New York renters may see large rent increases or a change of heart with their current building. Some may have realized they are paying way too much for what they’re getting for their money. 

With their annual Subway Median Rent Map, RentHop provides a detailed report to help renters visualize where they can save by riding the train to affordability.

This year, 84% of Subway Stops saw increases in rent. This is lower than last year, but the median rent is currently at $4,400, 3.5% higher than the same time last year.

New developments and renovated units caused spikes in rent in the outer boroughs, so for renters concerned about their rent changing in the coming years, keep an eye out for construction and updates.

Tenants with lower rents aren’t moving, which is decreasing the current inventory for lower-priced units. This could cause problems in the future if these tenants move out and owners renovate and charge higher rents.

Where to Live if You Work Remotely or Hybrid in NYC

With remote and hybrid work becoming more popular, does it make sense to shell out for an apartment in the city’s heart with a quick commute that may only happen 1-2 times per week? Increasingly, renters look to their local neighborhood communities to find nightlife, meals and social happenings. If one’s community provides everything they need, why fork over large amounts of rent?

Below, CitySignal looked at some of the best stops to live off of for renters wanting to be in proximity to a certain Subway line.

Best NYC Subway Stops to Live Off the 1-2-3 Line

Apartments off the Cathedral Pkwy 1 train stop at 110th Street saw a 1.4% dip in rent. While the median rent is higher at $3,450, you’re farther down in Manhattan and are in proximity to several parks.

135th Street Station (2-3) in Harlem has a median rent of $2,567 and only saw 2.9% growth last year. This may mean you can snag a better deal in the area.

Best NYC Subway Stops to Live Off the 4-5-6 Line

Rent along the 6 train saw the most drastic rental decreases, with some rent near stations coming down over 6%. 

Brook Ave off the 6 train in Mott Haven in The Bronx. The current median rent is $2,369, with rent dropping 6.4% since last year. 

The Franklin Ave stop for the 2-3–4-5 had one of the lowest rent growths in the Crown Heights, Brooklyn area at 2.9%. Median rent sits at $2,910 but you have access to the S train which can connect you with other Brooklyn lines.

Best NYC Subway Stops to Live Off the N-Q-R-W Line

If your budget has room to grow over the coming years, check out Astoria Blvd ($2,750/6.8%) or Broadway ($2,650/6%) off the N/W. Rent is still proportionately low; however, the area is seeing major growth, which may impact your lease during re-signing. Make sure to read the terms of your lease carefully.

Best NYC Subway Stops to Live Off the B-D-F-M Line

While 155th Street (B-D) in Harlem saw 19.3% growth this year, the rent is still sitting at $2,600. This is a great stop to live off of if you’re a Yankee’s fan, you could even walk to a game!

F Ditmas Ave (F) is a Brooklyn stop in the quaint neighborhood of Kensington.

Newkirk Ave ($2,379/-1.9%) on the B–Q lines will send you straight into Lower Manhattan or give you the chance to transfer in Downtown Brooklyn to another line.

Best NYC Subway Stops to Live Off the A-C-E Line

The A stop at 190th Street in Washington Heights, just south of Inwood. With access to green space on the west side of Manhattan, current median rent sits at $2,300 with a -2% change since last year.

Utica Ave (A-C) in Bed-Stuy has a median rent of $2,600. There are many small local businesses that you can enjoy instead of traveling into the city.

Grand Ave-Newton in Queens ($2,200/0%) gives renters access to the E–M–R trains but is also two stops away from the 7 train. 

Best NYC Subway Stops to Live Off the J, G, L & 7 Trains

J train riders should look around Kosciuszko St. in the Bed-Stuy/Bushwick area, where the median rent is $2,850, a 1.1% drop since last year.

For G train lovers, check out the Myrtle-Willoughby Ave ($2,850/3.6%) or Ft. Hamilton Pkway ($2,838/-4.9%) stops in Brooklyn. Queens G stops have seen large rent growth, and apartments near those stops have an average rent of over $3,800!

The L train is a pricey line to live off of (thanks to going through Williamsburg), but the first stop to see a bit of rent relief is Dekalb Ave ($2,728/1%) in Bushwick. How trendy.

The 7 Train has quickly become a favorite of many renters, so look to 33rd St in Queens for a median rent of $2,750.

Best Neighborhoods to Live to Have Access To All Subway Lines

For access to multiple Subway lines, consider apartments in FiDi, SoHo/Chinatown, Downtown Brooklyn, or Hunters Point/Long Island City in Queens. These are not the friendliest for budget-conscious people, but if one needs to travel, access may be helpful.

The post Which NYC Subway Stop Is The Best to Live Off Of? appeared first on CitySignal.

485-x is the replacement for 421-a

After the 421-a program expired in June 2022, there has been a long gap during which no plan has emerged to replace it, despite Governor Kathy Hochul’s attempts with substitutions such as 485-w. But under the new budget, 485-x is the newest ten-year tax incentive to create housing in New York City with affordable housing and homeownership opportunities. The new program extends the completion deadline for projects from the expired 421-a through 2031, so those who might miss the 2026 cut-off have time for completion. There will be tax benefits for housing construction where smaller buildings will need to have 20% of the units listed with below market rents for people making no more than the area median income (AMI), which is limited at 80%. Larger buildings will need to set aside 25%. 

There is also a minimum construction wage requirement ($35/hour); however, the minimum is higher for new builds under 96th Street in Manhattan and on the waterfront in Brooklyn or Queens, the areas that will most likely generate higher rents ($72.45/hour or 65% current rate, whichever is less).

Hochul is hopeful for the new plan’s success, as 421-a produced an estimated “two-thirds of all newly constructed multifamily housing in the City in the last decade.”  The ultimate goal is for 485-x to help increase the housing supply.

What is Good Cause Eviction? More Tenant Protections

Good cause eviction was enacted immediately (in NYC) after the budget was passed in April 2024 and will be active until 2034. The proposal’s inclusion with the new budget will limit landlords’ potential evictions of tenants. ‘Good Cause’ means that a landlord must have a good reason to evict a tenant, such as illegal behavior, non-payment of rent, or if the building will be demolished or converted (from residential to commercial). States such as California have enacted good cause rules, and Connecticut may soon follow suit and pass legislation to give extra tenant protection. 

There are some exemptions to the Good Cause legislation, such as units with a monthly rent that is greater than 245% of the fair market rent, above (above $5,846 for a studio; $6,005 for a one bedroom; $6,742 for a two-bedroom; and $8,413 for a three-bedroom). This is far above the current average rent in NYC. Other exemptions include small buildings with ten units or less, units already subject to rent regulation, and condos or coops, among a few exceptions.

Protections to help tenants avoid price gouging were also implemented, limiting annual rent increases to no more than 10% or 5% plus the Consumer Price Index (whatever is lower). Additionally, squatters, another controversial topic that has frequently been making the news, are reinforced as not being tenants and, therefore, not having the same rights and protections.

What Else Was Passed With The Housing Proposals Of The 2025 Budget?

Notably, the new budget looks to tackle the the lack of rental inventory on the market and bring back vacant units that are off the market due to being inhabitable or outdated. These are situations where the landlord may have to spend more than they would make in rent to renovate the apartment due to rent control or stabilization. Owners will be able to recoup a portion of the renovation costs over a 15-year period, and there will be $40 million set aside to help bring apartments out of NYC back on the market to contribute to the supply.

The budget also includes a pilot program to legalize basement and cellar apartments in certain areas of the city. Illegal basement apartments have received negative press in recent years due to fatalities from extreme weather that led to perilous flooding. 

In terms of housing discrimination, the Division of Human Rights will strengthen enforcement of Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher discrimination by housing providers or real estate professionals. It will also prohibit insurance companies from refusing to cover affordable housing. 

Stronger enforcement and preventative measures to protect homeowners against deed theft by predatory investors to acquire interests in inherited properties and pressure homeowners to sell their homes. A Transfer on Death Deed has been introduced so homeownership will be protected in the event there is no formal will at the time of an owner’s passing.

Over $600 million in capital funding is allocated to support various housing-related initiatives across New York State, including significant investments in public housing authorities and initiatives like the New York Housing for the Future program, which aims to promote cooperative rental and homeownership in fully affordable housing projects​.

What Is The Community’s Response To The Housing Proposals Such As Good Cause Eviction and 485-x?

While Albany is heralding the housing provisions as a victory, not all feel the same.

Democratic Socialist Association (DSA) claims the bill missed the mark by a lot when it comes to Good Cause Eviction.  

“Governor Hochul’s version is “Good Cause Eviction” in name only—with major carve-outs to make it more palatable to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and greedy landlords, leaving at least three million tenants unprotected,” said the DSA.

REBNY President Jim Whelan also expressed his reservations about 485-x’s success, stating in a statement that the program will “produce less housing than its predecessor.” He also felt that landlords’ stabilized rent increases would “fail to reverse the declining quality of that housing stock.” 

“We are confident that this package falls far short of addressing the city’s housing needs and must be reassessed in the coming years to put the rental housing market on a solid footing.”

The post Housing Proposals with FY 2025 Budget: Good Cause Eviction, 421-a Replacement appeared first on CitySignal.

It’s getting better, just not quickly enough.  The streets feel far more crowded than 1-2 years ago, but the majority of business owners are squeezed on both ends by higher wages, inflating expenses, and lower foot traffic.  Today we focus on two interesting niches that have not quite recovered.

Theater Space For Rent

Pop-up event space has always been tricky to find in premium Midtown locations, but now off-Broadway, smaller theaters such as Chain Theatre are regularly offering their spaces to mitigate the shortfall.  It’s unclear what you might host in a 99-seat theatre, complete with a 2nd story escape door and backstage dressing room.  A corporate outing for all-hands meetings?  A hackathon?  Your own escape-room themed birthday party?

It would probably be cheaper than any of the usual hotel spaces to hold a corporate off-site event, but the dimensions don’t exactly lend themselves well to the usual coat check, catering, bar, and networking.  Plus, you are paying for the trap door!  How exactly will your company all-hands meeting use it?  (HR and Security will not be happy)

Still, at least they should have the AV situation mostly under control.  They also have two smaller spaces which could make for breakout rooms at a reasonable additional cost.  It’s unclear if you need to use unionized labor or can bring in your own company, but the restrictions may be more flexible than those at hotels and traditional venues.  Don’t expect theaters to turn into NYC apartments for rent anytime soon, though.  Despite the many creative zoning variances under discussion, theater space is not on the list.

Bridge Clubs in Crisis

Before the pandemic, Manhattan was home to the largest bridge club in the country, and over the years the Greater New York Bridge Association included over 4000 members that frequented 4 fulltime clubs and several private invitational clubs (such as the Regency Whist Club, University Club, and Cosmopolitan Club).  Unfortunately, bridge players are an aging population (median age 74).  They were among the most at-risk group during Covid and many migrated to online bridge or stopped playing altogether.

The once thriving bridge clubs would hold daily tournaments and lessons twice a day, with the main game regularly reaching capacity at 140 players with tables overflowing to the elevator lobby, with many more taking lessons or playing a newcomer game on a different floor.  Evening and weekend games thrived, and some morning sessions ensured heavy utilization of the space: approximately 60 hours of bridge usage per week.

Fast-forward to 2024 and Manhattan is down to one club in a significantly smaller space which fills to 60% capacity on a good day.  There are promising signs for the Wed evening game and a monthly Sunday Swiss teams, but most other evening initiatives have fizzled out.  Club management hiked prices 15% this month, $40 to play in the afternoon main game when online equivalent price is $7 (sans commute, Covid, and getting dressed).

Space Utilization Solutions?

Perhaps the real problem is utilization.  One theory: a space in Midtown New York pretty much needs to be in use at least 40 hours a week in order to make economic sense (pied-à-terre excluded, by definition they do not make economic sense).  Or, when used for fewer hours, the space is packed.  A top flight Broadway show still runs 6 days a week with 2 matinees.  Less popular shows don’t quite meet the bar.  A fulltime bridge club holding only 20 hours of games per week will fold and needs to supplement with Canasta, Mah Jongg, Scrabble, and Backgammon (at one point they considered Magic: The Gathering).

Would it make sense in the future to build multi-purpose space that has one group heavily utilizing only during the day and another group only in the evenings?  What would it take to build a space configurable to both bridge and theater, all in the same day?  More amusing, could we extend the idea to apartments and offices?  Instead of “work-from-home”, what if we reverse the concept to “sleep-at-office” where you save money on rent because everything you need, from showers to beds to baby cribs, could be found at the office?

Ok, sleep-at-office is probably not feasible, especially once families and children enter the picture.  But we should continue to brainstorm creative and quirky solutions that could appeal to an open-minded niche and unlock many hours of idle space-time.  By pushing the boundaries of what normal zoning and building codes allow, we might just stumble into a sustainable new normal.

The post Midtown New York 2024: Empty Offices, Theaters, and Bridge Clubs appeared first on CitySignal.

What’s in the new Universal Co-brokerage Agreement, and does any of it address commissions?  There are 5 distinct changes:

1.)  Commercial and retail spaces in a residential building may be listed in the REBNY RLS.

Normally, the REBNY RLS is only for residential listings (RLS == Residential Listing Service).  However, now these commercial units will be allowed in the RLS, however, they are subject to the same simultaneous advertisement rules.  If you do choose to include the listing the RLS, it must be done within 24 hours of any public marketing of the listing.  You may not put it in a commercial database for a week and then decide to widen the net using the RLS.  That would be a violation of the RLS cooperation mandate.

2.)  Coming Soon Listings

While not new for 2024, the Coming Soon listings will now be formally codified in the REBNY RLS Universal Co-brokerage Agreement.  Also, there are new rules clarifying that unsolicited offers received on a Coming Soon status listing should be presented to the seller.  However, prior to presenting any offers, the listing status must be changed to Active.

3.) Owner Opt-out Rules

Sellers and Landlords may now opt-out of the REBNY RLS by filling out some formal paperwork.  Why would they do so?  One reason would be to give a pocket listing and exclusive to the agent, but with strict instructions that they do not want any mass or public marketing done for privacy reasons.  It might be a way to give an agent a long-standing listing agreement without the pressure of accumulating a high days on market and giving the impression of a stale or undesirable home.

4.) Electronic Payments Formally Accepted

Acceptable forms of payment now include Zelle, Venmo, and other electronic funds transfers in addition to checks.

5.)  Decoupling Commissions for Broker Services

This is the big one.  It was already agree upon by REBNY in October and so far REBNY hasn’t felt like it requires any additional changes since the landmark Sitzer/Burnett suit.

First, there is no standard commission.  REBNY discourages any notion that there is a typical or mandated commission, and they are always negotiable.  Neither REBNY or the RLS fixes, controls, suggests, recommends, or maintains fees of any sort between cooperating participants on the RLS.

Offers of compensation, if any, to the buy side broker, must originate from the owner.

There is not, and never has been, a rule that REBNY prescribes a 50-50 split between cooperating brokers.  An older version of the UCBA had language that prescribes a 50-50 split only when the listing agreement between the listing broker and owner omitted any mention of compensation.  The latest version has removed these provisions.

The post REBNY Changes Their Universal Co-Brokerage Agreement appeared first on CitySignal.

The rental forecast for commercial spaces remains grim as city officials warn Manhattan’s abnormally high vacancy rate should persist well into 2026. As of August 2023, Manhattan is currently at 22.7% office vacancy with little hope of recovery anytime soon.

New York City commercial vacancy rates typically hover at a steady 11%, but as the pandemic continued into the early 2020s, those rates climbed to 15% and beyond. Currently, the national average for 2023’s first quarter is 18.6%, with cities like Denver and Seattle squarely at 20% vacant.

For many, these vacancies hit close to home- shuttered bodegas, struggling independent shops, and the loss of retail storefronts continues to alter the dynamic of neighborhoods throughout the city. Look closer, and empty offices bleed into transport as well; rush hour subways are only half full, a far departure from an overcrowded past.

Lower and midtown Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn have seen the highest turnover and climb in vacancy rate changes to speak of. Despite receiving the most COVID-19 grant and loan money, businesses and offices continue to empty out.

Manhattan’s Troubled Rental Landscape

Spikes in vacancy affect not only landlords and building owners but the city as well. One of New York’s most important revenue sources is property taxes. Nearly 20% of New York City’s total tax revenue comes from commercial property taxes, with 10% attributed straight to office building rentals. In the first quarter of 2023, 4.6 million square feet were leased in the city, while asking rents for offices in NYC were priced at $78.35 per square foot. In April 2023, the price was at an average of $75.13 per square foot, down 50 cents in a YoY comparison, according to a Colliers market report.

Officials estimate that over half of Manhattan’s 450 million square feet of office inventory is practically obsolete.

Manhattan isn’t an easy place to open a business. Especially for family-owned shops, the regulatory hoops, and hurdles of rising rent, taxes, and industry competition challenge even the most genuine intentions. Inflation has taken its toll and led to genuine change across the city landscape. Take a walk down Third Avenue in midtown and you can see for yourself. Empty storefronts and boarded windows have sucked the magic out of New York’s once-energizing presence.

How Much NYC Office Space Is Actually Being Used? How Much Is Under Construction?

A major contributing factor to vacancies is the underperformance of aged commercial spaces. The shift into remote working left many businesses reconsidering their needs and desires for office space. Pandemic downtime made room for major remodels and full or partial fit-outs as companies dreamed of an eventual return to normalcy. The demand for older buildings- many with poor energy performance and outdated design- began to plummet, leaving skyscrapers and roadside shops alike empty around the city.

Officials estimate that over half of Manhattan’s 450 million square feet of office inventory is practically obsolete. Newer buildings with energy-efficient systems are more desirable to renters than older buildings. With 14 million square feet of modern office space under construction, it’s anticipated tenants of older buildings will continue trickling into newer energy-efficient builds long past the vacancy crisis.

Remote Work Is a Major Contributor To the Decline In Commercial Building Values

Recent studies highlight remote work as a major factor in declining building values. Estimates blame the shift into remote work for cutting building values by half. What was once a temporary fix has become the norm. This trend is not unique to New York alone; nationwide, businesses and landlords struggle to find a solution to emptying spaces.

“We now estimate a more persistent work-from-home regime, which has more of an impairment of office values even in the long run,” Arpit Gupta, co-author of the study, “Work From Home and the Office Real Estate Apocalypse.” told The Real Deal.

Post-pandemic rates of office return have reached no higher than 50%, severely lower than anticipated and hoped for by employers and landlords alike. Because of this, official estimates that NYC office stock loss would be 28% have been updated to reflect a 44% loss in value. New York has been on track to recover by the second quarter, with 1 million jobs lost due to the pandemic shutdown, but this is not reflected in local rental markets.

A major decline in worker spending is another backlash stinging local business. Without workers traveling to their offices, who will buy coffee, lunch, and run errands nearby? Less commuting means less commuter-based revenue; workers have spent $12.4 billion less annually compared to pre-2019.

Landlords are defaulting on loan payments. With more than $16 billion in loans due this year, many landlords are in a bind for alternative cash flow as renters continue to dwindle. The Fed’s rising interest rates and tight lending standards jeopardize the ability for older office buildings to refinance, ultimately putting their ownership at stake. Nationally, this is a loss of $506.3 billion in value and has affected the state of local public finances.

Commercial East Village and Lower East Side Hardest Hit From Pandemic

The residential market has also experienced a major shift from the old norm. The residential vacancy rate is currently above 2%, where it has stood for nine consecutive months. The highest vacancies are concentrated within the East Village and Lower East Side with a rate of 3.25% compared to the lowest in the Upper East Side at 1.34%. That said, close to 3,704 new leases were signed in Manhattan by February 2023 compared to 1,000 in Brooklyn.

“In Manhattan, the vacancy rate ticked up from January to February as apartments took longer to find tenants and leasing activity slowed. These are all positive signs for apartment seekers,” says Chief Operating Officer Gary Malin of The Corcoran Group. “However, the median rent has remained unchanged since October 2022, which shows that owners still remain hesitant to reduce pricing.”

The median rent in Manhattan was $4,200 monthly as of February, unchanged since late 2022. Pricing is 12% higher than in February of 2022, making average rent higher than last year. In contrast, the median rent in Brooklyn was $3,500 a month in February 2023.
“Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, rents in February cooled just enough to encourage tenants to take action. In contrast to Manhattan, the number of signed leases in the borough increased monthly, hitting 1,000 for the first time since November.”

Sadly, areas with the highest concentration of low-income residents face higher vacancy rates than elsewhere as businesses and landlords struggle to maintain profit margins that are quickly falling out of reach.

What Is The Status of NYC’s Housing Affordability?

The 2021 Housing and Vacancy Survey, collected every 3 years, summarized the state of the rental landscape throughout the boroughs. The most recent report confronted increases in New York apartment vacancies since 2021. Rent regulation can be drastically affected by these numbers, and rates of 5% and higher constitute an official “housing emergency.”
These surveys help representatives defend low-income residents and their rights. Members of CHIP (Community Housing Improvement Program) have challenged the city’s rent stabilization laws in court. Low-cost apartments appear on the outs as the city lost 96,000 units at $1,500 or less since 2017.

But many are fighting. Vacancies in commercial space have advocates looking at new opportunities for affordable apartments and urban housing. Real estate groups, urbanists, and market experts wonder at the possibility of reinventing Manhattan and Brooklyn. Older buildings, in particular, seem nearly perfect for housing conversion.

“Landlords are being very creative trying to improve their buildings, amenitize their buildings, improve the air quality systems,” said Peter Riguardi, chair and president of real estate services firm JLL’s New York tri-state region. “But at this point, without any unforeseen change, there’s still going to be some empty [office] space when we cycle through this, and some of those buildings are going to be ripe for conversion to residential.”

Still, hurdles persist as Albany failed to pass legislation helping with the conversion of office buildings to residential use, stoking the anxiety of many. In some cases, banks may eventually gain ownership of the building should loans go unpaid. As affordable housing continues to slip away, many wonder at the persistent inflation present in rent prices but absent in wages.

In the last year, the city gained 107,000 units with rents of $2,300 and up, bringing the median asking rent of vacant apartments to $2,750 in 2022, up 46% from 2017. To afford this, a household would need to earn $110,000 or more. The 2021 survey found over 50% of renters paid upwards of 30% of their income toward rent. This severe rent burden signals an affordability crisis that is pinching the lowest earners in the city.

As buildings continue to empty and New York’s population continues to increase, pressure is mounting on the affordable housing market. As of July 2023, there are 8.948 million inhabitants, up 0.37% from last year.

The high vacancy rates are not present for low-income apartments but are found for the most expensive. Deregulation of apartments from pre-2019 rent laws and the focus on high-end apartment buildings are partially to blame. Despite all this, outsiders continue to move to New York City in droves, ensuring demand never falls too low.

The post City Predicts Building Vacancy Struggle To Persist Through 2026 appeared first on CitySignal.

Browsing through New York’s most expensive home listings, it is clear the range of lifestyles that can coexist within one area code. Super-prime and ultra-prime listings include homes worth over $10 million or $25 million; in 2022, New York had 244 super-prime and 43 ultra-prime sales.

For the ultra-wealthy, skyscraper penthouses and Michelin-starred restaurants for residents only are just a normal part of everyday life. The handful of homes and condos featured below are some of the most expensive listings in both New York City and the world. From Manhattan to upstate, many unsuspecting buildings open up to palaces inside. Let’s take a look at some of the best this city has to offer.

Most Expensive Apartment in New York City

Currently up for grabs is the Central Park Tower penthouse at 217 W 57th St., also known as the world’s highest apartment. Soaring 1,416 feet above Central Park and overlooking much of Manhattan, the penthouse is listed for a cool $250 million by Ryan Serhant, making it one of Manhattan’s most expensive listings.

The Central Park Tower penthouse occupies the top three floors with seven bedrooms spread across a staggering 17,545 square foot layout. It is said the tenants can see the curvature of the horizon while standing on the terrace. Other notable features include a 1,500-square-foot grand salon, media room, library, staff bedrooms, observatory, gaming lounge, private gym, catering kitchen, storage spaces, and private reception gallery.

“Its unrivaled pair of baronial rooms–a 1,500 square foot grand salon and a nearly 2,000 square foot private ballroom–are truly empyrean,” details the Serhant listing “featuring glass curtain walls with the entire City as a backdrop and soaring 27-ft ceilings.”

Located on Billionaire’s Row along the south end of Central Park, residents of this penthouse are only 38 feet below the Empire State Building. Central Park Tower has 131 floors and is 1,550 feet tall. Central Park Tower is the second tallest only to New York’s famed One World Trade Center. Billionaire’s Row is known as home to the rich and famous, a neighborhood with some of the most expensive residences in the world.  

One major perk of living in the Central Park Tower is access to the Central Park Club, a three-floor hotel-style service with a 60-foot-long swimming pool, private park, gym, screening room, and Grand Ballroom. This might be one of the few buildings in New York City that truly has it all.

Most Expensive Real Estate in New York City

220 Central Park South’s Extravagant Listings

One specific residence, 220 Central Park South, is home to a number of rich and extravagant properties. Located on Billionaire’s Row, the most expensive area in NYC, and designed by former Yale School of Architecture Dean and architect Robert A.M. Stern, the limestone pre-war building is 70 stories tall with an 18-story section called “the Villa” that overlooks Central Park. Of the 118 units, most are duplexes, with three penthouses at the top of the building.

“220 Central Park South boasts a motor court with a porte-cochere – where residents and their guests can leave their vehicles – a wine cellar, an 82-foot-long saltwater swimming pool,” details the RealtyHop building profile, “a basketball court, an athletic club, a juice bar, a library, a golf simulator, a children’s play area, private dining rooms, and a 54-seat restaurant at the second floor that serves only residents.” Not mentioned is the private Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant that operates for residents only.

A four-bedroom penthouse was purchased in 2019 for $93 million, bought by hedge fund founder and billionaire Daniel Och, then later sold in 2022 for a staggering $190 million. Other famous residents of the building include Sting and numerous other hedge fund billionaires.

In 2021, Brooklyn Nets owner and Ali Baba founder Joseph Tsai paid $157 million for two units in 220 Central Park South. Purchased anonymously at the time, the units are located on the 60th and 61st floors, along with an 18th-floor studio for staff quarters.

The Most Expensive Home Sale

On record for the most expensive home sale in America goes to buyer Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel and the “richest man in Illinois.” In 2019 Griffin paid $238 million for the top-floor penthouse of 220 Central Park South, now called the Griffin Unit. The residence is 24,000 square feet inside. As if that wasn’t enough, Griffin returned months later and bought another two units in the building for $3.95 million. Neighbors in the building include Sting and heiress Renata de Camargo Nascimento.

220 Central Park South is nearly 100% sold out and continues to deliver some of the wildest real estate deals in both the country and the world. Even during the height of the pandemic, in 2020, the building processed $1.52 billion in cumulative sales across 46 separate units. 

Ultra-Prime Residences of the Ritz Carlton

The Ritz Carlton is another building known for its extremely lavish residences. A number of large real estate deals come from the Ritz Carlton building exclusively. Located at 50 Central Park South, this 14-unit condo building in midtown was originally conceived and built by architect Emery Roth in the 1970s. In 2002 the newly renovated Ritz Carlton Midtown West Residences were opened within the Ritz-Carlton, composed of eleven private residences occupying the top twelve floors.

50 Central Park S #PH23 for $34,000,000

This residence occupies the entire 23rd floor with 9,500 square feet in five bedrooms plus a 2,500 square foot primary suite. Other highlights include a formal dining room, park-facing library, media rooms, and multiple Central Park-facing terraces.

Residents enjoy access to the Ritz-Carlton Health Club, including a Movement Studio, La Prairie Spa, a Club Lounge, a Contour gastro lounge, and a hotel business center.

50 Central Park S #3031 for $90,000,000

Delisted in December of 2022, this three-bedroom and 10,875 square-foot condo, made up of the 30th and 31st floors of the building, has raised ceilings and a ballroom as its living room. With marble staircases, dressing rooms, massage rooms, and numerous ensuite baths, the residence is spacious and provided for.

The Sotheby’s listing detailed a “majestic room is lined with ten colossally-scaled arched windows, five of which overlook Central Park and the residence’s largest Terrace, which stretches almost 45 feet along the length of the façade.” 

Whether or not this unit will come back on the market is yet to be determined.

Mansions For Sale in New York

We’ve spent a lot of time looking within Manhattan’s luxury scene. What about the rest of New York? While much of New York’s wealth is concentrated around the Big Apple, there is still a lot to gawk over, Upstate and beyond. A home in Granite Springs listed for $100 million was quick to catch the eye of many.

At 142-203 Mahopac Ave in Westchester County is Stonewall Farm, a sprawling 8-bedroom mansion with 24,000 square feet on a 740-acre lot. Built in 2004, the residence includes a wine cellar, tasting room, game room, and pub, along with sprawling staircases, atriums, and horse stables. Beautiful features abound, giving the property a heavy rural charm. A wisteria colonnade connects the 60-foot heated pool to a 4,000-square-foot pavilion where residents can enjoy the fireplace, Jacuzzi, gym, sauna, and changing rooms. A private guesthouse is located behind the main house, near freshly trimmed hedges and walkways. 

At one time, this farm was known as the highest listing in New York at $100,000,000.

A beautiful home in Water Mill, New York, listed for $47 million dollars in 2022. Situated on a 2.6-acre oceanfront lot, the beach house at 381 Dune Road has a heated gunite pool, a separate guest house, and 250 feet of dune width. The guesthouse has a bonus loft, media room, and outdoor entertainment areas.

Houses near Scott Cameron and Dune Beach are highly sought after. The rolling ocean, warm sands, and multiple beaches to explore offer an enticing getaway for many city dwellers. This home was purchased in 2006 for $14 million, then listed in April 2022 for $47 million before being removed from the market in early June.

On the other hand, current active luxury listings in Water Mill look like 2040 Meadow Lane, priced at $24 million.

Luxury Sales Will Continue to Increase

While some of these listings have yet to sell, their existence speaks to the wealth and class embedded in New York City. Although interest rates have damped spending for some, the luxury market continues to soar as inflation pushes the dollar even higher.

“Despite rising economic headwinds and growing uncertainty, the world’s wealthy have been committing to luxury residential property,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, “with London and New York the standout cities in demand for ultra-prime sales.”

In Manhattan, real estate sales fell 38% in the first quarter, but luxury deals rose to a record high of over 11%. Wealthy buyers are there no matter what. Now if only they’d give an open house.

The post Luxury Listings: New York’s Most Expensive Homes appeared first on CitySignal.

The Real Estate Board of New York recently conducted a study revealing that thousands of properties will soon face higher operational costs and large fines due to new climate legislation going into effect as early as 2024.

In 2019, the City Council passed Local Law 97 as part of a larger legislative package focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sweltering temperatures, frequent rainfall, and rising sea levels have all placed mounting pressure on NYC to act quickly and efficiently on the issue. 

The city’s response was to create a law setting limits on emissions emitted by the city’s largest buildings. The reason being, that NYC’s one million buildings account for about 70% of its total carbon emissions. Much of the energy used to heat, cool, and light these buildings comes from fossil fuels. 

In a statement made to the public, NYC’s chief climate officer, Rohit T. Aggarwala, confidently stated that “Local Law 97 is telling everyone in the real estate business: Climate change is your problem,” and that forming a part of the real estate industry in NYC meant “moving to a carbon-free future.

But, with Mayor Adams allowing select building owners to bypass Local Law 97’s emission caps, the administration’s conviction on the issue is being brought into question. Climate advocates believe that the law is being defanged before it can even begin to sink its teeth, raising serious concerns over its effectiveness. 

On the other side of the aisle, building owners and landlords have expressed their frustrations with Local Law 97, claiming that they don’t make enough money from tenants to cover the transition to eco-friendly energy sources. Some owners have gone so far as to sue the city for Local Law 97 in hope that they can at least buy themselves more time to make their buildings compliant. Although owners and landlords will be directly affected through increased costs of operation, it’s likely that tenants will be affected indirectly through higher rents. 

Overview of Local Law 97

Local Law 97 is a part of the Climate Mobilization Act, passed under Mayor de Blasio. The former mayor had pledged to make the city carbon neutral by 2050 and planned to do so through the New York City Green New Deal. Local Law 97 aims to take a stab at the city’s biggest culprit of greenhouse gas emissions, its buildings. The goal of the law is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. 

Come 2024, tens of thousands of New York’s largest buildings would have emissions caps placed on them and face fines if they were to go over said limits. These buildings include several commercial structures, such as bank headquarters and hotels, as well as apartment complexes. 

The law also states that most buildings over 25,000 square feet, whether commercial or residential, are required to meet emission caps and new energy efficiency requirements by 2024. These requirements are supposed to become stricter in 2030.

Would It Just be Cheaper for Landlords to Ignore Local Law 97?

Engineering consulting firm, Level Infrastructure, conducted a study estimating that over 3,700 buildings could face penalties upwards of $200 million a year come 2024. The Real Estate Board of New York estimates that a total of 13,500 buildings could face penalties of more than $900 million by 2030.

The city estimates that 50,000 buildings will be in compliance by the January 2024 deadline. However, there are an estimated 2,700 buildings that are not expected to be compliant by then. This will require building owners to replace windows, tune up HVAC systems, and/or install energy-efficient lighting to avoid hefty fines—an expensive and unplanned endeavor for many NYC landlords.

By 2030, emission caps are set to fall significantly, forcing building owners to not just repair building features but completely replace them in order to make their buildings compliant. For this reason, it’s expected that the second deadline will require owners to pay much more in fines. Crain’s New York reports that in order to avoid the fines, landlords will have to spend about $3 billion a year in carbon cuts, $20 billion over the next decade. 

It’s worth noting that the estimated budget for carbon cuts by Crain’s New York ($20 billion) is much higher than the penalties landlords would be responsible for ($900 million). Depending on their finances and how far they are from achieving compliance—some owners may just ignore the new climate law altogether and instead treat the fines as a business tax. 

Although this may work for landlords, this certainly does nothing to reduce gas emissions emitted by NYC buildings, and will most likely result in Local Law 97 falling short of its ambitious climate goals. 

Pushback from critics, ‘too much, too soon’

Advocates of Local Law 97 believe that the city should use even stricter measures to move NYC buildings towards a more eco-friendly future, while its critics claim that the law is already too harsh. Some say that meeting the emission limits during the timeframe outlined in the law would be near impossible and that millions would have to be paid in fines regardless of their efforts. 

According to the Real Estate Board of New York, even if every building were to reduce its energy consumption by 30%, more than 8000 properties would still face fines up to $300 million each year. 

Vice president of policy at REBNY, Zachary Steinberg, told Bloomberg that the organization hopes “the city will take action over the next 12 months to avoid damage to our local economy and unfair penalties to property owners in 2024,” adding that buildings owners will simply be unable to meet emission limits “even if buildings take meaningful steps to comply and use the tools provided by the law.”

In May of 2022, an owner of a mixed-use property in Manhattan and two garden apartment complexes sued the city, asking for the enforcement to be blocked. They claimed that the law would impose “draconian” fines that would significantly harm their ability to generate profits on their buildings. 

City officials have responded with understanding, promising struggling owners who show “good faith” efforts some wiggle room. The city is considering waiving fees and lowering fines for building owners who demonstrate a willingness to comply, but may need more time to reach denoted emission caps.

Mayor Adams Allows for the Purchase of Renewable Energy Credits Amidst Pushback from Landlords

Building owner advocacy groups caught the attention of Mayor Eric Adams. He recently announced that two-thirds of large office buildings and one-quarter of multi-family buildings would be allowed to bypass Local Law 97’s emission caps through 2035.

This means that about half of the pollution cuts outlined in the law would not even come close to being met, allowing owners to forgo the need to upgrade their properties for an entire decade. Property owners would be allowed to, instead, purchase Renewable Energy Credits, or RECs, and essentially buy themselves out of the responsibility to make their properties energy-efficient. 

The idea isn’t completely revolutionary, seeing as the local government already allows for use of such credits. However, environmental advocates claim that such generous limits would “defang Local Law 97,” and encourage “future shoddy enforcement.” 

Activists believe that although Local Law 97 may be strong on paper, the administration’s extensive leniency with the industry is a grave mistake. They argue that providing real estate companies with the opportunity to purchase RECs will establish a weak precedent for the new law, causing it to fall apart in practice sooner or later. 

The Mayor’s administration has clarified that RECs are not a get-out-of-jail-free card for the real estate industry and that further limits on RECs will be placed in the near future, starting as early as 2024. As the main culprit of energy pollution in the city, it’s unlikely that the city’s intentions are to let building owners off the hook forever. However, letting them off the hook, for now, can still be dangerous to the survival and efficacy of Local Law 97

Not all Building Owners are Affected Equally

The city’s leniency for certain property owners has upset many environmental advocates, who claim that without strict accountability and adequate enforcement of the law, NYC will remain far from achieving its climate action goals. 

But, the truth is not all building owners will be affected equally. 

Large real estate companies often have the resources and capacity to invest in sustainability initiatives. In fact, many of them already have personnel dedicated to such initiatives, which would explain why 50,000 buildings are expected to be in compliance by the first deadline. 

However, for smaller real-estate companies that are often family-owned and operated, meeting the same emission limits will be a serious challenge. Many older buildings still run on oil or gas furnaces, requiring them to completely revamp their energy infrastructure in less than a year. 

Property owners like Debbie Fechter are wondering how they’re going to pay for capital projects they hadn’t planned for, and are even struggling to understand exactly what their new responsibilities will be. She’s been trying to get into contact with an energy audit consulting firm with no success. 

“We don’t really know what our obligations are and what our penalties are going to be,” Fechter told the New York Times. She’s a partner at Digby Management, a family-owned real estate business that owns four buildings in Manhattan subject to Local Law 97.

Who will be most affected? 

REBNY reports that condo, co-op, and rental apartment building owners will be among the most impacted by Local Law 97, should it be enforced as is. This is because of their landlords’ limited ability to fund and coordinate compliance in alignment with the stipulated deadlines. An estimated 60% of non-compliant buildings on January 1st, 2024, will be residential. 

Chances are that in order to either afford the fines or afford repairs, landlords will increase rents wherever possible, causing renters to bear the brunt of a potentially inefficient climate law.

Although some real estate businesses have sought alternative ways of complying with Local Law 97, city officials have claimed that methods such as carbon trading will not be permitted. Carbon trading is an arrangement where one building owner buys credits from a property with lower emissions. 

Purchasing renewable energy credits or certificates from the local government is currently the only way building owners will be able to legally curb responsibility for emissions. RECs would allow property owners to fund projects that will bring clean energy to one of the five boroughs. However, only a limited number of RECs will be available in the near term. 

Reducing gas emissions is a crucial component in the city’s ability to meet its climate change goals. With 1 million of its buildings contributing to more than two thirds of the city’s gas emissions, there’s no way around it—real estate companies have to be engaged. The question is how quickly, and to what extent?

The post Local Law 97: A Controversial Environmental Fix appeared first on CitySignal.

Overview of NYC’s New Short-Term Rental Registration Law

On January 9th, 2022, New York City adopted Local Law 18, also known as the Short-Term Rental Registration Law. The law is now going into effect and requires STR hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) before posting their rentals on booking service platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com. 

These booking platforms will be unable to process transactions for unregistered vacation rentals. Registration will open up 30 days after the final rules are published, allowing applicants to submit their information on the OSE website.

It’s expected that applications will go live towards the end of February with a $145 non-refundable application fee. Enforcement of registration requirements won’t begin until July of 2023.

Breaking Down Specifics of Local Law 18

Local Law 18 limits registration to a person who is a permanent occupant of the unit being rented. It prohibits registration for certain kinds of units, such as rent-regulated and New York City Housing Authority units. 

The new law also prohibits registration of units housed within buildings on the prohibited buildings list, which will be created by owners notifying the OSE that short-term rentals are not allowed in their buildings. 

Registration applicants will be required to confirm that they will comply with laws governing housing in NYC and commit to only hosting legal short-term rentals, specifically stays for no more than two guests hosted in the unit the host currently lives in. 

It’s important to note that the new law does not change which short-term rentals are legal or illegal, it simply strengthens current regulations for short-term rental laws in NYC. 

“Class B” multiple dwellings which have a stamp of approval from the City of New York for legal short-term occupancies are exempt from the new registration requirement. The same exemption applies for rentals of 30 consecutive days, or more. 

What is the Purpose of Local Law 18?

Despite existing regulations, New York’s short-term rental industry is anything but regulated. Illegal rentals are so common that the City doesn’t have the capacity to regulate them all, making enforcement of existing laws challenging, to say the least. 

State and city laws are clear in that rentals of 30 days or less are not permitted unless the permanent resident is living within the same space. However, that’s not necessarily clear to the millions of people looking for a short-term rental on Airbnb and other booking platforms. 

Tenants and owners listing their rentals for less than 30 days know they are breaking the law, however, they also know their chances of being caught are minimal given the vast number of illegal Airbnbs throughout the City. 

What Illegal Airbnbs Look Like in Practice

In NYC, most visitors have no way of knowing their stays are illegal. It’s also not something they are responsible for in the eyes of the law. This makes for an ideal situation where tenants with great credit scores and a healthy savings account apply to apartments, get approved, and instead of moving in, immediately list their rentals on Airbnb. 

Many of these buildings do not allow for short-term rentals. The reason being that short-term rentals usually come with increased foot traffic. This poses an inconvenience to both the owner of the unit and the unit’s neighbors, given that the space is being overused and frequented by multiple people throughout the year. 

The City and Airbnb have differed on the issue since Airbnb came into existence. Tourists who stay in Airbnb homes certainly bring activity to the local economy, but often at the expense of current residents. City officials prefer tourists to stay in hotels, as opposed to apartments, due to the tight housing supply and rising rents in NYC.

How does the Short-Term Rental Registration Law Differ from Current Regulations?

The main difference between existing regulations and the new Short-Term Rental Regulation law is that hosts will now be required to register their rentals with the OSE. Booking platforms will be prohibited from posting listings or processing payments for unregistered short-term rentals. A registration number will be given to those approved and displayed on the rental’s listing.

Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, Christian Klossner, told the New York Post that this new law will “clarify short-term rental laws and lay out a straightforward process for hosts to obtain a registration for their legal rentals.” 

Existing Regulations Remain

The first thing to note is that Local Law 18 does not change or override previous regulations. Short-term rentals for less than 30 days are only allowed if the tenant/owner actively resides within the unit. In other words, you can only share your space with up to two guests at a time, you can’t completely give up your space to them during their stay. 

Listing an “entire place” on Airbnb for less than 30 days in NYC is illegal. However, that’s the most common type of Airbnb you’ll find on the platform. 

The new Short-Term Rental Regulation Law is aimed at changing that by implementing a registration system and banning short-term listings in certain buildings. The law also applies to one-and two-family houses.

List of Buildings Prohibited from Hosting in NYC

Local Law 18 is also meant to empower building owners by allowing them to submit their properties to an official list of buildings prohibiting short-term rentals. 

This allows the OSE to reject registration requests from tenants trying to host behind their landlords’ backs. Condo owners and co-op boards will have the same opportunity to put their buildings on the prohibited list. 

When a host submits a short-term rental application, the OSE will notify the building owner and allow them to confirm or block the request. 

What Should I Do if I Want to Host in NYC?

Hosting in the city is already a bit complicated. It’s expected that increased regulations will dissuade future Airbnb hosts from renting out their space. As part of the new law, hosts will need to do all of the following:

• Confirm they are the owner/tenant through bank statements and/or utility bills.
• Validate they are offering a short-term rental that is not in violation of the lease, laws governing housing, or zoning regulations.
• Provide plenty of information about themselves and the unit such as:
  • Identify
  • Address
  • Full names of everyone living within the unit
  • A diagram of the property showing which rooms will be rented out on a short-term basis and emergency exits

Failure to provide the information listed above will result in their Airbnb credentials being removed, prohibiting the platform from processing payments to these hosts. 

If hosts get caught renting out a unit without properly registering it with the OSE, they could face penalties of up to $5,000. Both hosts and booking platform sites that fail to comply can be penalized. However, penalties won’t be enforced until May 9th, 2023.

Airbnb’s Response and Resources for NYC Hosts

As you can imagine, Airbnb is up-in-arms about these new regulations which they argue will promote a “draconian and unworkable registration system that will prevent lawful and responsible hosts from listing their homes,” per their latest statement on Local Law 18. 

Regardless of how they feel about the new measures, they are obliged to comply, or risk losing their ability to operate throughout the City. Airbnb, along with other booking platforms will have to report on the specifics of hosts’ rental in order to corroborate the information provided to the City via registration applications. 

30+ Night Stays are Exempt from Disclosing Home Details Data Sharing

The amount of information that needs to be shared in order to legally list a short-term rental is extensive, which might put off some would-be hosts. Hosts should know that if they are considering hosting in NYC, but don’t want to share detailed information about their living space, there’s a way around that. 

By switching to 30+ night stays, hosts are exempt from data sharing requirements that disclose home details. This means that hosts can post their short-term rentals on Airbnb and other booking platforms without having to submit the information mentioned in the bullets above. 

Although hosting for 30 days or less is enticing and can often reap greater financial rewards, there are some benefits to hosting 30 days, or more. In addition to not having to share information about their home’s layout, long-term hosts will be reducing guest turnover, which could lead to lower maintenance and operating costs. 

They can also secure rental income over a longer period of time, making their rental income more stable. Stays that are 30 days or longer will likely attract a new demographic, such as remote workers and ‘slowmads,’ digital nomads choosing to stay in cities for extended periods of time. 

Is Hosting in the NYC Worth it?

According to the independent watchdog group Inside Airbnb, there are currently 40,000 Airbnb listings throughout the city. Once these new regulations go into effect, this number is expected to decrease by a fourth. 

Naturally, hosts will be dissuaded from hosting their space, given that they are facing rental income loss and privacy concerns. However, New York is still a competitive market, so some hosts will remain. 

Whether or not hosting at a time like this is worth it will depend on hosts’ financial goals, ability to keep up with new regulations, and the type of rental being hosted. RentHop recently published a study revealing that one-bedroom units were more profitable as long-term rentals in 96% of cities. New York ranked as one of the cities with the highest long-term return for a one-bedroom rental.

If you think 30+ day stays fit your financial goals and lifestyle as a host, then hosting in NYC may still be a viable opportunity for you. However, if your main concern is capitalizing on peak seasons where stays in the City are highly profitable, you may not think hosting in NYC is worth the trouble given the new restrictions. 

The post Everything You Need to Know About Airbnb Rental Regulations in NYC appeared first on CitySignal.

But what exactly is eminent domain? How does it work? And should New Yorkers be worried?

In this article, we’ll explore the roots of property and land seizure by condemnation, its application in the Big Apple, and what it implies for the rights of homeowners.

What Is Eminent Domain?

Eminent domain is a power of government that allows it to take private property for public use, usually through condemnation laws that vary from state to state. Government agencies may exercise this power to condemn any property or land parcel in order to build roads, schools, and other public projects. In some cases, it can be used to acquire land for commercial purposes such as urban redevelopment or to fight economic stagnation in certain areas.

When framed as a public-interest endeavor, eminent domain rings altruistic, especially when blighted areas are suddenly transformed with fresh housing and retail, providing jobs and other economic opportunities for the area’s citizens. But eminent domain is one of the most controversial powers of government, with some opponents viewing it as a medieval undertaking in modern times. Picture it: Government officials (or “lords”) show up at the property, declare that it’s needed for the public good (or maybe the “king” just wants it for a topiary garden), and take the land away from its owners. Never mind the livelihoods that are lost in the process, the countless memories of a place where one once built a life.

Of course, this is a rather dramatic way of looking at eminent domain. But rightly so. It illustrates the profound power and authority the U.S. government can exercise when it comes to real property and land acquisition. One day you may own a charming pink-and-white Victorian in New London, Connecticut, and the next day it could be bulldozed to make room for a Pfizer pharmaceutical plant.

This happened, by the way, in 2005, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Kelo vs. City of New London that eminent domain was constitutional, even for private commercial use. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, alongside New London officials, envisioned a large-scale urban development project that included a hotel, a conference center, and new condominiums. To fulfill their vision, 15 property owners in the area were forced to sell and move out, including Suzette Kelo, who owned the pink-and-white house. However, the defendant’s argument that eminent domain was being abused was rejected by the Supreme Court. The little pink house was eventually relocated, but the case lived on in notoriety.

The little pink house at its new location in New London, CT.

Where Did Eminent Domain Come From?

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment states that “no person shall be … deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”

By using such language, the framers of the Bill of Rights recognized eminent domain as a necessary government power. It’s okay to seize property, they said, just don’t rip off homeowners. Instead, justly compensate them, which today means paying the fair market value of a home to seize it, whether the homeowner likes it or not.

Although the power of eminent domain was established in the Bill of Rights, the term itself has been around for centuries. It derives from the Latin Eminenes Dominium, meaning “supreme lordship,” which, again, conjures up images of serfs and lords.

But are there moments when eminent domain is essential to create the kind of much-needed change that comes from urban renewal and redevelopment? It’s hard to argue “no” exclusively. An abandoned factory in Detroit, for instance, may be better served by a medical center or a community garden. The same goes for a long-neglected lot in Brooklyn that could be transformed into an affordable housing complex.

These public projects may enhance the lives of community members who, for some reason or another, have been underserved over time. They’re good things, whether or not they rise from the rubble of eminent domain.

It’s the abuse of this practice for private financial gain, however, that’s often too hard to swallow.

Does Eminent Domain Abuse Exist in New York City?

New York City is no stranger to eminent domain abuse.

One example is the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, which was later renamed “Pacific Park,” though YIMBYs might argue that the verdict is still out on this particular development because it hasn’t been fully completed.

The project, which came about in the early aughts and is slated for completion by 2035, involved the eminent domain acquisition of 22 acres in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park neighborhood, specifically the area around Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. Developer Forest City Ratner proposed plans for 17 high-rises, with some commercial and residential buildings among them, plus a 19,000-seat, multi-purpose venue that would become the home of the Brooklyn Nets and play host to major music acts the world over.

Part of the overall result is Barclays Center, a mega-arena with undulating steel panels in copper. It rose through eminent domain. This was despite formidable opposition from Brooklynites who had no plans to sell their homes but were forced to anyway to make room for the project.

In 2016, Reason Magazine published an op-ed piece calling Barclays Center an “eminent domain-created failure.” This article was based on a report by journalist Norman Oder, who argued that the venue had lost an estimated $9 million by its third year of operation. If the point of eminent domain is to benefit the public by stimulating the local economy, then this report was damning evidence that it hadn’t.

On the other hand, YIMBYs (or “Yes In My Back Yard”-ers) who advocate for new construction projects might argue that the jury is still out on this issue. Pacific Park is slated for completion in 2035, so it needs to be given time to grow and develop before determining its success.

Other Ways Eminent Domain Has Impacted New York City

The precedent set by the Supreme Court in the Kelo vs. City of New London case carried ripples into the Pacific Park project. But to understand how Forest City Ratner was able to use eminent domain to its advantage, we need to look at an important precedent established closer to home: Yonkers Community Development Agency vs. Morris.

The city of Yonkers sits just a few miles north of New York City’s Bronx borough. It was there, in 1975, that the Appellate Court of the State of New York handed down its decision to allow the Otis Elevator Company — the largest of its kind in the U.S. — to expand its industrial facilities by taking “substandard” land from the City of Yonkers. The defendants argued that eminent domain had been abused because the new land was not for a “public use” or “public benefit,” but rather to expand a private business. The court, however, ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

When the Pacific Park issue arose roughly 30 years after the Yonkers decision, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) pointed to the Yonkers case as a precedent in a 2009 column, inferring that eminent domain could be abused to serve private interests as well as the public good. In its decision, the Appellate Court argued that the government’s right to property and/or land seizure was not limited to “slum clearance,” which was a term often used in the past to describe blighted areas that were ripe for eminent domain:

“As the complexities of urban conditions became better understood, it has become clear the areas eligible for such renewal are not limited to ‘slums’ as the term was formerly applied, and that, among other things, economic underdevelopment and stagnation are also threats to the public sufficient to make their removal cognizable as a public purpose.”

The above quote from the Yonkers decision is an eerie foreboding that charming pink-and-white Victorians like Suzanne Kelo’s home in New London, CT, and other properties that are in good condition in non-blighted areas are subject to demolition as much as neglected and dilapidated structures in disreputable parts of town.

This was partly the reason why Ratner’s project prevailed in Goldstein vs. Urban Dev. Corp, a case that challenged eminent domain in New York State. In this 2009 decision, the court applied similar logic to that of the Yonkers case, the result of which has changed Brooklyn’s landscape forever.

Eminent Domain in NYC: Will It Ever Change?

In the Kelo vs. City of New London case, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in the majority opinion that the Fifth Amendment did not require “‘literal’ public use,” but the “broader and more natural interpretation of public use as ‘public purpose.'” This was an important distinction that was also part of the Yonkers decision and has expanded eminent domain to include private development projects.

But shortly after voicing the majority opinion, Justice Stephens emphasized that states and local governments had the power to create more restrictive eminent domain laws. This prompted 44 states to pass reforms since the Kelo ruling. New York State, however, has yet to do so, leaving eminent domain and its abuse in the hands of legislators. This has caused concern among critics who fear that NYC’s real estate industry will continue to use eminent domain as a means of acquiring land to develop luxury housing and marginalize low-income families who can’t afford to live in the area.

It remains to be seen, then, if New York City’s legal system will take action to better protect citizens from eminent domain abuse. As we move forward, New Yorkers should remain informed and stay attuned to any eminent domain issues that may potentially affect their respective properties, pink-and-white Victorians included.

The post What Is Eminent Domain and How Has It Impacted NYC’s Landscape? appeared first on CitySignal.

1009 5th Ave Listed For Sale

The Benjamin N. Duke House has just been listed for sale at $80,000,000 by Compass agent Jorge Armando Lopez. One of the last remaining mansions on the Gold Coast of 5th Avenue, also romantically known as “Millionaire’s Row,” this property boasts all the same elements as other Gilded Age Beaux Arts Mansions. During its landmark designation process in 1974, it was stated that it is “one of the few surviving houses which once formed part of an almost uninterrupted series of palatial residences facing Central Park.”

History of the Benjamin N. Duke House

Developers William W. Hall and Thomas M. Hall built this property designed by Welch, Smith & Provot between 1899-1901, and it is rumored to have been for no specific owner. In 1901 Benjamin N. Duke, who was the Vice President of the American Tobacco Company and founder of Duke Energy, purchased the property. In 1907, Duke’s brother James B. Duke purchased the home until his own mansion at 1 East 78th Street was ready in 1912. The Duke brothers were the classic example of Gilded Age socialites who were categorized as  “wealthy industrialists, philanthropists, and residents of New York’s most fashionable Avenue”.

From there, the mansion was passed to Angier Buchanan (Benjamin’s son), then Mary Lillian Duke and A.J. Drezel Biddle Jr, and later Mary Semans (aka Mary Duke Biddle). The property stayed in the hands of the Duke family until 2006, when it was sold to Tamir Sapir for $40 million, who later sold it to Carlos Slim. 

Carlos Slim and 1009 5th Ave

Back in 2010, Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helú purchased the Benjamin N. Duke House for $44 million, telling Forbes that he was purchasing it as an investment. In fact, in 2015 when Slim went to sell the home for $80 million, he said he had never stayed in the residence. It was reported he preferred to stay in luxurious hotels when in NYC and that may have been the case up until recently. Does this mean that no furniture was brought to the property?

Currently, Carlos Slim is worth $93.5B, according to Forbes.

Previously, the home was listed by Sotheby’s, but it seems that Slim has pivoted towards Compass in hope of getting the deal closed this time around. 

Inside 1009 5th Ave

The Benjamin N. Duke home is a New York City Landmark designed in the Italian Renaissance palazzo style with “strong Beaux Arts elements” that has over 20,000 square feet of living space. It’s a limestone and red-brick building with 100 feet of frontage looking out over 82nd street and 27 feet of side section staring directly at the MET and Central Park. 

There are 8 bedrooms and 10 baths, as well as numerous fireplaces, ornate moldings, glass and wrought iron doors, stone balconies, and gorgeous chandeliers. Like so many people dream of in NYC, the rooms have spacious rooms, high ceilings, large windows, and natural light.

The listing states the property could be owned as a private residence, however, there is the ability to transform it into a gallery or museum. These options seem most likely due to the building’s historic nature and coveted space near the Met Museum and other notable museums on Museum Mile. 

The post Benjamin N. Duke House Listed For Sale by Owner Who May Have Never Lived There appeared first on CitySignal.