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Happy LinkNYC Halloween from Second Avenue today.
Photo by Derek Berg
The Sing for Hope Pianos places artist-designed pianos throughout NYC’s parks and public spaces for anyone and everyone to play. For three weeks this June, the pianos will bring individuals and communities together in an open festival of art for all. After their time on the streets, Sing for Hope will transport the instruments in NYC public schools, where they will become hubs for Sing for Hope’s ongoing creative programs and enrich students’ lives for years to come.
This year, Sing for Hope will place its 400th unique piano artwork in the five boroughs, making NYC host to more street pianos than any other city in the world. As New York City’s largest recurring public art project, the Sing for Hope Pianos impacts an estimated 2 million people each year.
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the guilty plea of Steven Croman, a major New York City landlord with more than 140 apartment buildings across Manhattan, for fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud. Under the terms of his plea, Croman would serve one year of jail time on Rikers Island and pay a $5 million tax settlement – marking a significant precedent in the effort to combat landlords who base their business model on the displacement of rent-stabilized tenants.
Rarely, if ever, has a landlord been sentenced to serve time in jail for engaging in these practices. The jail time and multi-million settlement announced today send a strong message to landlords that the Attorney General will pursue anyone who engages in these types of practices to the fullest extent of the law.
“Steven Croman is a fraudster and a criminal who engaged in a deliberate and illegal scheme to fraudulently obtain bank loans,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “He went to outrageous lengths to boost his bottom line – including falsely listing rent-stabilized units at market rates when his efforts to displace those renters had failed. Now Mr. Croman faces a year in Rikers and a $5 million settlement – and unscrupulous landlords are on notice that we’ll pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.”
Appearing at the courthouse at 100 Centre Street Tuesday morning in a dark blue suit and blue tie, Croman read an allocution in front of state Supreme Court Justice Jill Konsiver admitting details of his scheme directing employees to file documents – including inflated rent rolls – that would allow him to secure bigger mortgages on his multifamily properties.
“I knew the documents were false,” he said.
Come WING IT with us on June 9th for our GRAND OPENING!
Enjoy the sounds of DJ Reach, and specials like FREE French fries to the first 100 people and FREE waffle [fries?] with any tender order through the entire weekend! Did we mention we're also raffling off a brand new mountain bike to one lucky guest!!
A 2017 Preparedness survey conducted by Global Strategy Group indicates that while 67 percent of New York City residents say they feel very or somewhat informed about what to do in the event of an emergency, one in four (25 percent) remain unsure about whether they live in a hurricane evacuation zone. In addition, the percentage of residents who say they live in an evacuation zone but cannot identify which zone they live in has increased by 7 points since a similar preparedness survey conducted in 2015 (2017: 57 percent don’t know, 2015: 50 percent didn’t know).
Hurricane evacuation zones are based on coastal flood risk resulting from storm surge (the “dome” of ocean water that is pushed ashore by the winds and low barometric pressure of a hurricane), the geography of the city’s low-lying neighborhoods, and the accessibility of these neighborhoods by bridges and roads. The city may order residents who live in a zone to evacuate depending on a hurricane’s forecast strength, track and storm surge.
The landlord accused of wrongdoing in the deadly 2015 East Village gas explosion is blaming someone else.
A Manhattan management company hired to install gas meters in the basement of one of the three buildings owned by Maria Hrynenko was negligent in its work and failed to warn people about hazardous conditions, Hrynenko claims in a new lawsuit.
DUE TO FIRE DAMAGE 2 STORES AT LEFT AND RIGHT OF 1ST FLOOR, 10 FRONT APTS AT LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE FROM 2ND STORY TO 6TH STORY, 4 APTS AT MIDDLE OF RIGHT SIDE OF BUILDING FROM 2ND STORY TO 5TH STORY
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"Laws designed to protect the disadvantaged, those that are different, that stand out in society and that are clearly targets … are very important laws and they're designed to protect the fabric of our society."
@evgrieve McDonald’s arches removed in armored truck. pic.twitter.com/x7JRDrSRqd
— Jacob Ford (@unitof) June 1, 2017
Maria Hrynenko, 57, appears ready to cash out on her valuable Second Avenue properties before the criminal case against her goes to trial and as the civil actions wend their way through the courts...
Hrynenko could rake in at least $12 million, based on the sale price of a neighboring lot, if she sells both her parcels.
Lawyers for the victims say it would be virtually impossible to stop a sale — as long as it’s for market value and not to a straw buyer — and that the potential $12 million-plus windfall could be difficult to locate.
“Let’s say she sells the property and takes the cash and stashes it away in the Canary Islands, there’s no way for us to recoup that,” said Marius Wesser, a lawyer for Machendra Chongbang. The Nepalese immigrant was a chef at Sushi Park and was badly injured when he was blown into the basement.
Combining on-the-ground data collection with firsthand accounts from small businesses, "Bleaker on Bleecker: A Snapshot of High-Rent Blight in Greenwich Village and Chelsea" looks at the causes and impacts of storefront vacancies and recommends solutions to address the problem.
· Creation of a New York City Legacy Business Registry: The registry would track and maintain a list of small businesses that have been in operation for at least 30 years. This would enable New York State to recognize important businesses that in the future could potentially merit historic preservation tax credits and other benefits.
· Creation of Formula Retail Zoning Restrictions: This legislation would enable New York City to place limits on national chain stores.
· Phasing Out Tax Deductions for Landlords with Persistent Vacancies: Though landlords who leave retail storefronts vacant cannot deduct lost potential rental income, they are able to receive deductions for depreciation of property and operating vacancies. This proposal would disincentivize vacant storefronts by phasing out these deductions for building owners who leave retail spaces vacant over a year.
·Eliminating the Commercial Rent Tax: The Commercial Rent Tax (CRT) is an onerous and outdated burden on many small businesses. The tax only applies to commercial tenants in buildings below 96th Street in Manhattan, putting them at a distinct disadvantage compared to businesses elsewhere. State legislation could prevent the city from levying the Commercial Rent Tax on small businesses.