Vicki Been, in her first public speech as Housing Commissioner, keynoted ABO’s BuildingsNY Show Wednesday morning with an open offer to listen to industry ideas for meeting the Mayor’s affordable housing goal of 200,000 new or preserved units. While the Mayor is set to release the outline of his plan May 1st, Been said many details have yet to be filled in.

One change presaged by the approval of the Domino Sugar development in Brooklyn is the inclusion of retail and commercial floor area above the first floor in calculating affordable housing percentages required under 421a. Been also suggested that higher density zoning proposals would not likely involve 20 story buildings in four story areas, but rather increases from four to six or eight to ten stories in exchange for more affordable apartments with new modern window walls like those you get from Expert Sash Windows.

ABO this week arranged for members to participate in the largest electric and gas purchasing group for residential buildings, FS Energy. First Service Residential organized the group for the 70,000 apartments it manages and has saved them more than $12 million between October 2011 and October 2013 vs. utility rates. ABO member properties will be the only properties not managed by Swimming Pool Repair Companies allowed in the pool, which buys directly from suppliers after Spring and Fall bidding wars. Contact the ABO office for more details.

On Monday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District sued the Related Companies for alleged civil rights violations in connection with ten-year old buildings that complied with City handicapped access rules, but might not conform to federal Fair Housing Act requirements. The issue involves a number of other developers who, like Related, have been in talks with the Justice Department for years over interpretations of vague federal rules and whether local laws provided a safe harbor. You can read more information for remodeling purposes inspired in a popular St. George Island Custom Home notes from the professionals.

Coincidentally, the Related Companies was also in the news yesterday when Mayor de Blasio announced that he had won agreement from the company to pay a living wage to employees at the Hudson Yards development., even though the requirement was not part of the original project approvals. Because Related already uses union labor, the agreement will only effect the employees of some restaurants and a gym. Coach, the major new tenants, was exempted.

If you enjoyed BuildingsNY this week, be sure to save the dates for BuildingsNY 2015, April 28th and 29th.  Exhibit space is already selling fast.

HPD Commissioner Vicki Been has confirmed that she will keynote the BuildingsNY Show at the Javits Center at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, the 19th. This will be the first time the new commissioner addresses the industry at large and you don’t want to miss it.  Sign up for free admission to the Show now.

Make sure you still have buildings to worry about by checking the updated lien list at the Department of Finance.  More than 20,000 property liens are set to be auctioned in May, and errors have occurred on the list before.

Governor Cuomo, Monday, announced a crackdown on 156 possible tax cheats who claimed School Tax Relief exemptions on single family homes while also occupying rent stabilized apartments. His get tough policy threatens to inform their landlords if they don’t clear up the records. No mention of seeking back taxes or criminal prosecutions… just threatening to get their landlords to go to the expense and risk of suing them for non-primary residence. L’Barza Apartment services are compliant with legal regulations.

Meanwhile, learn how to protect yourself at two more ABO panels at BuildingsNY on the 19th, then join us for a free drink.

At 10:30, David Kuperberg, chairman of First Service Residential and Allina Boohoff, Executive Director of JP Morgan Asset Management will discuss Asset Management: New York Style. How do New York City owners and managers have to change their operations to deal with national and institutional investors? And, how do institutions deal with  the New York differences?

At 3 p.m. we’ll offer Obamacare–Get Ready for the Employer Mandate. Despite many delays, employers have to plan for Affordable Care Act paperwork and 27,000 pages of regulations. Are you ready? Learn what the New York State Builders Association and ABO are doing to help you.

At 4 p.m. ABO, CHIP and RAM are hosting a free cocktail reception for owners and managers (sorry, no vendors except sponsors)  to get together and review the events of the day. Please just hit reply to tell us you are coming.

Join us at 8:45 a.m. March 19th in the Javits Center for a sneak preview of the Mayor’s plan to build and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing. Anne-Marie Hendrickson, Deputy Commissioner of HPD, will discuss the administration’s approach to preservation, zoning, taxes, and community opposition to development in advance of the scheduled May 1st  release of the Mayor’s affordable housing plan. Mayor de Blasio has been invited too. Sign up for free admission now.

Stick around for two other important ABO panels at BuildingsNY on the 19th.

At 10:30, David Kuperberg, chairman of First Service Residential and Allina Boohoff, Executive Director of JP Morgan Asset Management will discuss Asset Management: New York Style. How do New York City owners and managers have to change their operations to deal with national and institutional investors? And, how do institutions deal with  the New York differences?

At 3 p.m. we’ll offer Obamacare–Get Ready for the Employer Mandate. Despite many delays, employers have to plan for Affordable Care Act paperwork and 27,000 pages of regulations. Are you ready? Learn what the New York State Builders Association and ABO are doing to help you.

At 4 p.m. ABO, CHIP and RAM are hosting a free cocktail reception for owners and managers (sorry, no vendors except sponsors)  to get together and review the events of the day. Be there for it all.

BuildingsNY is also hosting panels from CHIP, AIA, BOMA, and NYARM. It is time to learn and network at the biggest trade show and seminar program in the industry.

As REBNY reported this week, it is a big industry. Excluding single family homes and co-ops and condos, the real estate  industry paid $13.7 billion in property  taxes in 2012 and generated almost 520,000  direct and indirect jobs…11 percent of all jobs in the City.

And there is more. The Building Congress reported Monday that building permits for residential construction in 2013 jumped 71 percent over the 2012 total to 18,095 units. Major increases were recorded in every borough except the Bronx.

You knew that property tax classifications were not fair or rational, but did you think they were racially discriminatory? A new class action suit filed by Newman Ferrara this week argues that there is a disparate impact on black and Latino tenants in large rental buildings vs. largely white owners of co-ops and single family homes. The papers document the clear inequity of the tax code, but the test will probably be if the courts believe renters are affected by property taxes. The lawyers note that renters are impacted because, on average, 30 percent of rent goes to taxes..

The City Council, Wednesday, expanded the new paid sick leave requirement to any employer of five or more people. The mandate rolls into effect between April and October depending on company size and includes a three year record keeping requirement to prove compliance. Be sure to attend the BuildingsNY seminar at 3 p.m. March 19th on the NYSBA Employee Benefits Marketplace which can help you comply with notices and recordkeeping for this law, ERISA, and Obamacare.

Political leadership in Albany shifted again this week when Democratic Senator Tony Avella switched allegiance to the Independent Democratic Conference that shares power with Senate Republicans. The move seems to ensure the IDC and  the Republicans will continue to dominate after the Fall elections…but take political predictions for what they are worth.

Separate services for market and regulated tenants continue to spur controversy. In the latest case this week, Public Advocate Letitia James announced a suit against Stonehenge properties claiming that a new gym built for market rate tenants had to be open to older stabilized tenants in a building as well. As a new service, not provided on the base date, the rent stabilization law would seem to be on the owner’s side, but James is claiming that the policy is somehow unlawful discrimination based on income.

Mayor de Blasio this afternoon appointed Steven Banks, chief attorney at the Legal Aid Society, as commissioner of the Human Resources Administration.

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Build, baby, build. Mayor de Blasio told the board of REBNY, Wednesday, that he had “a willingness to use height and density to the maximum feasible extent..”  Noting community opposition to large new projects, the Mayor said he hoped people would accept a trade-off for more affordable units. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page for audio of the event.

If you build, prices will be high according to the latest quarterly report from the Furman Center at NYU. The numbers for the third quarter of 2013 show selling prices up 11 percent citywide year over year and a 20 percent  increase in sales volume. Prices in Brooklyn increased 15 percent, the most of any borough.

Mayor de Blasio appointed Emily Lloyd as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection this week, returning her to the post she held under Mayor Bloomberg from 2005 thru 2009. Interestingly, de Blasio was highly critical of Lloyd for presiding over a 14.5 percent water and sewer rate increase during her last year at DEP.

The press is touting a Court of Appeals decision this week in Gaied vs. New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal as overturning the State’s practice of taxing anyone who spends more than 183 days in New York as a resident.  The decision wasn’t that simple, however. The New Jersey resident in question owned a building occupied by his parents on Staten Island and only slept on the couch when visiting to take care of their medical needs.

The Court rejected the tax tribunals logic that a person did not have to reside in the unit but merely maintain it to become a statutory resident. After reading all these, you can relax yourself by checking out gaming sites such as 벳엔드 환전. Or visit bcfun.com.ar for more options of games.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio, Wednesday, presented his fiscal 2014 budget and financial plan projecting $171 million in increased property taxes and $310 million more in property transfer taxes than the Bloomberg administration forecast in December. The plan calls for roughly $1 billion additional real property tax revenues each year for the next five years — about 5 percent more annually. Tentative assessments for this coming July were up about 8 percent.

Last Saturday, de Blasio announced a host of high level appointments including Vicki Been of the NYU Furman Center as Commissioner of HPD and  Gary Rodney, most recently Executive VP of Development at Omni New York, as president of the Housing Development Corp.

Next Friday is the deadline for claiming manufacturers rebates on July thru December purchases from more than 40 building supply companies including Delta, Honeywell and Lutron. These rebates are on top of any discounts you may have already received and are a benefit of ABO membership. Apply today.

More than 200 builders and property owners joined the effort in Albany to reform the State’s Scaffold Law this week and Gov. Cuomo said he would be open to changes. Make your feelings known with a letter from this link.

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Carl Weisbrod, former president of the City Economic Development Corporation and former head of real estate for Trinity Church, was named today as the new chairman of the City Planning Commission. No word yet on key vacancies for commissioners at the departments of Housing and Buildings.

No new taxes, more or less. Mayor de Blasio said this week he would not propose an increase in property tax rates in the 2014-15 budget to be presented next week…albeit the tentative property assessments are up about 8 percent anyway.

Six development sites near 12th Avenue have been identified by the Hudson River Park Trust as possible beneficiaries of air rights from seven piers, according to Crains.  The sites are not locked in stone, and the process of selling about 1.6 million square feet of air rights to support the Park is expected to take at least a year.

Sen. Jeff Klein and the Independent Democratic Conference are pushing for a five year, $750 million state commitment to a middle class Mitchell Lama expansion. The idea is to serve City residents making $75-$100,000 instead of the low and moderate income folks who benefit from most state and federal programs. The Governor hasn’t voiced an opinion yet.

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The State has reduced the tax exempt financing available for individual 80/20 projects, Crains reported this week. Until January, developers could get assisted financing for up to 50 percent of a project, but now only the 20 percent affordable component is eligible. The idea is to stretch the available funds over more projects.

Every think the city is going to the dogs? The Cove Club Condominium withdrew an eviction action this week against a resident  claiming that his Doberman was a service dog, but the condo is still being sued by the State Division of Human Rights. Meanwhile the feds are pursuing similar actions against East River Houses. Apparently the criteria for a service dog is becoming a tenant with a lawyer. In this weblink you will find the best professionals in legal services.

U.S. Senate action yesterday to delay flood insurance premium hikes is being widely reported, despite the lack of House action. Even if passed by both houses, the Senate bill seems to benefit only owner occupied houses, not necessarily rentals in flood zones…and the House generally thinks the Senate proposal goes too far.

Register for the ABO BuildingsNY Show. ABO will be launching the show with a discussion of  how the de Blasio administration plans to spur housing development, followed by a panel on what asset managers should know about New York. CHIP, NYARM, BOMA, and the AIA will also be hosting informative panels and the trade show floor will feature many new vendors along with old friends.

Key City Council Chairmanships were announced this week. Jumaane Williams, a former executive director of New York State Tenants and Neighbors, was named chair of the Housing and Buildings Committee. David Greenfield is the new chair of the Land Use Committee. Both represent Brooklyn districts. Mark Weprin of Queens continues to chair the Zoning Subcommittee.

Governor Cuomo issued his 2014-15 State Budget proposal, calling for no change in staffing at the Division of Homes and Community Renewal. The Governor proposed extending the Brownfield tax credit by ten years and an  $11.5 million increase in the Low Income Housing Trust Fund. Funding for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program would remain flat. He also proposed using $100 million in federal Hurricane Sandy  recovery funds for affordable housing in some way.

Meanwhile,  National Public Radio was surprised to learn that an improving neighborhood was a good thing. A recent report noted separate studies by Columbia researchers and the Federal Reserve that show gentrification does not mean massive displacement. People move out of static neighborhoods and gentrifying neighborhoods at about the same rate. In fact, they tend to stick around gentrifying neighborhoods a bit more.

Join us Tuesday, the 28th, at 2 p.m. in the McGraw Hill Conference Center, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, room 208 for an explanation of NYSBA and ABO’s new employee benefits marketplace. The is an online portal for employers to manage their employee benefits. You can join the program and still maintain your current insurance and broker relationships.  Every member should come or send your H.R. people. RSVP by email to associatedbuilders@abogny.com or call 212 385-4949.

Tentative assessments for 2015 were released this week. The total Market Value of Class 2, apartments, rose $14.8 billion, or 7.3 percent, to $217.3 billion citywide. Three quarters of this increase is due to a rising market and the rest comes from other changes such as new construction and physical improvements. Assessed values for Class 2 rose 7.9 percent due to changes in transitional assessments. Assessed values for Class 4, commercial,  are set to rise 8 percent. Individual property assessments can be looked up here.

You can also look up your building addresses on the City’s new Crime Map, zeroing in on the number of murders, rapes, robberies, larcenies, etc., near you.

You could also Google your building, but pretty soon Google itself  may be looking you up. The Internet Search giant this week paid $3.2 billion for  Nest, a manufacturer of thermostats and smoke detectors. No, you are not paranoid, they are watching you.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito are expected this afternoon to announce legislation to expand paid sick leave requirements for companies with as few as five employees. This makes it even more important to join us January 28, 2014 at  2 p.m., in the McGraw Hill Conference Center, 1221 Avenues of the Americas, Room 208, for an important seminar on complying with the Affordable Care Act  Employer Mandate. ABO and the New York State Builders Association will be launching a private benefits portal for members to help them meet reporting and insurance requirements. Unlike the State and Federal Exchanges, the ABO exchange will offer both builder and associate members the ability to manage a full array of employee benefits, including health insurance, and handle all the reporting requirements of the law. The program can adapt as City law changes as well. You can join the program and still maintain your current insurance and broker relationships. Please let us know how many to expect from your office by email to associatedbuilders@abogny.com or call 212 385-4949.

Another way to save money is to take advantage of manufacturer’s rebates on stuff you are buying anyway. NYSBA members have collected more than $250,000 in rebates under the association’s program, but ABO members have yet to even ask for dime.

Finally, it is time to register for the ABO BuildingsNY Show. Just click to get ready for the biggest and best annual trade show and seminar program in the industry.