The City Planning Department began the formal review process this week for  Zone Green code changes that will allow walls to exceed FAR limits for insulation, and allow rooftop solar installation to go over height limits, as part of a comprehensive plan to remove zoning obstacles to energy efficiency.

Is your new building or major alteration application stalled in a Dept. of Buildings borough office? If you are ready to resubmit the plans electronically you can now transfer the application to the new Development Hub and get a full team review with City examiners, your architect or engineer and yourself in a virtual meeting online. DOB is ready for the 21st century. Are you?

While the US Attorney continues Fair Housing cases against NY developers who complied with local accessibility codes but didn’t meet federal standards, a Texas district court judge has ruled in United States v. JPI Construction that compliance with the federal safe harbor standards is not mandatory and that developers can attempt to prove to a jury that their buildings are accessible within the spirit of the law and that they had no intent to discriminate.

Mayor Bloomberg signed legislation Wednesday allowing property owners to pay a $250 fine and certify heat violations are corrected within 24 hours of notice being affixed to a building — tolling daily fines. The local law also created a new $200 inspection fee when a third or subsequent violation is issued in the same heating season.

You can now buy an urban umbrella instead of an old-fashioned sidewalk shed. E-mail urbanumbrella@agenciegroup.com  to order one.

Two constitutional cases on rent regulation were in the news this week.  The Queens League of United Tenants challenge to whether owners could apply guidelines to legal rents when they had leases for lower preferential rents was rejected by state courts. Meanwhile, the city has until January 4th to answer a challenge by upper West Side property owner James Harmon in the US Supreme Court. Unfortunately, at this time, the high court is only considering whether an owner can make certain types of arguments rather than the direct question of whether decades of regulations have become a taking. If Harmon wins, however, he can go back to the lower courts on the takings issue.

Wondering what to do with your energy benchmarking information? City officials, NYSERDA and Con Edison are presenting a free workshop on interpreting the results, prioritizing improvements, and financial assistance for multifamily buildings December 12th and commercial buildings December 13th. Both programs are from 3-5 at REBNY, 570 Lexington Ave. E-mail Zachary.shelin@cadmusgroup.com with your name and company for info or reservations.

Governor Cuomo’s budget and tax deal was taken up in the Senate just 26 minutes after publication and then approved by both houses Wednesday night. The Governor was the first to note how he had achieved bipartisan action on issues that Washington could not. The next day he doled out a billion dollars for economic development projects statewide, including a few million for affordable housing and accessibility programs in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. About $845,000 will go to the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, founded by Assemblyman Vito Lopez (chair of the Assembly housing committee), despite multiple investigations of the Council for corruption.

If you missed last week’s terrific ABO gala, or just want to relive it in pictures, check out these photo galleries. Gallery 2 has most of the table shots.

Gallery 1

Gallery 2

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly thanked building owners and managers at last night’s ABO dinner for helping keep the city safe through the NYPD Shield program for reporting suspicious activities. If you see something, say something.

Kelly was awarded ABO’s 2011 Public Servant of the Year Award. Other winners celebrating with ABO were George McDonald, founder of the Doe Fund, Fred Harris, Senior VP at AvalonBay Communities, and Bob Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services. Congratulations again to all.

The Building Congress reported this week that the number of stalled construction sites dropped slightly in October. An average of 638 construction sites were identified as stalled in October of this year, compared to 693 in October 2010 and 454 in October 2009.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has announced the 2012 Green Infrastructure Grant Program. Up to $4 million will be available to property owners for green infrastructure projects such as blue roofs, green roofs and porous pavement on private property and in sidewalks in combined sewered areas.  Workshops explaining the program are scheduled in  Brooklyn, Dec. 6th and Queens, Dec. 14th. Click for details.

It’s time to start signing up for booth space at Buildings/NY, coming May 2and 3rd. Prime locations are going fast.

The City Council yesterday held another hearing on proposed Living Wage legislation, despite mixed support even among unions; evidence that the threat of Living Wage requirements killed the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment plan in 2009, along with 1200 permanent jobs; and dire projections for the impact of the bill on subsidized housing projects. The bill’s fate now seems to rest with Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

When is recourse non-recourse? When a personal guaranty isn’t specifically assigned as part of a note transfer from the FDIC, according  to a State Supreme Court decision in East West Bank v. 32 Tower LLC. The FDIC transferred all evidence of indebtedness, the decision said, but other courts have ruled repeatedly that a guarantee is not evidence of indebtedness…at least in legal terms.

Assemblywomen Earlene Hooper and Annette Robinson were evicted from their Albany apartments for not paying rent,

State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower this week rejected a tenant case to bar the sale of housing court records for tenant screening. The tenant argued that the courts were allowing tenants to be blacklisted whether they were at fault in litigation or not, but the court system argued that selling the data was simply an efficient way to comply with public information requirements and that the data was available in other forms anyway.

Congress yesterday approved increasing FHA loan guarantee limits back to a maximum $725,750, although lower loan limits remain for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. NAHB was a leader in the battle to raise the limits to sustain the fragile housing market.

Bruce Ratner detailed plans for a 32 floor prefab steel residential tower at Atlantic Yards, claiming his architectural and engineering teams could overcome issues with cross bracing components. Sixty percent of the construction would be done in a factory where union wages are less than half the union wage for on site construction workers.

Last week Public Advocate and mayoral contender Bill de Blasio suggested solving the problem of delays and computer glitches processing Section 8 renewals at NYCHA by suspending the issuance of termination notices. He didn’t explain what property owners were  supposed to do if rents were not paid and terminations were not issued. Nor did he deal with the issue of what happens if tenant contracts are terminated late and the building owner is stuck for the rent in the meantime.

Finally, one more reminder to get your reservations and journal ads in for our December 1st Gala. And Happy Thanksgiving.

The Division of Housing and Community Renewal held a hearing yesterday on a proposed 7.8 percent 2012-13 Maximum Base Rent Factor. The formula on which the factor is based showed a 13.66 percent increase in property taxes on rent controlled buildings and a 26.51 percent increase in water and sewer charges from the last cycle. The largest component of the formula is an allowance for operations and maintenance based on the Rent Guidelines Board price index research, which increased just 3.35 percent…not counting fuel which is compensated separately by the fuel pass-along.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is seeking expressions of interest for the redevelopment of up to 33 acres of the Rossville Municipal Site on the Arthur Kill Channel on Staten Island,. The site is the largest New York City-owned property available for maritime development and one of the few remaining industrial waterfront properties available and suitable for shipping in the entire region.

Superintendents and resident managers got an unwelcome surprise notice in the mail this week from Time Warner. TW sent W-9 forms so that it can issue 1099s for courtesy services over $600. It is a requirement under new IRS rules that stem from the Health Care Reform Act. Talk about indirect consequences.

An energy engineer with the Community Preservation Corporation noted at a seminar on intelligent buildings yesterday that the average cost of energy of all kinds (heat, light, cooling, etc.) in existing New York multifamily buildings is about $3 per square foot, although there is a wide range. All the experts agreed that a 15-20 percent cut from minor upgrades and energy management is relatively easy. One ABO member just cut his electric bill on a building by 20 percent simply by letting ESCO’s bid for his business on the ABO Energy Marketplace. Intelligent owners are as important as intelligent buildings. What are you waiting for?

Please get your reservations in for ABO’s annual dinner dance December 1st.

Meanwhile, hear ABO Executive Director Dan Margulies speaking on the panel on Albany and the City 2011: Rent-stabilization, Recession, and Politics, at the Massey Knakal Multifamily Summit November 16th. Use the code P-ABOFIFTY to get a discount on your ticket.

AKAM is a fast growing Residential Property Management Company and we are searching for an experienced Portfolio Manager to join our team.  The perfect candidate will have 5-7 years of experience managing coops/condos in NYC. Must be articulate and have the ability to multi-task.  Effective oral and written communication skills and computer knowledge are essential.  Very competitive salary and benefits package, including 401k.  Email resume with salary requirements to mchachere@akam.com.

The J51 tax benefit program expires December 31st and the state legislature is unlikely to renew it before then, so get any outstanding applications in by December 15th if you want to see benefits in 2012. Remember the legislature waited six months to renew 421a last year as part of the rent regulation extension and tax cap. J51 legislation could get tied up with income tax and other budget issues in Albany next spring, as stated at pancardapply.in.

Speaking of J51, the Appellate Division, First Department, yesterday rejected an appeal by the property owners in Roberts V. Tishman Speyer to throw out claims for retroactive application of the Stuyvesant Town decision. Now they get to go back and argue about whether retroactive liability for overcharges runs four years prior to the 2009 decision, four years prior to individual claims, or some other period.

The US Senate has passed a bill restoring the higher Fannie Mae conforming loan limits that were reduced September 30th. The bill is now before the House and NAHB is urging members to call their congressman next week. See details here. The lower limits disqualify 34,000 potential loans in Queens, 29,000 in Brooklyn and 14,000 in Manhattan.

Join us for our annual dinner dance, December 1st. Call the ABO office if your invitation hasn’t arrived in the mail.

There could be 40,000 fewer construction jobs in 2013 than 2008, according to a forecast by the New York Building Congress released this week. Commercial construction is expected to increase slightly in 2012 and fall slightly in 2013, while residential construction will rise from 10,700 units this year to 11,500 in 2013—still well below the 30,000 units per year of 2005-2008. Government spending that has been propping up the industry, however, is expected to drop billions in 2013, impacting sectors such as crane hire in Perth and infrastructure development.

The Court of Appeals this week determined that the scaffold law placing liability on property owners for construction accidents didn’t require a scaffold or even an elevated object to apply. In Wilenski vs. 334 East 92nd Housing Development Corp. Fund Corp, et al, the court said that  an accident involving pipes falling against a worker on the same level would be covered if proper safety precautions weren’t taken.

An investigative report on the indictment of HPD Assistant Commissioner Wendell Walters for corruption in City development programs has claimed to identify contractors in the  case as George Armstrong, former head of the Housing partnership Development Corporation, and Bogdan Starzecki. You can also look for great contractors with Construction – Roofing New Jersey.

Reminder: Reserve now for our Nov. 3rd luncheon.

Get $50 off your ticket for the Massey Knakal Multifamily Summit, November 16th, with the discount code P-ABOFIFTY