UPDATE: On May 10, 2017, the City Council voted 49-0 approve the new legislation. The new law, sponsored by Council Members Vincent Gentile and Jumaane Williams, increases the minimum civil penalty for immediate hazardous illegal conversions to $15,000 fine for each dwelling unit beyond the number that are legally authorized. The legislation was proposed after a two-alarm fire in an illegally converted unit in East Flatbush, Brooklyn killed one person, injured five more, and … <Read More>
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Attorney General Reaches $225,000 Settlement with Harassing Landlords
Schneiderman announces settlement with New York City landlord accused of harassing rent-stabilized tenants. On May 4, 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric. T. Schneiderman announced that a settlement had been reached between the State and several companies controlled by Sassan “Sami” Mahfar and Sina Mahfar. The companies owned four residential buildings on Manhattan’s Lower East Side—22 Spring Street, 102 Norfold Street, 113 Stanton Street, and 210 Rivington Street. The Attorney General alleged that the … <Read More>
City Council Holds Hearing on Hotel-to-Condo Conversion Moratorium [UPDATE: CITY COUNCIL APPROVES EXTENSION]
UPDATE: On May 10, 2017, the City Council voted 45-4 to approve the extension of the moratorium on hotel-to-condo conversions within the Borough of Manhattan. Council Members Daniel Garodnick, David Greenfield, Steven Matteo, and Paul Vallone all voted in the negative. The Committee on Housing and Buildings previously voted 11-0 on May 8, 2017. The bill will now go to the Mayor’s desk for his signature.
City Council Committee heard testimony in considering an extension … <Read More>
Public Review Underway for East Harlem Initiative
The proposal would create new affordable housing, strengthen the neighborhood as a major transit hub and job center, and preserve neighborhood character in existing mid-scale residential areas. On April 24, 2017, the Department of City Planning began the public review process for its proposal to rezone Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood. The East Harlem Initiative would invest in the improvement of the neighborhood by adding new affordable housing, creating opportunities for economic development, planning for infrastructure … <Read More>
Transmitter Park in Greenpoint to Get 11-Story Mixed-Use Building Adjacent
Planning Commission approved bulk regulation amendment for an eleven-story building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. On April 26, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application submitted by Kent/Greenpoint, LLC, to develop an eleven-story mixed-use building in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. The applicant sought to amend bulk regulations related to the location of legal windows, landscaping requirements for off-street parking and minimum street wall heights in order to orientate the massing of the proposed … <Read More>
Planning Commission Approves Retail Use in Canal Street Ground Floor
The City Planning Commission approved the conversion of a Canal Street ground floor into retail use. On April 26, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from Canal Associates, LP, a subsidiary of United American Land, owner of 361 Canal Street in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The application sought a special permit to exempt the location from certain requirements of Section 42-14D(2)(b) of the Zoning Resolution to allow for the conversion … <Read More>