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Tag: REBNY

Part 2- REBNY Report Falsely Blames Landmarking for Empty Storefront Syndrome

Recently, I responded to a portion of a recent “report” by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) that (incredibly, but predictably for REBNY) blamed the retail vacancy crisis impacting our city on landmarking and historic districts. In that case, they misrepresented and inflated the number of days until storefront permit is issued by the […]

REBNY Report Falsely Blames Landmarking for Empty Storefront Syndrome

A recent “report” by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) was released that (incredibly, but predictably for REBNY) blamed the retail vacancy crisis impacting our city on landmarking and historic districts. Although it was uncritically parroted by some media outlets, some simple digging found multiple misrepresentations and inaccuracies.  Here’s just one:

Taking on REBNY and Winning

Are you one of the many people who has had to take on the seemingly all-powerful Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) in a real estate/preservation fight?  Sometimes it may seem like REBNY and the other forces of Big Real Estate control everything in New York City.  But we’ve actually tangled with the well-funded […]

Further Proof That Landmarking Does Not Hurt Affordability, and Unfettered Development Doesn’t Help

Earlier this week the NYU Furman Center, which studies real estate development and urban policies, issued a report analyzing trends in gentrification in New York City from 1990-2014. Our ears pricked up, as the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) has long tried to link landmarking to gentrification, claiming it hurts affordability by, among […]

A Tale of Two Times Articles

So there I was, innocently paging through the New York Times Real Estate section this past Sunday — I know you were, too, dreaming about the $2.5 million Mercer Street loft splashed on page 3 — when a pesky contradiction that’s been buzzing around the world of preservation and development landed right on my nose. […]

    The Red Herring at 570 Lex

    If the “art deco masterpiece” that is 570 Lexington Avenue no longer stood on the southwest corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street, perhaps affordable housing could be constructed in its place. But this “suave fantasy of polished marble and modern metals,” built in 1931 for the Radio Victor Corporation and since known as the […]

    Op-Ed: Preservation Can Help Affordability

    As seen in:     Don’t Believe REBNY’s Hype; Landmarking Can Help Affordability Read the full article in The Villager or Gotham Gazette     BY ANDREW BERMAN  |  In July, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) went on a media blitz, touting their latest report blasting landmark preservation in New York City. […]