Real Estate Board of New York

The Bloomberg administration wants to require parking for bicycles in new buildings citywide, mandating all large new office and apartment developments to set aside space. The initiative, which could face resistance from the real estate industry, is slated to enter a seven-month public approval process today.

The Department of City Planning, led by Amanda Burden, is spearheading the effort, which takes the form of a zoning change mandating the new parking regulations (details in the press release here). Based on the city’s planned zoning changes, large office buildings would need to set aside one bicycle spot for every 7,500 square feet of office space (meaning a building the size of the 1.2 million-square-foot Chrysler Building would need about 150 bicycle parking spaces). Residential buildings with more than 10 apartments would need to make bicycle parking spaces for 50 percent of the units.  read more »

Some of the Real Estate Board of New York's Residential Deal of the Year award winners on Wednesday night, with their managers:

(Left to right) Steven Spinola, REBNY president; Kent Swig of Terra Holdings and Swig Equities; Michael Goldenberg; Dan Danielli, first-place winner of the Residential Deal of the Year sales award; Ruth Yeskel, third-place winner; Don Correia, second-place winner; Gordon Golub of Citi Habitats; Judy Oston, third-place winner; Richard Grossman; Norman Horowitz, second-place winner; John Wollberg, the winner of the Henry Forster Award; Ruth McCoy; Hall Willkie of Brown Harris Stevens; Abby Gellert; Ari Harkov, winner of the Most Promising Rookie Salesperson of the Year; Gary Friedland, second-place winner; and Diane Ramirez of Halstead Property.

Halstead Property cleaned up at Wednesday night's Real Estate Board of New York residential awards gala. Halstead brokers took first, second and third place in the sales category of the Residential Deal of the Year contest; the rookie of the year award; and the Henry Forster Award for charitable and cultural service.

First prize went to Dan Danielli. Norman Horowitz and Gary Friedland took second. And Judy Oston, Don Correia and Ruth Yeskel too third.

John Wollberg won the Henry Forster Award, and Ari Harkov took Residential Most Promising Rookie Salesperson of the Year.  read more »

That was the average New York City home sales price in the third quarter, according to a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York. That's down from the last two quarters but up slightly from the same period in 2007.  read more »

The Real Estate Board of New York, the city's leading industry group, issued a statement this afternoon applauding the federal government's bailout of insurance giant A.I.G. From the statement:

“Providing the necessary infusion of capital at this moment in Wall Street’s history is exactly what the local, state and federal government should be doing right now to help such an important business, and we commend our elected officials for their efforts,” said [REBNY president Steven Spinola]. “As with the recent intervention with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and earlier with Bear Stearns, government action has had a beneficial effect on the marketplace and our economy. We are confident that this investment will quell some of the anxiety in the financial markets and will have a positive impact on our industry, our city and the nation’s economy.”

REBNY's support of government interference in the free market will surprise anyone who's followed the group's fight against the government-backed changes to the pro-developer 421a tax abatement; its push to scale back the number of rent-stabilized apartments in the city; and its resistance to government-mandated use of union construction labor.  read more »

Each year in Albany, a multitude of bills on housing issues go through a familiar pattern: The Democratic-led Assembly, supported by affordable housing groups, passes legislation that would expand tenants’ rights and protections to varying degrees, including bills that would strengthen rent stabilization. Then the Republican-led Senate, backed by the New York City real estate industry, votes down the legislation or takes no action, often saying the bills would crimp economic development or encroach on property owners’ rights.

Now, with an increasingly narrow Republican majority in the Senate and the retirement of Senator Joseph Bruno, who led the Republican side for 13 years, the recurring rhythm of real estate legislation—and the political alliances that go along with it—could shift substantially.  read more »

Among the cascade of bills likely to pass through the State Legislature as its session ends next week is a substantial reform to the city’s largest subsidy program for commercial property, a change worth hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that the Bloomberg administration is pushing relatively quietly.

But the planned reforms to the tax break, the Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program, represent a far more modest overhaul than the city itself recommended in a draft internal study last year, when it called for changes that would save hundreds of millions of dollars more than the alterations now being proposed.

City officials call their approach to the legislation, which would save an estimated $200 million over 10 years, “incremental.  read more »

It's awards season in retail! That means lots of schmoozing, and carousing and lots and lots of drinking. And, of course, awards.

The nominations are in for the Real Estate Board of New York’s coveted Retail Deal of the Year Awards, which will be presented on June 10 at the REBNY Retail Committee’s annual cocktail party at the 101 Club.

Check 'em out after the jump.  read more »

The Real Estate Board of New York has announced the nominees for its 2007 Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards. The commercial real estate awards will be presented on April 15 at the 101 Club on Park Avenue.

We covered the Ingenies last year, when Studley's Harold Nottingham and Woody Heller were the big winners.

The nominees after the jump.  read more »

The Real Estate Board of New York threw its annual awards gala for residential brokers on Thursday night. We weren't invited, and we don't why.

But Halstead Property sent us a release about how the brokerage cleaned up:

• Dean Feldman and Edith K. Meyer, West Side brokers, won the top Deal of the Year Award.
• Linda VanderWoude, a Brooklyn agent, finished second.
• Halstead President Diane Ramirez received the Henry Forster Award, which honors not only professional achivement, but ethical conduct and charitable efforts.