Broker fees begone not yet

NY Post

An Albany judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order halting the Empire State’s new lightning-rod rule that renters can no longer be charged broker’s fees.

The ruling by Justice Michael Mackey came after the influential Real Estate Board of New York and other industry honchos, including big-name brokerages like the The Corcoran Group and Sotheby’s Realty, filed a lawsuit against the Department of State on Monday.

The temporary ban means brokers can, for now, continue collecting hefty commissions from tenants when they rent a residence.

REBNY and the New York State Association of Realtors declared in a statement that it also means “that thousands of hardworking, honest real estate agents across New York State can do business in the same way they did prior to last week’s DOS memo without fear of discipline by the DOS.”

TRO issued to prevent alienation of Theodore Roosevelt Park

From Curbed:

The American Museum of Natural History’s expansion plans have been put on hold following the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) by New York State Supreme Court justice Lynn Kotler. The TRO against the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation stems from a lawsuit filed by a group known as Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park, which has been opposed to the expansion for quite some time now.

The museum filed plans for its five-story, Studio Gang-designed expansion in August 2017, and began pre-construction work on the building last month. This further angered the community group opposed to the development, who were waiting on the October 2 hearing date for the lawsuit they had filed against the museum earlier this year.

For now, construction work, and any planned removal of trees from the park will have to be halted until a court hearing that’s been scheduled for December 11, 2018. Community United has been opposed to the project on the grounds that it will destroy the park, lead to the removal of trees, and that construction work will pose a safety and environmental hazard to the surrounding community.

5 Pointz TRO extended

Photo by Miss Heather

From the Huffington Post:

In a welcomed decision by Federal District Judge Frederic Block, 5Pointz artists were handed another win on October 28, when he made a ruling that extended the existing temporary restraining order (TRO) he issued, as reported here at The Huffington Post. Judge Block scheduled the hearing on November 6, 2013, at which time he will also address the artists' allegations that the property owner, Jerry Wolkoff, violated the existing TRO over this past weekend.

With the good fortune of getting the extension, the artists involved in this case are calling out to the famous English artist Banksy to join their cause to stop the demolition of 5Pointz which is known as the graffiti Mecca of the world. In the Guardian, Jonathan Cohen (also known as Meres1) spoke out and believes Banksy should offer support to 5 Pointz. He said "We're not asking you to give us money, but your words could help," Meres said. "Why don't you put a comment out?" Banksy who is also known as a political activist has created his art on the walls of the buildings of New York City every day for a month and has achieved great notoriety through his commentary. If he used his art to try to save 5Pointz he would be a hero to many.

The use of art as a political weapon is not new. Through history, the role of the artist as a social commentator has been invaluable and engrained in our culture. Art and its creation as a response to social and political issues can become powerfully influential in raising public awareness that results in positive change.

It is hoped that Bansky reaches out in time to support us and help our cause to preserve 5Pointz.

Judge grants 5 Pointz a restraining order

From LIC Post:

The demolition crew tasked with the job of bulldozing 5 Pointz is going to have to wait–as the 5 Pointz artists were able to convince a Federal Court Judge today to grant them a temporary restraining order, which prohibits the developer from tampering with the building.

The decision follows a lawsuit filed by 17 artists last week against G&M Realty (the owner of the property), which argues that the building cannot be destroyed since it would undermine the plaintiffs’ artwork as defined by the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act.

The lawsuit claims that many pieces of work are recognized throughout the country and the destruction of the artwork would damage the artists.

The District Court judge’s decision to grant a 10-day restraining order was deemed by the plaintiffs as the first step toward getting a permanent injunction.

The plaintiffs hope the judge will come back before October 28 and announce a hearing for a preliminary injunction. At that point, the artists would be called upon to testify.

Jeannine Chanes, the attorney for the artists, said that the artwork should be protected since it was completed post 1990 (when the Act was introduced), is highly acclaimed, and was done with the permission of a property owner. Therefore, she said, the artwork cannot be altered without each artist’s consent.

SWO & TRO on bowling alley conversion

"DOB placed a Full Stop Work Order (Entered on 09/24/2008 at 14:08:59 by Badge # 1962 Gonzalez Robert, Bin: 4284059; Complaint # 4373342. See also Complaint # 4350617) on 245-02 Merrick Blvd., Rosedale, New York, Block: 13209 Lot: 50 and 60, yet DOB allowed construction to proceed.

On September 15, 2012, 245-02 Merrick Blvd. LLC removed the chain link fence on its neighbor boundary and installed a fence on the neighbor’s property. The neighbor sued at the New York State Supreme at Queens County and obtained a TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER entered by Hon. Joseph J. Esposito on September 18, 2012 (a hearing was heard on October 4, 2012 and the TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER was ordered to continue). We are now watching 245-02 Merrick Blvd. LLC and its cohorts at DOB."  - Anonymous

What I have gathered from looking at the info on DOB's site is that a defunct bowling alley was supposed to have been converted into a drug store back in 2008; the DOB approved those plans. Then for some reason, the owner withdrew that and applied for a demo permit and new building. What's been going on since is anyone's guess.  Here's the whole history of permits.

Hold onto your medallions, Mike!

From the NY Post:

A Manhattan judge [Friday] temporarily banned the city from selling 2,000 taxi medallions and implementing Mayor Bloomberg’s outer-borough taxi plan until it has settled three lawsuits.

The temporary restraining order against the medallion auction is particularly damaging to City Hall, since Bloomberg had already budgeted $1 billion from the sale into the upcoming fiscal year. The first of the auctions had been scheduled for next month.

Judge Arthur Engoron sided with medallion owners and taxi lenders, who said the law granting the medallion auction and livery plan should have been legislated by the City Council.

Bloomberg had instead pushed the bill to Albany after negotiations in the council broke down.

“Both governments are democracies, but only one is solely answerable on Election Day to the constituents of the five boroughs, those directly affected by the taxi service at issue here,” the judge wrote.

Engoron said he issued the order because he expects the plaintiffs ultimately to succeed.