Projects intended to spur development in Harlem and Jamaica. On September 21, 2007, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development held a hearing in the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s offices to receive public comment on the City’s plan to seek State funds for two redevelopment projects in Harlem and Jamaica. The City hopes to secure State funding under the Restore New York’s Communities Initiative, a State initiative created last year to revitalize urban areas and stabilize neighborhoods.

Under the Restore NY plan, municipalities must submit an application to the Empire State Development Corporation that details a project on government-owned land which will attract people and investment, increase the tax base, improve municipal finances and lessen dependence on state aid. The City is limited to two annual applications of $10 million each. (read more…)

Site will be one of first parcels developed after major rezoning. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals seeking a developer to purchase a 45,000-square-foot City-owned site in downtown Jamaica and develop it into a mixed-use building with retail space, housing, and parking. A two-story parking garage partially used by the NYPD currently occupies the site, which is part of the Special Downtown Jamaica District from Jamaica Avenue to 93rd Avenue, between 169th and 168th Streets.

The City approved the site for sale and rezoned it to accommodate retail, service and residential uses under the Jamaica Plan, one of the largest rezonings in the City’s history. 4 CityLand 117 (Sept. 15, 2007). (read more…)

Proposal lists a $1 purchase price for Williamsburg firehouse. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued requests for proposals for the two former Brooklyn FDNY firehouses that spurred controversy when DCAS proposed to sell the buildings at public auction. Opposition by local community boards and Borough President Marty Markowitz to the outright sale resulted in a compromise under which the City Council voted to limit future users to community facility providers and to prohibit a sale of the firehouse at 299 DeGraw Street in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood. 4 CityLand 71 (June 15, 2007).

The RFPs follow-up on the Council’s vote. At 299 DeGraw Street in Cobble Hill, the proposal seeks a viable not-for-profit tenant to redevelop the 4,250-square-foot firehouse for a community, education or cultural use. The $1-a-year lease would be limited to one ten-year term with two five-year renewal options. (read more…)

Information will assist State evaluation of proposal. The New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications issued a request for expressions of interest to solicit innovative ideas to design, implement, operate and maintain the City’s congestion pricing plan.

Under the proposed congestion pricing plan, the City will charge vehicles entering or leaving Manhattan below 86th Street during the business day, as a way to alleviate traffic congestion, improve public health, and generate revenue for mass transit. The charge does not apply to certain vehicles, such as emergency vehicles, yellow taxis, and vehicles meeting certain low-emission standards. Moreover, the plan will not charge vehicles more than once per day. (read more…)

$85 million in bond offerings on the calendar for IDA’s June public hearing. The New York City Industrial Development Agency, a component of the Economic Development Corporation, held its monthly public hearing on June 7, 2007. Eighteen projects were on the notice of public hearing, including bond offerings totaling $85 million and seven straight-leases.

Among the 18 projects on the calendar was a straight-lease to News America Publishing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The lease is for 75,000 sq.ft. of office space at the company’s current U.S. headquarters at 1211 Avenue of the Americas. News America Publishing Inc.’s parent company has approximately $62 billion in assets and total annual revenues of approximately $28 billion. On approval, the IDA action would extend the company’s exemption from City and state sales and use taxes in connection with renovating and equipping the building’s 12th and 13th floors. (read more…)