Crain's New York Business

06/10/2025

A Brooklyn development site marketed as being able to house a project spanning more than 150,000 square feet seems set to instead host a pair of smaller, 99-unit buildings, potentially the latest sign of how a contentious new affordable housing tax break is affecting development in the city.

Both developments would span about 89,000 square feet and stand 10 stories and 105 feet tall with 20 parking spots, and at least some of the residences would be designated as low-income units.

When trying to secure a buyer, the seller emphasized how large a potential project could be, noting that the site could accommodate a residential, medical or educational development spanning more than 150,000 square feet under the zoning reforms that were part of the City of Yes initiative passed late last year.

But Keren Star may have decided against a larger project because of the $40-per-hour minimum wage developers are required to pay workers on projects with 100 or more units under 485-x, the affordable housing tax break the state passed as part of its 2024 budget.

Several other developers have recently filed plans for projects with slightly fewer than 100 units in a likely attempt to get around the wage requirement. Examples include Avdoo planning two adjacent Gowanus developments with 39 and 86 residential units and developer Abraham Biller planning a pair of 99-unit projects in Cypress Hills.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/keren-star-plans-99-unit-projects-230-and-234-clarkson-ave-prospect-lefferts-gardens?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

03/10/2025

Subway delays caused by malfunctioning signal equipment are on the decline as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority invests billions of dollars into upgrading the system's decades-old signals. But subway riders shouldn’t rejoice just yet.

MTA data for the first six months of the year shows that 1,892 signal malfunctions caused train delays: what the MTA defines as a train arriving at its final stop more than five minutes behind schedule, skipping stations or being canceled. The figure is a 2% dip from the same period in 2024, when 1,930 signal incidents delayed riders.

However, transit crews upgrading signal equipment over the first six months in 2025, also caused 542 incidents that spurred train delays, the data shows. This amounts to an 8% increase from the 501 incidents that caused delays over the same period in 2024, meaning that any improvement in train delays due to malfunctioning signals was lost by delays spurred by work to upgrade the system’s signal equipment.

The data indicates that subway riders should expect train delays related to signals to worsen or remain relatively flat in the years ahead until more complex projects to install the equipment in subway tunnels and stations are complete.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/subway-riders-should-expect-signal-delays-get-worse-they-get-better?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

02/10/2025

Global furniture and home furnishings company Ikea appears to have quietly scooped up a SoHo retail building that's currently home to Nike's flagship store, records show.

Carlisle Bostic, associate general counsel at Ikea for its North American headquarters, signed the documents acquiring 529 Broadway through an entity named after the address for $213 million, according to a deed that hit the city register Tuesday.

Stephen Rabinowitz, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig and co-chair of the Midtown law firm's global real estate practice, which represented the buyer, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

It's unclear what the Scandinavian chain, founded in Sweden in 1943, has in store for the 6-story property, including whether it will open a small-scale retail store or use the space for offices. The city's only existing Ikea location is in Red Hook and is a whopping 346,000 square feet, sitting on a 6.5-acre waterfront esplanade.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/ikea-buys-soho-manhattan-building?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

01/10/2025

New York City homeowners can now apply to build backyard, basement or attic apartments on their properties — a milestone in Mayor Eric Adams’ implementation of the landmark City of Yes law that passed late last year.

Homeowners can now submit an application to build a so-called accessory dwelling unit on the Department of Buildings’ DOB NOW website. The move comes two months after DOB published long-awaited rules that will govern ADUs — which will be limited to 800 square feet and must occupy the same lot as the owner’s home.

A new homeowner assistance program called “ADU For You,” run by the city’s Housing Preservation and Development department, aims to smooth the process for would-be ADU builders — for example, by allowing them to choose from a number of pre-approved ADU designs that the city is currently soliciting from architects.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/nyc-homeowners-can-now-apply-build-adus-backyards-basements?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

30/09/2025

Co-op buildings, especially at the more expensive end of the real estate market, are trying to shake off their stodgy image.

Building on past moves, the elite, often Upper East Side residences, which are essentially private companies in which residents own shares, are increasingly relaxing rules that co-op boards have enforced for generations out of concern that the regulations are scaring away buyers.

Some are allowing prospective homeowners to buy a unit with a mortgage for the first time ever. Others are becoming less strict about the times of year when owners are allowed to embark upon a renovation. And others still are now allowing buyers to make their purchase through anonymous limited liability companies.

The raft of rules being relaxed suggests co-op boards are worried about sluggish sales activity, especially at the high end. Luxury condo buildings outsold co-ops last year in Manhattan by about a 3-to-1 margin, despite the fact that the borough has about three times more co-op units.

“It’s time that co-ops got more competitive,” said Sotheby’s International Realty agent Harry Nasser. “Times have changed, and co-ops will benefit by being more flexible.”

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/upper-east-side-co-ops-relax-rules-compete-buyers?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

29/09/2025

In normal times, an incumbent mayor dropping his re-election campaign would count as a political earthquake.

But Eric Adams’ long-awaited withdrawal on Sunday had an air of anticlimax — and may have a limited effect on the race to replace him.

In an eight-minute video posted to social media, Adams acknowledged his nonexistent path to victory in November and took implicit shots at front-runner Zohran Mamdani for advancing “divisive agendas.”

But the move left something to be desired for the wealthy donors and businesspeople who hoped Adams’ withdrawal could steer his former supporters toward Andrew Cuomo and improve Cuomo’s chances of beating the democratic socialist Mamdani, who is running on the Democratic line in November.

The most tangible impact of Adams’ dropout could be to open up a firehose of big-money spending on advertisements opposing Mamdani and boosting Cuomo.

“Up until now, a lot of our major donors have been sitting on the sidelines because they didn’t see a real path to victory,” said an operative working on one of many anti-Mamdani super PACs after Adams’ Sunday announcement. “With Adams out, it really opens up the race.”

That big-money spending could even be expanded to diminish support for Sliwa if he maintains his refusal to drop out of the race, the operative said — with the aim being to shrink his base of support and reduce the contest to a one-on-one between Mamdani and Cuomo.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/mayor-eric-adams-dropout-may-not-stop-zohran-mamdani-win?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

26/09/2025

Failed casino dreams are forcing three Manhattan developers to rethink their plans for valuable sites.

Real estate giants SL Green, Silverstein Properties and the Soloviev Group respectively bet heavily on turning an aging Times Square office property, a vacant lot by Hudson Yards and a development site by the United Nations into glitzy hotel-casinos.

With those projects dead, the companies seemingly have no choice but to look more seriously at other options. And although they all framed a casino as the best move for the future of their sites during their campaigns to get them approved, those more removed from the process are not concerned that those properties now face a bleak future.

"Hardly any part of Manhattan is land nobody can use for anything else — just the opposite," said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a longtime casino foe whose opposition helped tank the SL Green bid. "We have an overheated real estate value on every piece of land in Manhattan."

None of the developers has yet specified a Plan B for their high-value Manhattan properties. The most detailed response so far has come from Silverstein Properties, whose chief operating officer told reporters shortly after the neighborhood committee rejected the bid that the West Side site will remain an empty lot years into the future since a casino had been the only financially viable project.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/potential-next-steps-sl-green-silverstein-and-soloviev-casino-sites?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

25/09/2025

A major Downtown Brooklyn landlord is three steps closer to securing near-total control of an entire block.

The Laboz family’s United American Land has snapped up a trio of parcels near the corner of Jay and Willoughby streets for $14.5 million, according to deeds that appeared in the city register Friday.

With the transaction, the developer appears to control 16 of the 21 lots that make up the trapezoidal block, which is also bounded by Fulton and Lawrence streets, according to a Crain’s analysis. In the area, low-slung commercial sites have been giving way to soaring residential towers amid a building boom.

The properties include an outpost of the doughnut chain Dunkin’, at 387 Jay, and an African hair-braiding site, at 385 Jay, which is perhaps best known to passers-by for its unusual, Bavarian-style half-timbered gable. It’s an apparent relic of Engelke’s Alt Deutsche Bier Stube, an early 1900s German pub, according to Brooklyn real estate publication Brownstoner. Letters in a Germanic font still grace the façade.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/united-american-land-buys-three-downtown-brooklyn-sites?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

24/09/2025

The Adams administration is projecting a sizable portion of cuts to food stamps under President Donald Trump’s reconciliation package will come from new restrictions that reduce assistance for people also receiving federally-backed subsidies for heating in the winter and cooling during the hot summer months.

The change to what was known as the "heat and eat" program will now force low-income New Yorkers to jump through new hoops while pulling a reliable revenue stream and economic stabilizer from grocers in food insecure neighborhoods.

An estimated 150,000 city residents could lose up to $200 per month in food stamp benefits because they are also enrolled in the energy assistance program, according to projections provided by the Department of Social Services.

Currently, recipients can deduct the amount they spend on heating and cooling utilities from their reported income when determining their eligibility for food stamps; when they receive the heating benefit, they are automatically given the highest deduction, which equates to a greater food subsidy.

The reconciliation package eliminates the ability to automatically qualify for the highest utility deduction, drastically reducing food benefits for people who are dually enrolled. Recipients may still be able to register a deduction and receive the higher benefit if they can show proof of their utility spending but individuals may not know about the additional administrative burden and could lose out on services.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/health-pulse/snap-be-curtailed-people-receiving-heating-benefits?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

23/09/2025

More than 25 years ago, when it was nearing its 87th birthday, Grand Central Terminal had a surprising growth spurt. Engineers lengthened the station by four blocks to the north by carving out new entrances on Madison Avenue at 47th Street and on Park Avenue at 48th. Commentators scolded the project’s managers for taking longer than anticipated and coming in 35% over budget.

Now, those allegedly expensive entrances are playing a key role in the fast-improving fortunes of nearby Midtown office towers.

Exhibit A: 477 Madison Ave. The 23-story tower at East 51st Street was almost 40% empty heading into the year. However, vacancy stands to fall to less than 10% after owner RFR Holding told Crain’s that two new tenants are taking a combined 26,000 square feet. The first, wealth manager NewEdge Wealth, has leased the entire ninth floor at the 250,000 square-foot building. The other, California-based Bank of Hope, serves the Korean-American community and is a new arrival to New York.

CBRE’s David Stockel, who represented NewEdge, said execs appreciated the view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But more important for the Connecticut-based firm, 477 Madison is close to Grand Central.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/477-madison-ave-nearly-full-thanks-expansion-grand-central-terminal

22/09/2025

Thor Equities’ Coney Island casino proposal appeared dead Monday after three people with the power to sink the bid announced that they plan to oppose it — continuing a week of bad news for New York City’s would-be casino builders.

City Councilman Justin Brannan, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton each announced their opposition Monday morning to the $3.4 billion project known as The Coney. All three serve on the community advisory committee that will vote whether to let the project advance, and more than two no-votes will kill the project.

The Coney’s final CAC vote has not been announced by the state’s Gaming Commission, but two sources familiar with the planning said it will take place September 29.

A spokesman for Thor Equities, the development firm helmed by Joseph Sitt, declined to comment. The Coney would be built across four city blocks along the neighborhood’s famous boardwalk, containing a 500-room hotel, convention center and three-floor casino.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/coney-island-casino-appears-dead-continuing-string-rejections?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

19/09/2025

The blighted shell of a long-vacant hospital in Forest Hills is set to become a new affordable housing site for seniors and low-income New Yorkers.

The former Parkway Hospital, which has sat empty on a strip of 113th St. in Queens for close to two decades, is being converted to a 144-unit affordable senior housing development with on-site social services. Developers plan to break ground on the location next week, with construction expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

The construction and renovation will expand the site to 156,000 square feet, a 50% increase, available to residents earning up to 50% of the area median income – roughly $57,000 for a one-person household. When completed, the residence, to be known as The Perennial, will contain 124 units for seniors, including 44 units for formerly homeless individuals. Another 20 units will be reserved for families. Approximately 34,000 square feet of the project will house the Forest Hills Jewish Center, a community center currently located a few blocks away.

The site will also offer social services run by Midtown-based Selfhelp Realty Group, which will offer case management, as well as health and education services.

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The site of the former Parkway Hospital will become senior housing close to two decades after it closed.