HPD Commissioner Vicki Been addresses the annual luncheon of Women in Housing and Finance. At right: WHF board member Arianna Sacks Rosenberg. Image credit: Women in Housing and Finance
HPD will permit architect self-certification and expand M/WBE developer opportunities. On October 7, 2014, Commissioner Vicki Been of the NYC Housing Preservation and Development gave the keynote address to the annual luncheon of Women in Housing and Finance. Commissioner Been elaborated on and announced new HPD initiatives to advance Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plan.
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The CUNY Forum held a panel discussion on affordable housing. (l. to r., REBNY President Steven Spinola, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Bob Liff, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer) Image credit: City University of New York
Elected officials and real estate professionals debate solutions and strategies to City’s affordable housing shortage. On October 1st, 2014 the City University of New York’s CUNY Forum series held a panel discussion titled “Affordable Housing and Social Justice in NYC”. The panel featured Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Vishaan Chakrabarti of SHoP Architects and Associate Professor at Columbia University, Real Estate Board of New York President Steven Spinola, and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams. The debate was moderated by CUNY Forum’s host Bob Liff.
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Public Design Commission rejected Comptroller’s recommendation for more efficient design review process. The New York City Public Design Commission (formerly known as the Art Commission) reviews permanent works of art, architecture, and landscape architecture proposed on or over City-owned property. The Commission is composed of 11 unpaid members, eight of whom are appointed by the mayor, and includes an architect, landscape architect, painter, and sculptor, as well as representatives of the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the New York Public Library.
The City agency with jurisdiction over the property on which a proposed project is located must submit its design to the Commission. Prior to submitting a proposal to the Commission, applicants must ensure compliance with the regulations of (more…)
Comptroller found that Buildings did not audit requisite percentage of professionally certified building permit applications. City Comptroller John C. Liu issued an audit report on Buildings’ compliance with its rules governing the internal auditing of professionally certified building applications. The audit found, among other things, that Buildings audited a “significantly lower” number of applications than required, and that Buildings’ borough offices in Brooklyn and Queens failed to fully review certain audit applications.
The professional certification program was created in 1995 and allows registered architects and licensed engineers to “self-certify” certain building permit applications by affirming that the plans comply with all applicable codes and laws. Self-certified applications bypass examination by Buildings, but the program’s rules require Buildings to randomly audit at least 20 percent of the applications. Audits must be performed within ten days after a permit has been obtained. (more…)
