TARRYTOWN—At its 105th Annual Member Appreciation Day, held on Oct. 25 at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors awarded Ron Garafalo, sales manager with John J. Lease Realtors in Middletown, as its “Realtor of the Year” for 2021. David Singer, CEO of Robison Oil in Port…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The National Association of Realtors has released an analysis of the framework released by the Biden administration yesterday of his now $1.75-billion “Build Back Better” plan that includes historic investment in affordable housing. The framework also features hard-fought NAR-backed priorities like investments in down-payment assistance and also spares real estate investment from the most feared…
Read MoreALBANY —The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced today (Oct. 27) that it had denied key air permits for the $500-million Danskammer Energy Center project in Newburgh and the Astoria Gas Turbine Power project in Queens. The two projects were widely supported by business and labor sectors, but were opposed by environmental groups…
Read MoreA panel of experts charged with identifying the industries that will reimagine Westchesteridentified a host of emerging sectors, including e-commerce, cannabis legalization, adaptive reuse, as well as the biosciences and health care as the catalysts for economic growth in the coming years in Westchester County. One industry expert predicts that Tarrytown-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will lead…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—It may seem like a broken record, but once again home sales in the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors market area continued to be strong in the third quarter, with most counties posting impressive sales gains over last year. Analysts indicate that both nationally and locally, that tune will likely be playing well into…
Read MoreALBANY—While there is still a long way to go before any official award, the New York State Gaming Commission has issued a Request for Information from interested parties for either developing or operating three downstate New York casinos in the New York metro region. While this is good news for downstate casino advocates, the RFI…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Top experts from the housing and higher-education fields joined policy thought leaders from the National Association of Realtors on Oct. 13 to discuss the current student loan debt crisis and how it affects the economy, housing market, and debt holders. The event explored the findings of NAR’s September report, The Impact of Student Loan Debt,…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Third quarter residential home sales for the Lower Hudson region, served by OneKey Multiple Listing Service, surpassed the historically high third quarter sales figures of 2020 which were attributed in large part to a response to COVID-19, according to the 2021 Third Quarter Residential Real Estate Sales Report for Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan,…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—A man who for more than three decades was a driving force behind the growth and growing respect of the Westchester County Board of Realtors has died. P. Gilbert Mercurio, who led the Westchester County Board of Realtors and its successor organization the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors for 31 years as its chief…
Read MoreGOSHEN—Ever since the COVID-19 hit this region back in March 2020, one of the bright spots for the Hudson Valley economy has been Orange County where, despite the challenges the pandemic has brought, major projects and investment continue almost undeterred. Orange County has seen Amazon and Medline build new massive distribution facilities, while the much-anticipated…
Read MoreMIDDLETOWN—If any attendees at the Sept. 21 Investor Breakfast of the Orange County Partnership were questioning the strength of the county’s economy, any misgivings were wiped away by the breadth of the positive data and forecasts offered by economic development, government and business experts at the event. Orange County Partnership President and CEO Maureen Halahan…
Read MoreNEW YORK—In a major step to convert the state’s energy grid to green, New York State has selected two major green energy infrastructure projects that will cost $8.2 billion to develop and help bring wind, solar and hydropower from Upstate New York and Canada to New York City. The two projects involve a total of…
Read MorePOUGHKEEPSIE—The cost of adding a third lane on a 47-mile stretch of Route 17 from Harriman to Monticello in each direction is now being estimated at anywhere from $525 million to as high as $1.04 billion, depending on the scope of the improvements to be undertaken. The latest project cost estimates were revealed at the…
Read MoreALBANY—Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law on Sept. 2 a new moratorium on COVID-related residential and commercial evictions for New York State which will be in effect until Jan. 15, 2022. The moratorium extension is now in the courts as a major landlord association has filed suit against the new law. Under the new law, all…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency this morning in a session that lasted less than 12 minutes, voted to grant incentives totaling $14.7 million to two major projects in Greenburgh and White Plains valued at a combined total of $755 million. The IDA Board unanimously (5-0) approved granting $7.7 million in sales tax incentives…
Read MoreALBANY—In what was the culmination of a tumultuous two weeks in Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo officially resigned at midnight this morning and a short time later, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul became the first woman governor in the history of New York State. The newly installed governor wasted no time in outlining her highest priorities: combating…
Read MoreDespite the recent uptick in Delta variant COVID cases in the New York metro area, New York City is essentially open for business. Most Broadway theaters are reopening in September, restaurants and bars are now allowing vaccinated patrons to dine indoors and the residential real estate market is back in full swing. New developments are…
Read MoreDuring the COVID-pandemic, Brown Harris Stevens Chief Executive Officer Bess Freedman has participated in several webinars hosted by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors and OneKey MLS and offered some frank assessments of market conditions, as well as her views on lockdowns and tax policies and their impacts on the market. In preparing for this…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Harbor Group International, LLC, a privately owned international real estate investment and management firm headquartered in Norfolk, VA, has entered into an agreement to acquire 51 W. 52nd St. in Midtown Manhattan for $760 million. Known as the “CBS Building” or “Black Rock,” this purchase marks the first sale since it opened in 1964.…
Read MoreALBANY—Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in a press conference yesterday stressed that she will be ready to take over as the 57th governor of New York when she takes the oath of office later this month. Hochul, who is scheduled to take over as governor on Aug. 24, stressed, “I am ready for this,” and later…
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