Sanitation withdraws garage lease applications

Proposal to negotiate long-term leases for existing garage serving neighboring community district faced local opposition. On October 13, 2010, the Department of Sanitation withdrew a proposal that would have allowed Sanitation to negotiate long-term leases for two privately owned lots that it uses as a maintenance facility in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sanitation has occupied a one-story garage at 525 Johnson Avenue since 1954 and an open parking lot across the street at 145 Randolph Street … <Read More>


New community garden preservation rules released

Parks intends to preserve community gardens under its jurisdiction. There are more than 600 community gardens participating in the City’s GreenThumb Program. Since 2001, gardens on City-owned lots have been administered pursuant to practices memorialized in a 2002 agreement between the City and the State Attorney General’s Office, which expired on September 17, 2010. Prior to its expiration, the Department of Parks and Recreation published a new set of rules that codified and strengthened the … <Read More>


Audit cites EDC for major violations of E. River lease

Comptroller asserts that insufficient oversight could cost City $6.1 million. A June 2008 audit by City Comptroller William C. Thompson concluded that New York Skyports, Inc. violated its lease agreement for a two-acre City-owned East River site, creating a potential cost of $6.1 million to the City.

Originally executed with the Gulf Oil Corp in 1959, the lease allowed the construction of a parking garage over the East River and the additional use of the … <Read More>


City Comptroller faults EDC’s management of Army Terminal lease

EDC failed to charge $511,500 in allowable rent and used City water and sewer services without paying. On June 6, 2008, City Comptroller William C. Thompson issued an audit report on the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s lease of the Brooklyn Army Terminal, concluding that it failed to charge Turner Construction Company $211,500 in allowable rent and lost $300,000 by charging some sub-tenants less than market rate rent. Also, EDC has not paid the … <Read More>


EDC lease of Hunts Point Space to Baldor approved

Competitor challenged procedures in EDC’s selection of Baldor for South Bronx lease. The New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals for a long-term lease of two parcels across the street from the City Terminal Market at Hunts Point in the Bronx. Baldor Specialty Foods and the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association, among others, submitted proposals. EDC chose Baldor after deciding that it had submitted the most competitive lease package. Baldor, … <Read More>


Governor Announces $514k Settlement Against Landlord for Overcharging Rent

On February 14, 2024, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a settlement of $514,000 by New York State Homes and Community Renewal Tenant Protection Unit (TPU) against Manhattan landlord Steven Croman of Centennial Properties for unlawfully defrauding renters. Croman was found guilty of engaging in a scheme to lease regulated units for less than one or two years which in turn made apartments unavailable for New Yorkers in search of safe, stable housing. The … <Read More>