Way back in 1966, New York State established the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) as part of its efforts to provide affordable housing to residents of the state. The program has been very successful, providing over 100,000 aff…
As evidenced by the recent - and likely ongoing - flap over congestion pricing, car usage, ownership, and the financial implications of both are major issues for New Yorkers. Owning a car in the city is an undertaking in itself, and for mos…
As the climate crisis accelerates, numerous, diverse technologies are being designed to battle the effects of heavily polluting, carbon-based energy sources like oil and gas. Many of these innovations are coming out of the heating, ventilat…
On the long list of building-related issues that multifamily boards and residents have to be concerned about, dryer lint is not likely uppermost. A leaky roof? Definitely. A boiler on the fritz in mid-January? Absolutely. But dryer lint, no…
According to a new report from Construction Coverage, a website that compares construction software and insurance, the current housing shortage—which is now estimated to be between 4 million and 7 million homes—can trace its beginnings …
After the devastating gas explosion in Harlem in 2014 that leveled a building, leaving eight people dead, and a second explosion in the East Village in 2015 that killed two and injured twenty, New York City passed Local Law 157 (LL157). Whi…
Have you ever wondered about those charming street-level unit entrances you see in many prewar apartment buildings? The ones often surrounded by flowering shrubbery, or with a decorative portico? They’re called maisonettes - French for ‘lit…
‘John’ (not his real name, in consideration of his and his neighbors’ privacy) has lived in co-op buildings for over 40 years, and in his particular co-op - a well-tended, 100% sold, mid-size building in Manhattan - for over two decades. Th…
Bill McBride notes in his CalculatedRisk newsletter that U.S. Census Bureau data that privately-owned housing starts reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,360,000 in April, a 5.7% increase from March’s revised estimate of 1,28…
One of the most widely felt effects of New York City’s multiple efforts to fight climate change is the shift away from oil- and gas-fired heating plants to electric. These efforts have been, and continue to be, largely successful. One of th…