Harold presented research from CHPC’s new report, The Impact of Multifamily Foreclosures and Over-Mortgaging in Neighborhoods in New York City. The report shows that in New York City neighborhoods, a correlation exists between the presence of overmortgaged multifamily buildings and increased housing code violations and ERP liens. Harold called for continued awareness and government expenditure in these neighborhoods in order to prevent further decline.

To learn more about CHPC’s work on overmortgaged buildings, click here.

The event will take place on April 25 at the Times Square Marriott Marquis featuring an array of industry special guests, awards, and presentations.

Click here to add the date to your calendar.

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Principle at Plater-Zyberk & Co in Miami, presented the details of “Miami21,” one of the few new city-wide zoning codes completed in the last decade, and the first city-wide form-based code for a major American city.

Jerliyn Perine and other respondents familiar with New York City’s zoning code discussed the potential takeaways of the Miami21 effort for NYC. Jerilyn stressed the symbolic relevance of Miami21, saying “Too many of us in New York think that we’re stuck with the current process. If anything, Miami21 gives us hope that innovative changes to zoning are possible in our city, too.”

It will be up to the New York State legislature to decide to renew the program and under what terms. However one likely argument that will be made, that J‑51 somehow contributes to gentrification of neighborhoods, seems to have been already addressed by the Court of Appeals.

J‑51
In the 1950’s New York City still had a substantial inventory of Old Law tenements which did not have central heating, central hot water, or, in some cases, indoor plumbing. When the City required the installation of these improvements, many owners objected that they could not pay for the costs of the improvements from their existing rent rolls, which were limited by the rent control system.

The J‑51 program was enacted to enable owners to recover approximately 75% of the cost of improvements through tax abatements. The program was largely successful—from inception through 1977, over 675,000 units of housing were renovated using J‑51 tax incentives. Through the 1980’s and 1990’s J‑51 was an important piece of rehabilitating New York City’s housing stock. As of 2011, nearly 600,000 units were still receiving J‑51 benefits.

Gentrification
One claim being made against J‑51 today is that it fosters the “gentrification” of neighborhoods. Gentrification, in this context, presumably means encouraging the upgrading of buildings to appeal to higher income tenants.

In 2009, in the case of Roberts vs Tishman, the New York State Court of Appeals spoke to the issue of rent regulation and J‑51. That decision held that buildings that had received J‑51 tax incentives were ineligible to apply the luxury decontrol provisions of the rent stabilization law. Thus buildings with high income tenants capable of paying market rents are unable to charge market rents if they are receiving J‑51. One result of this decision has been to cause massive confusion as to how to adjust rents for tenants who were subject to the rent regulation decontrol provisions. Continuing litigation has only partially addressed the issue, and additional litigation is likely unless the Legislature acts and clarifies this matter.

At the same time Roberts is a useful tool in directing J‑51 toward buildings in actual need. Clearly, today, owners in buildings that expect improvement in their rental market will choose to forego J‑51 tax abatement in order to have luxury decontrol available to them. For those in areas where market rates are close to or below rent stabilized rents, J‑51 is a useful incentive to upgrade their buildings.

Thus, thanks to the Court of Appeals, we now have a market mechanism which strongly discourages the use of J‑51 in buildings able to command higher rents. Confirmation of that can be seen in the spate of lawsuits currently in the courts brought by building owners trying to achieve an early exit from J‑51.

The legislature need no longer worry about J‑51 as a contributor to gentrification. They should be far more concerned about how to clean up the confusion that Roberts created around the liability for past rents that were incorrectly decontrolled. And they should also insure that J‑51 is extended so that it can continue to perform its critical function of funneling capital funds to buildings in need of rehabilitation.

Download the pdf version of the Inside Edge of J-51 and Gentrification.

Last year’s mortgage crisis panel discussion revealed that NYC neighborhoods continue to be negatively impacted by  foreclosures and overleveraged multifamily properties.

This session Max Weselcouch will present this year’s findings of the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods, an annual study conducted by the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate that reviews the impact of foreclosures on New York City neighborhoods.  She will also present research on loan modifications. Harold Shultz, Senior Fellow at the Citizen’s Housing and Planning Council and President of Neighborhood Restore will present updated research on the overleveraged multifamily housing and policy actions to mitigate the crisis. John Warren of Workforce Housing Advisors, a housing management and investment firm, will discuss his experience in negotiating discounted purchase of overleveraged property and their long term management strategies.

CM credits (2) pending approval

RSVP here

February 16, 2012:  6 to 8pm

New York City Economic Development Corporation

110 William Street, 4^th Floor

New York, NY 10038

Panelists:

Harold Shultz: Fellow: Citizens Housing and Planning Council

Max Weselcouch : Data Manager and Research Analyst,  Furman Center, NYU

John Warren, Founding Member, Workforce Housing Advisors

Commissioned and funded by Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise), “The Impact of Multifamily Foreclosures and Over-Mortgaging in Neighborhoods in New York City” examines more than 1,100 multifamily buildings across Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens. It highlights the need to monitor multifamily housing stock and coordinate public and private sector intervention so that the stock may be improved, returned to responsible owners, and preserved for another generation of tenants.

Additional findings from the study include:

• For buildings within a 500 foot radius of an over-mortgaged building, the average percentage increase in ERP liens per building was 198%. However for buildings outside of the 500 foot radius, the average percentage  decrease in ERP charges was 39%.
• Buildings within a 500 foot radius had $1,892,142 more in ERP charges in 2010 than they would have had if they were not near an over-mortgaged or foreclosed property.
• The average per building percentage increase in Class C housing code violations, the most serious, was 13.7% between 2008 and 2010 in buildings located within 250 feet of an over-mortgaged building.  The average increase per buildings outside of a 250 feet radius was only 6.3%.

You can read, share, and print the full report below. You can download a pdf here.

This is a partnership event at the Center for Architecture for members of CHPC, AIA New York, APA, and the New York State Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Jerilyn will be part of the respondent panel discussion, alongside New York City planning expert, Michael Kwartler, and the former Planning Director for Seattle, Ray Gastil.

You can read more information and RSVP here.

AIANY P&UD Committee, CNU New York, CHPC, NY Metro Chapter APA present:

Miami21 New Zoning: New Lessons for New York?

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk FAIA, Principal, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co, Miami

February 9, 6-8 PM Center for Architecture 536 LaGuardia Place NY 10036

Respondents:

Jerilyn Perine, Executive Director, Citizens Housing & Planning Council

Michael Kwartler FAIA, Michael Kwartler & Associates, planning & zoning consultant

Ray Gastil AICP, GastilWorks, former Planning Director, Seattle/ Borough of Manhattan

Moderator:

Ernie Hutton FAICP Assoc AIA, Hutton Associates Inc.

Admission $10 members of sponsoring organizations/ $20 others

AIA CEU 1.5LU, 1.5HSW/ AICP Credits pending

Beginning with the sentence “Like all who have loved public housing for a long time, I have felt angry and frustrated at the sight of public housing projects that have the bleak, unloved look of army barracks and institutions”, this fascinating report covered  recommendations for ways to make public housing more livable by providing facilities and commercial establishments that allowed for socializing. Suggestions included incorporating pubs, candy stores, and outdoor gathering spaces into public housing developments and were accompanied with delightful sketches of the design possibilities.

The National Public Housing Museum in Chicago are currently developing a special exhibit about music and its role in the formation of community and are using this report as part of their research.

Masters degree or foreign equivalent degree in Housing and Urban Planning, or Housing Policy (degree must include coursework in the history of housing policy and urban renewal, international best practices in housing policy and urban renewal, housing economics, affordable housing development, finance and management), plus one year of work experience in: housing policy research, European best practices in housing policy, affordable housing management, data analysis, and project management.

To apply, email resume to info@chpcny.org and reference position SW0112.