include illegal hotel units as well as traditional pied-a-terres, declined by 10,000 units citywide since 2011, to about 54,000.
The Tenant Protection Unit at the State Division of Homes and Community Renewal now has a little brother, the City Tenant Support Unit, that is sending teams to canvass tenants for potential harassment claims. Ironically, some tenant activists are concerned about City employees taking their jobs.
Reminder: See the attached flyer for the New York State Builders Association summer event at Turning Stone Resort, August 27th. Golf and gambling go together.
Reminder II: You have until August 21st to apply for extra manufacturers rebates on products you have bought since January from companies such at Delta Faucets, Boise Cascade, Honeywell and dozens more. No receipts and free money. Check it out.