Friday, December 20, 2024
Thursday, December 19, 2024
The City of Yes will fix this
Day after the City Of Yes got ratified by a criminally indicted mayor, the City Of Crap is still thriving. Here's one of the jewels of South Ozone Park on the corner of 130th ave and the Van Wyck.
There's sure a lot of hoarding going on here, makes you wonder if there's more trash under the fallen leaves, but the potential for a little more housing is pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good thanks to our brilliant leaders in the city planning department and all their real estate lobbyist friends who actually wrote the blueprint for the most invasive and counterproductive housing program in the nation.
It's unbelievable that this house once looked like this. Even though the owner was operating a chop shop in his backyard and garage according to neighbor's complaints that spanned three decades.
And so it goes...
Caption Indicted Mayor Adams and the People Of Yes
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We're fucked.
A little more housing, a lot more higher rents
The average rental price in Queens for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units maintained an upward trend from the previous year in November 2024, according to a report by the real estate firm M.N.S. Real Estate.
Year-over-year, Queens experienced a 4.44% increase in its average rental price, from $2,763 in November 2023 to $2,885 in November 2024. Studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units each experienced jumps in their respective rental prices over this period of time.
Studios in Queens had a 3.74% boost in the average cost of rent, from $2,239 in November 2023 to $2,322 in November 2024. Despite the year-over-year increase, this cost actually presents a slight drop from the $2,337 rent in October 2024. Among the 11 Queens neighborhoods included in the study, studios in Woodside/Maspeth had the most annual growth, from $2,369 last year to $2,691 this year.
One-bedroom units experienced a 3.92% rise in the average rental price, from $2,673 in November 2023 to $2,778 in November 2024. As was the case with studios, the one-bedroom units actually had a slight dip in rental price from the previous month’s $2,782 average cost. The Rego Park neighborhood had the biggest spike in average rental price, from $2,602 last year to $2,965 this year.
Two-bedroom units had the most significant boost in the average cost of rent among the unit types, rising 5.3%, from $3,375 in November 2023 to $3,554 in November 2024. However, this new cost is the lowest seen for a month since $3,551 in July 2024. Sunnyside had by far the highest jump among the Queens neighborhoods from last year, going up from $2,754 in 2023 to $3,454 in 2024.
The median rent in Northwest Queens rose year-over-year in November 2024, marking the second consecutive month to experience such an increase, while the number of lease signings and available inventory continued to climb, according to a report by the real estate firm Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Northwest Queens encompasses the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside.
Over this period, the median rental price increased 8.9%, from $3,175 in November 2023 to $3,458 in November 2024. Units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms each experienced jumps in the respective median rent. One-bedroom units had the most significant increase, going up 14.1% from $2,998 last year to $3,422 this year.
One big contributing factor to the maintained rise in the median rent is bidding wars becoming more common for the many new listings in this area, allowing for many rentals to end up with higher prices than what was originally listed.
For the 14th consecutive month, new leases signed were up year-over-year in northwest Queens. There was a 64.9% increase in new leases being signed, from 416 in November 2023 to 686 in November 2024. Similar to the median rent, new leases went up across the board among each type of housing unit, with one-bedroom units spiking the most. New leases among one-bedroom units rose 87.4%, from 183 last year to 343 this year.
Oh, the story about the picture.That is actually the root cause for the rent being too damn high and getting higher and higher and will continue to do so for the City Of Mess. The word affordable has become doublespeak by the NYC Housing Department.
New York City has launched a housing lottery for 72 units at AURA, a 37-story mixed-use building in Long Island City.
Located at 23-10 42nd Rd., AURA features 240 residential units, with 168 offered at market rate. The 72 remaining units have all been designated for individuals who earn 130% of the area median income, with an asset cap of $201,890.
Studios account for 25 of the units set aside, 17 of which have a monthly rent of $3,423 and are meant for residents earning an annual income ranging from $117,360-$161,590. The other eight units cost $3,434 a month in rent and are meant for those earning $117,738-$161,590 annually. No more than two people can reside in each of these units.
Another 34 units are one-bedroom and are intended for up to three residents. Five of these units have a monthly rent of $3,674 and are intended for households earning $125,966-$181,740 in annual income. The other 29 one-bedroom units have a monthly rent of $3,661 and each household must combine to earn $125,520-$181,740 annually.
The last 13 units are two-bedroom. These units have a monthly rent of $4,376. Households of up to five people can reside there, as long as they have a combined annual income ranging from $150,035-$218,010.
Commuter pricing will fix this
The MTA Board approved on Wednesday a budget plan for 2025 that includes public transportation fare hikes and toll increases slated to take effect next summer.
The board unanimously voted to pass the plan during its monthly meeting on Dec. 18. The exact amount of the increases has yet to be announced but could go into effect in August 2025.
In recent years, the MTA approved 4% increases in fares and tolls. Should that trend continue, a base fare for a subway or bus trip would cost $3, up a dime from $2.90, come next summer, according to an article from ABC 7.
Meanwhile, during Wednesday’s meeting, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber boasted of “excellent service” and surging subway ridership.
“Last week, we set a new single-day record for subway ridership, 4.5 million customers,” he said. “Compare that to 2021, when this group began when the average weekday was less than half of that level.”
The most recent fare hike occurred in 2023, when the base NYC Transit fare was bumped up 15 cents, from $2.75 to $2.90. That marked the first such increase in eight years.
Despite the fare rise, Lieber remained optimistic and said the agency is coming out “on a high note” for 2024.
“I always look back at the goals we set at the beginning of the year, and when I took the chair a couple of years ago, priority one was recovering ridership to support the region’s comeback and also to help us achieve financial stability,” he said.
Lieber added that the MTA vowed to deliver “excellent” service to New Yorkers.
“And we also needed to keep the capital program on track to earn the public’s trust on how the MTA was going to spend money,” he said.
But New Yorkers whom amNewYork Metro talked to Wednesday after the budget vote did not hold back their opinions on the increase, some even calling it “straight-up greed.”
Others said they pay too much for too little service.
“This is absolutely outrageous. That last increase led to subpar service as it is,” said Roger Smith, an Upper West Side resident.
Carlos Rivera of Harlem questioned what the increases will actually support, as he is often stuck waiting for late trains and buses.
“I wish us New Yorkers could audit the MTA because this is absolutely ridiculous at this point,” he said. “Track maintenance and the trains and buses are never on time. Where is our money going?”
Friday, December 6, 2024
The City of Yes, Mess and Less Affordable Housing is complete
A compromise version of Mayor Eric Adams’ zoning overhaul aimed at easing the city’s dire housing crisis squeaked through the City Council on Thursday, clearing its final hurdle to become law.
The mayor’s “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan, a suite of proposals that promises to allow for “a little more housing in every neighborhood,” passed the 51-member chamber by a slim 31-20 votes on Dec. 5. The city estimates the plan will spur the construction of 82,000 new housing units over the next 15 years, down from the 109,000 homes it was projected to produce before the council’s modifications were made.
All that remains is for Adams to sign what will likely be his greatest signature accomplishment as mayor thus far into law.
Adams, during a City Hall rally on the heels of the vote, compared his administration to the 1986 Mets team that won the World Series.
“We’re gonna argue in the locker room, we’re gonna get in debates, we’re going to do all sorts of things, but you know what? We’re gonna bring home the championship ring,” Adams said. “That’s what we did…You’re seeing the most comprehensive housing reform in the history of the city.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, following several council members’ impassioned speeches for and against the plan, said the body “cannot do nothing” about the city’s dire housing crisis. She also emphasized that the modified version of the zoning text amendment hashed out by the council is far better than what the mayor initially proposed.
“This council cannot be the body that says ‘no’ to people that need a place to live,” Speaker Adams said in an emotional speech. “This cannot be the council that turns their back on homeless; this cannot be the council that continues to say ‘scrap it, let’s move ahead and do something else,’ because I tell you that will never happen.”
The plan consists of a series of updates to city zoning rules that have not been changed in over half a century. It’s designed to expand the amount of housing that can be built in parts of the Big Apple that typically do not see much development.
The zoning changes only narrowly passed the city legislature even after they were altered last month to assuage many council members’ concerns about them potentially altering the character of the neighborhoods they represent. The final deal between City Hall and the council also includes a $5 billion commitment from Adams’ office and Gov. Kathy Hochul to fund affordable housing construction, housing affordability programs, infrastructure improvements, and more staff for city housing agencies.
Several council members acknowledged that the modifications addressed their concerns and got them to a “yes.”
The lawmakers who voted against the City of Yes included every member of the chamber’s conservative Common Sense Caucus, some Democratic members representing low-rise outer-borough neighborhoods, and one progressive who saw the plan as a giveaway to developers.
City Council Member Joann Ariola (R-Queens) said her “no” vote was driven by her constituents’ concerns that City of Yes would change the character of their neighborhoods. She also expressed concerns that the infrastructure in her district, which covers coastal areas in the Rockaways, will not be able to support the added housing that would come with the plan.
“The city of yes will only add to the heavy burden that residents face every day,” Ariola said. “We don’t have the infrastructure and I know the mayor has promised money for infrastructure. But why are we putting the cart before the horse? Why are we putting the housing up and then worrying about the infrastructure?”
David Carr, a Republican council member representing Staten Island, who also voted “no,” said he believes the plan is “incredibly vulnerable to legal action” and “will not survive” such action, which could be forthcoming.
Progressive Council Member Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan) said he voted against the plan because it is a “yes to only the real estate developers.”
Update:
The lawsuit against the City Of Yes is about to begin. Donate to their gofundme to put a stop to this real estate land and air grab.
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Caption Linky Restler
Queens Crapper made a delish tweet about this and yours truly posted a crank 311 complaint about Linky and they actually responded. Sounds like lower level city workers are sick of this urbanist gargoyle. Have fun.
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Judgement day coming for the City Of Yes
Queens residents and presidents of local civic associations gathered with activist Paul Graziano outside the office of Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-St. Albans) on Monday to protest next Thursday’s City of Yes vote and announce their intentions to sue the city should it go through.
The City Council is expected to vote on Dec. 5 to approve the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment, the last third of the City of Yes agenda. The amendment would ease regulations to allow accessory dwelling units, more high-density housing, greater building heights and much more, detailed in the 1,400 pages of text.
Warren Schreiber, the president of the Queens Civic Congress, told the Queens Chronicle that the civic associations would file an Article 78 class action lawsuit against the city to stop it from implementing the rezoning program on the basis that the action would be “arbitrary and capricious.”
“An Article 78 [is] what you bring against a government entity when you think that they’ve made a wrong decision,” Schreiber said.
Schreiber added that the opponents have yet to decide who would be the plaintiffs, although the Queens Civic Congress would certainly be one, and they have yet to contact a lawyer. When asked how it would be funded, he said they were looking at a GoFundMe. Schreiber said they would at least be looking for the judge to issue an injunction while the suit plays out.
“Everybody seems to understand the importance and they understand that it’s urgent that we move forward as soon as possible,” Schreiber said.
During Monday’s rally, Schreiber and others took shots at city officials for making supposed backroom deals to get the City of Yes through the Council.
“When the City Council plays ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’ they do it behind closed doors, in secret,” Schreiber joked.
“Speaker [Adrienne] Adams and [Chair of the City Planning Commission] Dan Garodnick, both attended the Somos lobbyist convention in Puerto Rico and they met behind closed doors,” Schreiber added, referring to the tropical getaway attended by many in the New York political scene every year. “Nobody knows what they said to each other.”
Claudia Valentino, a magazine editor and Forest Hills resident of 40 years, told the Queens Chronicle that overdevelopment that could happen under City of Yes would do “nothing but cause damage and take community review away.”
“The moment you start digging up driveways to try to put ADUs in backyards, garages and so on, you will endanger the foundations of the houses,” Valentino said. “It will cause a whole world of problems with our ancient sewer and electrical grid.”
For Aracelia Cook, the president of the 149th South Ozone Park Civic Association, infrastructure was also a top concern, citing the catastrophic 2019 Southeast Queens sewer pipe collapse.
“Now all of a sudden they throw in, ‘Oh, we’re going to give X amount of billions of dollars for infrastructure,’” Cook said. “Where did that come from? You should give that to people anyway, regardless of whether they are going to vote for the City of Yes or not.”
Graziano, an urban planning consultant who has been making his rounds across the city rallying against the City of Yes, compared the newest amendments to the housing opportunity section of the program to treating a gunshot patient.
“When you have a patient that’s been shot by six bullets — it doesn’t matter if they got shot by five, the patient is still gonna die,” Graziano said, referring to the Council’s modifications to the bill.
Graziano was particularly peeved by the $5 billion City for All budget, which has been set aside “to address the city’s housing crisis,” according to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica).
“This is not $5 billion in a bank account that they’re waiting to tap to give to all of these things,” Graziano said. “This is our tax dollars.”
As the City Council’s voting deadline on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity steadily approaches, residents, civic groups, and local elected officials throughout Queens have voiced their stance on the monumental rezoning proposal.
The City Council is expected to hold a final vote on Dec. 5 regarding the City of Yes, which was approved with modifications by two influential council committees on Nov. 21 following a hearing.
The changes included modifying the proposed elimination of parking mandates for new residential developments and adding restrictions on where accessory dwelling units can be built. Additionally, Mayor Adams’ administration announced a $5 billion commitment to fund the City Council’s housing plan, City for All, earlier this month.
The City for All Housing Plan’s points include mandating affordable housing in large transit-oriented and town-centered developments, allocating increased funding to the city’s housing programs, and increasing support for tenants’ rights.
In Southeast Queens, a steady coalition of residents and civic leaders have protested for months against the rezoning initiative, which aims to bring a little more housing in every neighborhood.
The organizing against the plan started earlier this year. In May, Alicia Spears, a Cambria Heights homeowner, held a packed town hall meeting at Cambria Heights Library. More than 500 Southeast Queens residents came together, voicing concerns that their single-family and two-family zoned neighborhoods would become unrecognizable in the near future if higher-density housing developments—as well as accessory dwelling units—are permitted.
Other vocal nay-sayers include Paul Graziano, a Flushing resident and urban planner who has long opposed the City of Yes for Housing initiative, and Reverend Carlene Thorbs, Chair of Community Board 12 and organizer of recent ‘Say No to City of Yes’ rallies held in South Jamaica. Two weeks ago, Graziano, Thorbs, and Spears hosted another rally in St. Albans, urging their elected officials to vote no this December.
The organizers led their most recent rally on Monday, Nov. 25, in front of Council Member Nantasha William’s office, located at 172-12 Linden Blvd. Much of Monday’s rally centered around homeowners reiterating concerns about the City of Yes.
Graziano and Warren Schreiber, president of the Queens Civic Congress, said that if the plan passes on Dec. 5, they would pursue legal action. ” We will be filing a lawsuit… it’s happening,” Graziano said.
Schreiber expanded more, sharing that they would file the lawsuit under Article 78, which allows citizens to appeal decisions made by government agencies or officials to the New York State Supreme Court. “The first step would be an injunction until the Article 78, the lawsuit, could be heard,” Schreiber said. Schreiber said that he wants to ask the court for an injunction as soon as possible. “We’re still working on its logistics and how it’s going to be funded,” Schreiber said.
