In late December of last-year I received the dreaded summons to serve on jury duty for late January of this year in lower Manhattan. I quickly looked at my calendar to figure out how much havoc this was going to cause in my life. Fortunately, it didn’t conflict with any important meetings or out of…
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Realtors from across New York State, including an impressive contingent of HGAR members, met in Albany at the Desmond Hotel earlier this month for the annual NYSAR Mid-Winter (Feb. 9-13) business meetings. Among the topics discussed were proposed fair housing regulations by the Department of State, a good cause eviction bill in the legislature that…
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The Putnam County Business Council is hosting its First Quarter Breakfast for 2020 with an interesting topic. “Helping Businesses Make the Tourism Connection.” The breakfast will be held on March 24th from 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Putnam County Golf Course in Mahopac. The agenda will focus on “Tourism for Profit.” Helping to…
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Having just spent the better part of a week in Albany at the New York State Association of Realtors’ Mid-Winter Business Meetings, I realize how much HGAR has to be proud of! For starters, three of our Realtor members were honored with some of the most prestigious awards that NYSAR bestows. Bonnie Koff, associate broker…
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Section 1302 of the New York State Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) has been recently amended to include a new sub-section 1302-A. The result of the revised law is to prohibit a defendant from waiving the defense that the plaintiff lacks standing to bring the foreclosure action. This prohibition extends even after the…
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The Westchester County Legislature will soon be considering a bill to mandate that co-op boards provide a reason in writing stating why the co-op board is rejecting a prospective purchaser. The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors has long advocated for such transparency when a buyer is rejected. This is a much-needed modification to the current…
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Ever since childhood, even without realizing it, I’ve always lived by the premise of “There’s no such thing as ‘good enough.'” No need to burden readers with the psychology that’s behind my type-A personality and strive-for-perfection compulsion, LOL, but suffice it to say that this is what drives me. So why am I sharing this…
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On Jan. 8th, Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivered the State of the State annual address. The governor’s proposals were painted in broad strokes with scant detail. Of particular concern are initiatives relative to the real estate industry. The governor discussed funding for building affordable housing. With a looming deficit of $6 billion and no mention of…
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I wrote the following article for a reporter for Inman News who was asking folks for their “predictions” for the next decade. I’ve added a couple of new paragraphs at the end of this story as the result of an experience I had the same day I completed the original story for Inman. Gazing into…
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Jan. 1, 2020 signaled a significant professional personal milestone—25 years as editor of the print/online newspaper of the Westchester County Board of Realtors, Westchester-Putnam Association of Realtors and the modern-day Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors. Back in January 1995, I was at a professional crossroads and was hired by then WCBR Chief Executive Officer P.…
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After a few weeks off, it’s good to be back sharing updates with Real Estate In-Depth readers, and a new year should be kicked off with some good news! Shops in Putnam are reporting a successful holiday season, and our 6th annual Shop Small Saturday Tour provided an opportunity to meet with many small business…
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Last month in my article I mentioned a story about discriminatory practices relating to the real estate industry on Long Island. The story, which appeared in Newsday, was the product of three years of investigative reporting, which included extensive testing of real estate agents to determine whether the testers were receiving equal treatment based upon…
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A new proposal, which has gained some traction, is on the legislative agenda for Albany lawmakers in 2020 and beyond. This is the issue of classifying real estate salespersons from independent contractors to employees. The argument for this bill is that industries, such as the ride-sharing and real estate industries, are not paid well enough,…
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Seeking to learn more about tourist venues in our area, a group that hails from the western side of Putnam County ventured eastward to visit Tilly Foster Farm recently. Our group included individuals from Boscobel House and Gardens, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and the Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce. Some of us had visited…
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As I finish my year as President of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, I want to say thank you to all of my HGAR colleagues for giving me the honor to serve as our association’s president. I also want to thank all of our members for supporting all our events throughout the year. The…
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New York is facing a dire fiscal crunch over the next 2 to 3 years. The state faces a $6-billion to $8 billion deficit according to the governor’s budget office. The deficit is due, largely, to ballooning costs for Medicaid. The State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo will need to produce a balanced budget by…
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At the Annual HGAR Members Day last month I was surprised by two unexpected recognitions. The first was an acknowledgment that I have been with HGAR (and its various predecessor organizations) for 35 years. The second was to receive, along with HGAR’s COO and my very good friend Ann Garti, the President’s Award from this…
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I am writing this month's article from San Francisco as I attend the 2019 National Association of Realtors Conference and Expo. For those of you that have never attended this annual conference, I would strongly suggest that you think about it in the future. To attend this event and be a part of more than…
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Last year, the Trump Administration finalized a rule that allows small businesses and self-employed individuals to band together to obtain access to large group health plans, which seem to be less expensive, but with few protections under the Affordable Care Act. The rule, which was promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor, is titled “Definition…
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RPAC has had a very successful year under Chair Crystal Hawkins Syska. The Realtors Political Action Committee held several training sessions throughout the year facilitated by David Severance, president of New Door Leadership, who came up with innovative strategies on how to improve our RPAC outreach and meet our RPAC goal. Currently we have raised…
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