While median rental prices climbed for the 21st consecutive month, the vacancy rate is the highest it's been in nine years, which means landlords are being forced to offer tenants more concessions on rentals, explains data whiz Jonathan Miller, the author of the Elliman Report.
Miller doesn’t expect to see big rent drops anytime soon since there is still a lot of “pressure” on the rental market — there’s a “robust” economy as well as tight credit and the potential of rising mortgage rates, which prevent some renters from becoming buyers.
But affordability continues to be a big issue, Miller said.
According to Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, Manhattan’s vacancy rates were highest in the East Village (3.2 percent), followed by the West Village (2.6 percent).
“The fact that vacancy rates are the highest in the East and West Villages is strong evidence that for apartment seekers, paying high prices for small spaces no longer adds up,” Malin said.
Malin said the “party’s over” for landlords, as inventory has been “trending upward for the past six months,” giving renters more options.
An EVG reader, who asked to remain anonymous, submitted the following...
As an avid biker/alternative-transportation-seeker in New York City, the past few years have been a neverending whirlwind of emotions. The city has done a great job building bike lines, bike racks, hosting bike parking at events, and much more to encourage two wheeled riders.
The East Village is as busy of a neighborhood as any for bikers, with hundreds of delivery bikes roaming the streets alongside the commuters up and down First and Second and the casual neighborhood riders around Tompkins.
One issue remains, which I was reminded of in this post; bike theft seems to be as big of an issue as ever. I bought my first NYC bike about 2.5 years ago, and it was stolen within a month of owning it, despite it being locked up to an Equinox (improperly, but still, locked). I luckily got insurance money back for it, but the new bike I purchased has hardly seen the light of day during the week. When I lock up my bike outside a restaurant, I spend the entire meal EXPECTING it to get stolen. I can be 6 feet away from my bike on a patio eating, and I'll still stare at my bike to be sure it hasn't been taken.
Meanwhile, I signed up for Citi Bike before it had even launched. It was a godsend to my anxiety; I would never have to fear getting my bike stolen again, I had 3 docks within an avenue of my apartment, and I could bike anywhere south of 59th Street without worrying about taking the same bike home if I had an extra drink or two.
But Citi Bike is far, far from perfect. The app tells me there are 3 bikes, and none of them work. I show up to a dock with 5 spaces, none of them work. There are no bikes in the morning, and no docks at night. One of the best things about biking to work is the consistency in how long it will take, no matter how bad traffic is...and this is providing an opposite experience.
But it's $95/a year. Even if they jack it up to $200/year, it still feels cheap. Who am I to complain?
The bigger issue remains bike theft. If I didn't have to worry about my personal bike getting stolen, I would use it more often, I would use Citibike only when I really need to, and I would have less anxiety in general. So I have some questions for you, community:
a) How many of you both have a Citi Bike AND a personal bike? If you do, what's your split on usage between the two?
b) What could the city do to prevent bike theft? Is it even their responsibility to do something or should we be the ones spending extra money on extra/fancier locks?
c) Do you think Citi Bike is going to improve its service and reliability in the next year, or is the increasing popularity just going to make it more frustrating?
Citi Bike is taking a page from restaurants and hotels by testing a valet service at a dock where people can avoid the frustration of trying to find a place to park their ride.
The weeknight valet service, which will launch at a dock on Avenue A and 7th Street on Monday, will be manned with at least two employees who will remove bikes once the dock fills up so that a couple of spaces will be always be available from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
As noted earlier, Community Board 3's Transportation Committee met last night to hear concerns about the Citi Bike program. We haven't heard about the meeting... or seen any write-ups about what might have transpired... Here's a tweet from Stephen Miller, a reporter from StreetsBlog...
CB 3 committee booked IS 131 auditorium to handle the big crowd for the #CitiBike gripe session. 25 people showed up. pic.twitter.com/feIYrhrAKU
He tweeted that he didn't stay the whole time... so maybe the full-blown outrage came later...
Updated 3:40
Ah, The Lo-Down has just filed a report on the meeting... A passage:
Linda Martella said she, too “likes the idea” of the program– just not in front of her store. Martella, owner of Veniero’s Pastry on East 11th Street, said the street is already narrow, and the Citi Bikes across the street took over seven parking spaces and impedes the flow of traffic, especially when there are delivery trucks on the commercial street.
“We are especially concerned with the holiday time when [customers] come to pick up their orders,” Martella said. “We now have lost these parking spaces, making it difficult for the customers to carry these orders out.”
The Plump Dumpling has opened at its new location on 11th Street and Second Avenue...just steps from its former space. At the former Citi-Spaces office. Hope the Plump owners paint over that color combo...
Something weird is coming to the EV where a bodega used to be at 2nd Ave and 11th St. -- looks like a Mexican restaurant outside, with Moroccan-style lamps inside, but filled with many wooden cubicles, each with a computer terminal and an office phone. Hmm, DIY phone-sex biz?
[Photo courtesy of Jeremiah Moss]
Then! Shortly after its July opening, it was tagged.
Then it was tagged again in late winter...
...but someone had a change of heart a few weeks back. Just say no to the anarchy!
And now, it sits empty...
...with a new tenant forced to deal with the worst color scheme ever!
From the Zagat Nightlife survey press release: Hot Blocks: Voted NYC's hottest nightlife neighborhood, the Lower East Side had a banner year, with the most buzz-worthy newcomers. Exclusivity came downtown with the opening of Eldridge, and Thompson LES Hotel introduced Above Allen, a rooftop bar with a retractable roof and chic furniture. Further downtown, Santos Party House opened its double-decker dance floors to throngs of partygoers and a rotating list of celeb-DJs. (PR Newswire)
"Yeah, I thought being anorexic would be hot" (Esquared)
Lots of people buy second homes in Manhattan. Why? "[R]ecent developments have made New York even more tempting. Once-marginal neighborhoods such as the Meatpacking District and Times Square are not just gentrified but leading hot spots. The 10-year-old Hudson River Park has transformed the entire West Side shoreline, once full of rail yards and crumbling piers, into a sports, recreation and relaxation zone." (USA Today)
10 ten ways to get drunk on the cheap. Notable quotes: "I like my bars how I like my men: grungy and cheap" and "The roof is wonderfully enchanting for a spot on the less-attractive edge of the LES" and "Promoter Ruben Araneta told me the real secret: Go on a Monday, say his name at the door, then find him inside to cop a free vodka cran from his bottle — especially if you are female (duh!) and attractive (double duh!)" (Black Book)
Woody Allen: "New York itself is very inspiring. If I take a walk in the morning on Madison Avenue and I look at people going to work and kids going to school, I'm full of ideas about wanting to do stories about the city." (USA Today)
