City Comptroller Audit Finds DOB Failed To Fully Implement Crane Safety Report

In four years, Buildings has enacted eight of sixty-five safety recommendations after spending $5.8 million on a study. On November 7, 2014, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit finding the Department of Buildings has failed to act upon recommendations for crane safety that came from a report they commissioned, four years after the report was issued.


Citizens Budget Commission Report: Lack of NYC Affordable Housing not as severe as other Cities

CBC report compares New York City’s lack of housing affordability to 22 other cities.  On August 6, 2014, the Citizens Budget Commission released a report studying the scale of New York City’s affordable housing problem by comparing New York City to twenty-two other U.S. cities that were either among the largest U.S. cities by population, or the centers of the largest metropolitan areas by population.  The study covers a thirteen-year time period, 2000 to 2012.  … <Read More>


REBNY Issues New Report on Landmarking and Housing Production

REBNY report shows that housing production, particularly affordable housing, is drastically lower in landmarked areas in the five boroughs. In 2013, the Real Estate Board of New York conducted a study which showed that nearly 28 percent of Manhattan is landmarked and that fewer than 2 percent of new housing units built in Manhattan over a ten-year time period (2003-2012) were constructed on landmarked properties. On July 1, 2014, REBNY released a new report which … <Read More>


Fourth RPA Report to Focus on Climate Change and Transportation Technology

sm logoRegional Plan Association event featured a variety of discussions on how the New York metropolitan region might face climate change, tackle transportation advancements. The Regional Plan Association, a non-profit urban research and advocacy organization, focuses on planning for economic competitiveness, quality of life, and long-term sustainability in the region that includes New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Orange counties, western Connecticut and northern New Jersey. On April 19, 2013, the Association held its … <Read More>


Apartment building owner defeats facade report NOV

Distinction between basement and cellar explained. The Department of Buildings issued Supreme Company LLC a notice of violation for failing to file a required report concerning the periodic inspection of the exterior walls of its building at 1659 York Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Supreme contested the NOV at a hearing before an ALJ, claiming that it was exempt from the filing requirement since its building did not exceed six stories. Supreme’s architect stated … <Read More>


Community Benefit Agreements report released

Task force proposed a framework for negotiating future Community Benefit Agreements related to publicly assisted development projects. A Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) is a private agreement negotiated between developers and community groups in order to garner support for real estate development projects. In exchange for community support, a developer may agree to provide amenities, such as infrastructure improvements or wage guarantees which are not required by the City’s land use review process. Since 2005, … <Read More>