Showing posts with label HDFCs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HDFCs. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

HDFC homeowners hosting emergency meeting to discuss proposed legislation



HDFC homeowners in the neighborhood are holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday night (Feb. 19) at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street, to discuss proposed legislation from Assemblymember Harvey Epstein.

According to members of the HDFC Coalition, the draft legislation will "radically change the Private Housing Finance Law (PHFL) which governs HDFCs, and introduce draconian rules that would undermine our independence and the viability of our homes."

The Coalition says that Epstein drafted the proposal without properly consulting HDFC shareholders.

The summary of draft bill A9608 "establishes the office of the HDFC cooperative ombudsman; establishes an office of the HDFC ombudsman fund for deposit of a residential unit fee, and directs the administration of such fund."

On Wednesday night from 6 to 7:30, Epstein will field questions about the proposed changes.

For more background, you may visit the HDFC Coalition website here.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Informational meeting Tuesday for HDFC homeowners



HDFC homeowners in the neighborhood are holding an informational session on Tuesday night from 7-9 at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. The above flyer has all the details.

Here's a recap from an EVG reader and co-op resident about what's happening from an earlier post:

This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.

The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.

For more background, you may visit the HDFC Coalition website here ... and the East Village/Lower East Side HDFC Coalition website here.

Monday, June 19, 2017

HDFC homeowners to rally at City Hall Wednesday morning



HDFC homeowners are holding a rally on the steps of City Hall this Wednesday morning. The above flyer has all the details.

As previously reported, there are proposed new regulations on nearly 1,200 privately owned co-ops, including a number in the East Village.

Here's a recap from an EVG reader and co-op resident about what's happening from an earlier post:

This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.

The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.

For more background, you may visit the HDFC Coalition website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Meeting on Jan. 17 for shareholders living in HDFC buildings

CB3 will hear HPD presentation on HDFC regulatory agreement this Wednesday night

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Your really last-minute notice about an HDFC working meeting tonight



Sorry for the short notice on this... however, this meeting invite was sent out via email at the last minute... and it doesn't appear to be publicized online anywhere.

Anyway, we've had a few posts on the proposed new regulations on nearly 1,200 privately owned co-ops, including a number in the East Village.

Here's a recap from an EVG reader and co-op resident about what's happening from an earlier post:

This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.

The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.

And...

The problem was that HDP wrote the Regulatory Agreement without any input from HDFC shareholders. When we caught wind of what was happening, we were able to force a community meeting, with the help of Council Member Mendez's office. They have since held a handful of meetings but say they are moving forward within the next couple of months. They are also not giving a clear timeline, which of course has many of us panicked.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Report: Drama on 13th Street as family of actress Rosario Dawson looks to buy affordable housing



544 E. 13th St. near Avenue B is one of the 11 formerly abandoned East Village buildings that the city sold to tenants for a $1 via a deal brokered by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) in 2002. Under the terms of the deal, the tenants were to bring the buildings up to code.

However, as The Villager reported in October 2015, the conversions of No. 544 as well as 377 E. 10th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C were stalled. The city reportedly chipped in $1.78 million for the renovation work.

Under the terms of the UHAB deal, the original homesteaders are given the chance to buy apartments at a low price, "but have to earn no more than $53,450 a year and the home must be a primary residence, according to the city," as the Post reported on Sunday.

No. 544 has reportedly been the site on an ongoing feud between two factions, "one of them led by Isabel Celeste Dawson, the mother of actress Rosario Dawson, who grew up in the building," per the 2015 Villager article. At the time, members of the Dawson family, Isabel, her brother Nicky Scott, Isabel’s ex-husband Greg Dawson, and son Clay were in line for four units in the renovated building. (The Dawsons arrived at the building in 1986.)

On Sunday, the Post reported that the four members of the Dawson family along with a longtime friend will be getting the homes, which doesn't sit well with some of the other original homesteaders who point out that Rosario Dawson has an estimated worth of $16 million.

Per the Post:

“She’s supportive of her parents. I don’t understand why she hasn’t acquired housing for them elsewhere so these units could be for New Yorkers in need,” said Annie Wilson, one of the building’s founding homesteaders.

Another resident chafed, “This is low-income housing. They’re not supposed to be profiting from anything to do with it.”

And...

Adam Leitman Bailey, a lawyer who represents the Dawsons and some of the other residents, said he had reviewed tax returns for all of the residents and they qualified to buy the apartments.

“I can guarantee you that none of them are wealthy,” he said.

The Post piece has a lot more of the accusations and sordid details. You can read the whole piece here. Ditto for the 2015 Villager article here.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Report: Details emerge about the city's plans for HDFC buildings

More details are emerging about Mayor de Blasio's plan to impose new regulations on nearly 1,200 privately owned co-ops, including a number in the East Village.

The co-op buildings are part of the city’s Housing Development Fund Corp. (HDFC) program, which gives homesteaders ownership of blighted buildings, along with certain conditions and enticements, per the Post, where the story was Page 1 on Sunday (with the headline "Man of Steal.")

Per the article:

The private co-ops were once derelict buildings in neighborhoods like Harlem, Washington Heights and the Lower East Side that the cash-strapped city sold to residents beginning in the 1980s for as little as $250 per unit. The city was happy to off-load the headache properties, which had been abandoned by absentee landlords or seized from tax deadbeats.

Over the years, the homesteaders banded together to create livable apartments, and at the same time revitalized blighted neighborhoods.

Now, the city wants to seize control of what have become valuable assets, and livid residents are preparing for a legal war to stop it.

While many of the co-op buildings have prospered, the city says 27 percent of them are in "significant distress" from mismanagement and other issues.

According to the Post, with de Blasio’s proposal, two years in the making, the buildings would sign 40-year agreements with City Hall that would put them under the watch of a nonprofit monitor that the city would choose, and the co-op would pay for.

Several Manhattan City Council members are asking the city — specifically Maria Torres-Springer, the incoming Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) commissioner — to hold off on the process to "ensure real meaningful input" from co-op residents.

"There was virtually no consultation with HDFC shareholders as this regulatory agreement was being crafted, and it was essentially sprung on them after it was already completed,” Council member Corey Johnson told the Post. (The paper called de Blasio's planning "Stalinesque.")

Critics contend this is merely a political move to boost the mayor's affordable housing numbers. Per the Post: "De Blasio has pledged to create or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing in 10 years — and the controversial plan would add 30,000 units to his inventory."

A spokesperson for the mayor said that said the proposal was meant to protect HDFC co-ops.

One EVG reader and co-op resident recently summed up the situation this way:

This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.

The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.

And...

The problem was that HDP wrote the Regulatory Agreement without any input from HDFC shareholders. When we caught wind of what was happening, we were able to force a community meeting, with the help of Council Member Mendez's office. They have since held a handful of meetings but say they are moving forward within the next couple of months. They are also not giving a clear timeline, which of course has many of us panicked.



For more background, you may visit the HDFC Coalition website here. There is also a petition here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Meeting on Jan. 17 for shareholders living in HDFC buildings

CB3 will hear HPD presentation on HDFC regulatory agreement this Wednesday night

Friday, January 13, 2017

Meeting on Jan. 17 for shareholders living in HDFC buildings


Via the EVG inbox...

We want local HDFC folks to be fully informed about what is happening with the NYC Housing Preservation and Development and their proposed new Regulatory Agreement for ALL HDFC buildings citywide. Now is the time to get involved.



As the flyer shows, the meeting is Tuesday night at 6:30, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Find more information at the the HDFC Coalition website here.

Monday, November 7, 2016

CB3 will hear HPD presentation on HDFC regulatory agreement this Wednesday night



An EVG reader notes that the city is pushing a new regulatory agreement for HDFC buildings under the guise of helping the approximately 25 percent of those buildings that are in financial trouble.

This Wednesday evening, CB3's Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee hosts a presentation on proposed HDFC regulatory agreements.

The meeting is Nov. 9 at 6:30 in the Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. Seventh St. at Cooper Square.

Find more background at the CB3 website here and at the the HDFC Coalition website here.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Meeting tomorrow night for shareholders living in HDFC buildings


Via the EVG inbox...



As the flyer shows, the meeting is tomorrow night at 6:30, PS 15, 333 E. Fourth St between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Find more information at the the HDFC Coalition website here.