SEATTLE—Amazon confirmed press reports that it decided to split its massive second headquarters requirement (HQ2) and has chosen Long Island City, Queens and Arlington, VA to house those operations that will house 25,000 workers each. Amazon announced on Nov. 13 it will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The long sought-after battle to enact legislation to bring transparency to the cooperative purchase process in Westchester County appears to be at hand. An overwhelming majority of those in the residential real estate and cooperative management sectors testified at a public hearing on Oct. 29 in favor of a compromise bill negotiated by county…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The political landscape after the election on Nov. 6 changed dramatically both in Washington DC and Albany. In the nation’s capital, President Trump and the GOP retained control of the U.S. Senate and in fact Republicans picked up seats from the Democrats. At press time, the GOP had 51 seats to the Democrats’ 46…
Read MoreYONKERS—City officials hope to end more than four decades of frustration and failed attempts to develop the Chicken Island property in Downtown Yonkers. In what city officials termed as a “game changer” for the downtown district, the City of Yonkers announced on Oct. 29 it had signed a letter of intent to sell the six-acre…
Read MoreNEW YORK—With a market struggling with low inventory, higher mortgage rates and slower home sales, a packed room of Realtors at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan collectively sighed relief when NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said he does not expect a national recession next year or in 2020. In fact, Yun also stated that…
Read MoreSLEEPY HOLLOW—By this time next year, the first tangible signs of what will be a $1-billion redevelopment of the former General Motors minivan assembly plant site here will be clear to see. While infrastructure work and demolition of the massive plant itself have been undertaken since the closure of the General Motors minivan assembly plant…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Home sale prices were up sharply in the third quarter in the four-county market area of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, with the exception of Westchester County where sales prices were relatively flat as compared to a year earlier. Sales volume was off marginally throughout the region, with overall third quarter sales down…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Third quarter real estate sales in the lower Hudson Valley remained robust, although slightly lower than third quarter 2017 sales. While unit sales were generally lower in the Hudson Valley region served by the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, sale prices remained strong. With the exception of Westchester County, which experienced a one tenth…
Read MoreNEW CITY—A noticeably agitated Rockland County Executive Ed Day stood in front of the vacant Sain Building here on Oct. 9 and announced that National Development, the developer who had offered to pay $4.51 million to acquire the property and convert it into a senior residence, had withdrawn its purchase offer. National Development, a real…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS— Westchester County Executive George Latimer has decided to hire from within county government’s ranks and appointed Bridget Gibbons as the new Director of the Office of Economic Development. Gibbons had served as the county’s Deputy Director of Economic Development since Latimer took office in January 2018. She was the guest speaker at the…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Peter Duncan, president and CEO of New York City-development firm George Comfort & Sons, told more than 80 attendees of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors Commercial Investment Division, that the firm is bullish on Westchester and is seeking to redevelop a number of properties in the county. The firm, recently acquired the former…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday the latest plan for a major expansion and improvements at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which is now projected to cost $13 billion. The governor announced the plan on Oct. 4 at the Association for a Better New York breakfast. The governor states that $12 billion of the…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Standing in front of the White Plains Internal Revenue Service office on East Post Road here, Westchester County Executive George Latimer and Suffolk County Steve Bellone staged a press conference on Oct. 3 to announce their partnership to fight new IRS regulations that would limit the benefits of charitable deductions. In response to the…
Read MoreWAWAYANDA, NY—The controversial 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center, owned by Competitive Power Ventures, is now operational. Competitive Power Ventures announced on Oct. 1 that the $900-million natural gas plant achieved commercial operation and was supplying enough electricity to power more than 600,000 average homes. The power plant, built by a joint venture of Skanska USA…
Read MoreNEW ROCHELLE—YoungCraft, a locally-based real estate development company, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 3 at the future site of The Rockwell, a more than 160,000-square-foot mixed-use development at 583 North Ave. here. Robert Young and Phil Craft, principals of YoungCraft, were joined at the project site by New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, City Manager…
Read MoreNEWBURGH—New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas announced Sept. 25 the opening of a $15-million scattered-site project that renovated 15 abandoned properties to create 45 new affordable apartments in a four-block area of Newburgh’s East End. Called East End Apartments, state and city officials say the development is helping to revitalize the…
Read MoreALBANY—Westchester County was among four counties statewide to be characterized as under “significant fiscal stress” according to a report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Tuesday. The State Comptroller’s Annual Fiscal Stress Monitoring System report designated 25 municipalities statewide as being fiscally stressed. Also making the significant fiscal stress list were Nassau…
Read MoreSOMERS—A plan was presented to the Somers Town Board on Thursday evening that if approved would involve the adaptive reuse of the 1.2-million-square-foot former and now vacant IBM campus here into a STEM high school geared at attracting top students from across the country. Evergreen Ridge, LLC of Stamford, CT, headed by principal Tim DiScipio,…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Existing-home sales remained steady in August after four straight months of decline, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest canceled out downturns in the South and West. A bright spot for the residential markets was in the Northeast, which saw its August existing-home sales rise 7.6% to an…
Read MoreRYE BROOK—Concerned that the future of Westchester County Airport is in jeopardy, the Business Council of Westchester has launched the Coalition for Westchester Airport, consisting of a broad range of businesses, labor organizations, educators, non-profits and residents in support of what they term as one of the county’s most valuable assets. The coalition has come…
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