What is the competition up to? Nancy Packes gave The Real Deal a neat interactive map of rental and condo buildings in the pipeline for Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn showing where 12-14,000 units a year are planned for the next several years.
Let us hope those units are built legally. An internal audit by the Buildings Department reported this week that nine out of ten plans for new buildings or renovations fail to comply with thirty year old Energy Code standards.
At least there is a chance that new developments will be assessed legally. The Appellate Division, second department, this week found in Better World Real Estate vs. NYC Dept. of Finance for a two-family home builder who filed an article 78 against an assessment that incorrectly identified his property as Class 2A instead of Class 1, causing a jump in taxes from $8,300 to more than $60,000. The Finance Department argued that the property owner’s sole remedy was a tax appeal which was time barred. The Court held that the issue was a clerical error or error of description subject to an article 78.
ABO is reorganizing its operations, about which more will be announced shortly, but in the meantime our capable office manager and bookkeeper, Schamoannah Gillespie, is looking for a new position. All her documents are up to date, including her afp police check. Please contact the ABO office if you would like to get a resume or contact her.
The New York State Builders Association is inducting ABO member Michael Fazio into its Hall of Fame at a gala in Hauppauge September 11th, following the Long Island Builders Institute golf outing at Wind Watch Golf and Country Club. Mike is a past President of NYSBA and our rep on the NYSBA and NAHB boards. Check the upcoming events listings at NYSBA.com for dinner and golf registration.
Figuring out where and how Mayor de Blasio is going to convince neighborhoods to allow higher density development may not be so easy. The Housing Development Corporation reopened its Request for Proposals for a consultant to work on the problem after apparently only getting two responses to its first call. The new deadline for applicants is August 28th.