New night time hearing requirements (62 degrees regardless of outside temperature) took effect Sunday and the long range forecast indicates it will become an issue Wednesday. Coincidentally, that’s when we hold a seminar on the subject at 8:30 a.m. at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue. You should attend if 1) You need to comply with the new night time heating requirements, 2) You own or manage a building between 25,000 and 50,000 sq. ft. subject to new benchmarking requirements, or 3) You use energy in your property for heating, cooling, or light. RSVP now.
The City Planning Commission this week approved an East Harlem rezoning aimed at increasing density an affordable housing. It now goes to the City Council for a vote.
Renters are different than just ten years ago, according to the National Rental Housing Landscape report issued by the Furman Center yesterday. Median renter household income is higher because, in part, the universe of renters is better educated. The percentage of renter households where someone has a college degree rose from 28.6% in 2006 to 35% in 2015 and the percentage with some college education rose from 24.4% to 28%, while the percentage with high school or less dropped almost 10 points. The less educated, lower income renters, however, are more severely rent burdened than before, the study showed.
Mayor de Blasio’s plan to stop using hotels for the homeless isn’t working out so well. Five hotels are no longer being used, but twelve new ones have been added at rents of about $5,000 a month per unit.
On Tuesday, the Mayor named Vincent Sapienza, a 35-year veteran of the department, as the new commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
Edgewater, New Jersey is the latest community to oppose waterfront development that includes affordable housing, apparently thinking a public works storage facility is a better use of the old Hess oil site.