Why Eric Adams’ Zoning Changes Are Vital For A Post-Pandemic New York
New York Mayor Eric Adams has come forward with significant land use proposals in the past few weeks, all under the rubric of “City of Yes.” Although much of the attention is focused on Adams’ proposals to generate 500,000 new housing units, there is another significant component of City of Yes that has been overlooked:… Read more »
Fed’s Rate Hikes Aren’t Bulldozing Commercial Real Estate— Yet
The Federal Reserve’s announcement of another 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase continues the central bank’s grim war with inflation. Higher rates are doing damage across the economy, which has never stabilized after the Covid-19 shock. But commercial real estate, vital to cities’ economic and fiscal well-being, hasn’t taken a big hit—yet. Ever-higher interest rates… Read more »
NYC Commercial Real Estate Brokers Say They’ve Never Been More Confident
Even in light of the slew of existential threats facing the industry, commercial brokers’ confidence is on the rise. The Real Estate Board of New York’s quarterly real estate broker confidence report showed its Current Conditions Index for commercial brokers spiked to hit a record high of 36, up from 20 the quarter before and… Read more »
Leisure and Hospitality Industry Bore the Biggest Brunt of NYC Pandemic Unemployment
The leisure and hospitality industry may have seen nationwide employment improvements this spring, but it’s still reeling from the pandemic. Leisure and hospitality bore the biggest brunt of year-to-year job loss in New York City, with a 53.1 percent decline between March 2020 and March 2021, according to a new report issued by U.S. Bureau… Read more »
Back-to-Work Malady Hurting Manhattan Retail Recovery
The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the City’s leading real estate trade association, today released a special report documenting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on storefronts in Midtown Manhattan’s critical retail corridors. These corridors have historically relied on foot traffic from Midtown office workers to power the local economy, and the continued… Read more »
NYC Pushes Through Massive Overhaul of Construction Codes
The New York City Department of Buildings today marked the official passage of major legislation in the City Council to update the city’s Construction Codes. The revision to the Codes contains over 600 major updates, and thousands of smaller changes, intended to improve safety for New Yorkers, and incorporate the latest in building technologies. The… Read more »
BP Adams Talks Climate Resiliency, Flood Mitigation
In response to the growing climate crisis, Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic nominee for mayor Eric Adams on Friday unveiled his new Climate Resiliency Plan in Coney Island — a month after the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded swaths of the city. “Let’s face it, we screwed up the planet. Folks, climate change is here,”… Read more »
New Yorkers brought NYC back despite hysteria over the Delta variant
If New York City is to be saved from COVID-19, it will be no thanks to the politicians, bureaucrats and big-business leaders who once upon a time we might have turned to for leadership. Instead, it will be entirely due to Big Apple residents and visitors who are loving the place with their growing presence… Read more »
The 2021 Brooklyn Power 100
Brooklyn is bursting at the seams with political power. The current mayor – and all but certainly the next mayor – hail from the borough. So too does the majority leader of the U.S. Senate and, perhaps, the next speaker of the House of Representatives. Brooklyn is also home to the state attorney general, a… Read more »
What might development look like with Eric Adams as Mayor?
With Borough President Eric Adams almost certainly becoming New York’s next mayor in January, real estate developers and community advocates alike are rushing to understand the future of land use policies under the city’s self-described “complex” next chief executive. While Gotham deals with a severe housing shortage, and ranks as the most expensive city in… Read more »
Industry gets behind city’s cultural reawakening
New York’s Real Estate and Construction Council is throwing its weight behind the rebuilding of the city’s cultural landscape. The group hosted the first in-person, live performance celebration at Lincoln Center since it was forced to cancel its programs and close its doors to the public last March. Jonathan L. Mechanic, chairman of Fried Frank’s… Read more »
De Blasio to End Remote Working for NYC’s 80,000 Municipal Workers
The nation’s biggest municipal workforce is being called back from remote working a year after the coronavirus pandemic shut office doors. According to The New York Times, Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided that the 80,000 municipal office employees who have been working from home since last March will have to report back to the… Read more »
During the Pandemic, They Are ‘Other Boroughs,’ Not ‘Outer Boroughs’
When it comes to the New York City investment sales market, the perception is, typically, that Manhattan is king and the outer boroughs are runners-up. However, during the pandemic, this long-standing perception has not been true. My friend, Josh Muss — who constantly reminds me that they are not the “outer boroughs,” they are the… Read more »
Navigating New York’s new TCO process
The pinnacle of any construction project is the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy (CO), albeit temporary or final. These documents, distributed by the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), grant the legal occupation of a new development or an existing building under construction in NYC. The process can be daunting and lengthy, but extremely necessary… Read more »
Our 12 most 2020 COVID-19 stories reveal a year like no other
Here are a dozen of the best pandemic stories compiled by City&StateNY to highlight some of the lessons worth remembering in 2021 begins. City&StateNY
NYC’s biggest real estate finance deals of 2020
New York’s commercial real estate market took a beating in 2020. In one indicator, the 10 largest investment sales of the year totaled $5 billion, a 37 percent drop-off from the $8 billion the previous year. Not surprisingly, finance deals dropped off considerably this year, as well. The 10 largest loans in New York totaled… Read more »