Numerous marijuana dispensaries might not learn whether they can start operations in New York for at least another two weeks.
In the courtroom, four veterans contended that state legislation had not been followed when evaluating their applications for cannabis licenses. One of the categories given higher consideration by state authorities when deciding whether to provide a cannabis license is veterans. The state Office of Cannabis Management, or OCM, prioritizes people with prior marijuana convictions in New York over veterans, though. All of these soldiers have perfect records.
The state organization in charge of issuing licenses is OCM. The state lawmakers simply authorized guidelines for conditional licenses, the assistant attorney general said in court on behalf of OCM, and left it up to OCM to decide how licenses are actually awarded. The judge said the two sides must cooperate to ensure that no one is harmed by the license application procedure but refrained from rendering a decision.
Spectrum News reported that Hal McCabe, the Cannabis Association of New York’s interim executive director, released a statement in which he expressed disappointment with the court’s decision today and stated that “this injunction continues to threaten tens of thousands of jobs, thousands of businesses, and the entire industry as a whole.”
He stated, referring to corporate cannabis companies, “It really is them and their interests against the entire New York State licensed marijuana cannabis market.” That’s how easy it is. Right now, we are experiencing a true David and Goliath moment right now.”.
An empty office building in Lower Manhattan will be filled with more than 1,300 apartments, making it the largest residential conversion project in the nation, according to its owners. The Daily News and JPMorgan Chase previously occupied the building at 25 Water St., but they left before the pandemic. The 22-story building’s offices have been demolished, courtyards have been created, and 10 further floors have been added under long-standing regulations that facilitate residential conversions in the Financial District.
The owners haven’t submitted the residential layout for final approval to the city’s Department of Buildings, but as long as the new design complies with zoning and building regulations, receiving city clearance is merely a formality in Lower Manhattan office conversions. Both Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul assert that these conversions can boost the availability of homes in areas like Midtown and Flushing, Queens, but first the state must modify zoning regulations.
The state budget that is presently being debated by politicians in the state takes those modifications as well as a new office conversion tax incentive into account. According to architect Eugene Flotteron, whose business is creating the floor plans for 25 Water St., repurposing an office building is typically quicker than building a new one from the ground up. The units should be open in around two years, according to the developers. However, it is more difficult to convert water coolers and cubicles into beds and kitchens. It’s also not cheap. According to GFP Real Estate CEO Brian Steinwurtzel, the building’s owners GFP Real Estate and Metro Loft intend to scoop out two courtyards from its middle and encircle them with apartments. That will enable the structure to meet the needs for light and air.
This editorial appeared recently in Crain’s New York Business.
Illegal smoke shops are out of control in the city. It makes sense to call on landlords to help stymie their proliferation by requiring them to not knowingly lease their storefronts to such vendors.
The illegal market has quickly outpaced the legal market. According to senior reporter Aaron Elstein, there are about 8,000 unlicensed stores citywide, compared to just 21 licensed retail dispensaries across the state. Only five of those are located in the city, according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.
It’s understandable how the problem grew so quickly; landlords were eager to lease shuttered storefronts to paying tenants during the pandemic, and there wasn’t exactly a surplus of takers to choose from. Plus, no one anticipated that the rollout of cannabis licenses would be so glacially slow.
Landlords can now be fined up to $10,000 for knowingly renting store space to illegal cannabis sellers under a new law that went into effect Aug. 14. Under the two-strike system, if a raid finds illegal activity, the sheriff’s office will first notify a landlord that they are renting to an illegal business. If the store is found to still be operating in subsequent inspections, the landlord will receive a $5,000 fine. For each subsequent failed inspection, the landlord will get fined an additional $10,000.
This was a wise move by the city, as the problem has reached a point where the private sector must step in to make sure the underground industry does not get even more out of hand. Plus, officials have taken initial steps, like raids to seize the illegal goods themselves, before they decided to involve landlords.
It’s encouraging that the Real Estate Board of New York is also in favor of the legislation, with Steve Soutendijk, co-chair of REBNY’s New York retail committee and commercial broker with Cushman & Wakefield calling it a “commonsense law” which will “keep bad actors out of commercial spaces and help ensure that real estate brokers and property owners are working with properly licensed retail establishments,” at a recent press conference.
Landlords are generally not allowed to lease their spaces to illegal businesses, and smoke shops selling much more than bongs are no exception.
Not only are many smoke shops engaging in illicit activities, they are undercutting the legal cannabis business which was designed to infuse more money into the state’s economy while decriminalizing marijuana and aiding equity goals.
Ideally, the state will become quicker at getting licenses into the hands of cannabis retailers so that they can conduct business legally. Until then, the city must use all tools available to keep the smoke shop issue at bay.
New housing will be allowed in parts of Midtown Manhattan for the first time in decades under a plan announced by Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday. The mayor wants to update zoning rules to allow for the construction of new apartments in a 42-block area stretching from 23rd Street to 40th Street and from Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue, which is currently designated for manufacturing use. The start of the rezoning effort joins another proposal from the Adams administration to facilitate and expedite office-to-housing conversions across every borough, as the city continues to face a housing shortage.
Map of proposed Midtown South rezoning areas courtesy of NYC Planning
Under the so-called Midtown South Neighborhood Plan, the city would update zoning rules to transform four areas in the neighborhood into a dynamic, live-work community with affordable housing and good jobs.
The plan also includes the exploration of opportunities to convert non-residential buildings into housing, boost economic growth, support local businesses, and create jobs. The public outreach process will begin in the fall.
“In central Manhattan where new housing is currently not allowed because of outdated zoning, our office conversion and reimagining Midtown South increase our housing supply and they help our economy to flourish by revitalizing our business districts, which are our city’s economic engine,” Adams said during Thursday’s press briefing.
“To expedite office-to-residential conversions citywide, the mayor said zoning changes would allow office buildings constructed before 1990 to convert to housing; currently, the cut-off is 1961 or 1977, depending on the area. Doing this would free up 136 million square feet of office space across the city to become apartments, although the city notes the decision remains with the property owner.
The changes would also allow for a variety of housing types, including supportive housing, shared housing, and dormitories.
Early this year, Adams estimated converting underused offices could create 20,000 homes for 40,000 New Yorkers over the next decade.
“It makes no sense to allow office buildings to sit empty while New Yorkers struggle to find housing. By enabling office conversions, New York will reinvigorate its business districts and deliver new homes near jobs and transit,” Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce, said.
Adams on Thursday also launched the new Office Conversions Accelerator, a program led by experts from across city government, to work with building owners to speed up the conversion process. The panel of experts hailing from the city’s Department of Buildings, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Board of Standards and Appeals, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, will utilize the city’s resources to help building owners complete complex conversion projects.
“With a proposal to rewrite zoning regulations so unused office space can become homes for New Yorkers, it’s unbelievable how much empty office space we have sitting idly by with ready and willing participants to develop the housing, and we are in the way,” Adams said during a press briefing Thursday.
“Well, it’s time to get out of the way so we can turn these office cubicles into nice living quarters so that we can address the housing crisis we have.”
In December 2022, Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed their plans to transform Manhattan’s central business districts into dynamic neighborhoods in order to prepare the city for a post-pandemic world. While all of the city’s business hubs in the outer boroughs have experienced a speedy economic recovery since the end of the pandemic, Manhattan’s business centers, in Midtown and Lower Manhattan, have lagged behind mainly due to the lack of workers, many of whom have started working from home.
As part of the city and state’s plan, zoning restrictions will be amended to create new, flexible residential areas that will be more “live-work-play” rather than following the same policies that have shown to be no longer suitable for a post-pandemic world.”
RXR, one of the New York metropolitan area’s largest owners of Class A office and multifamily residential communities, is pleased to announce a 25-year lease extension with global law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Davis Polk). As part of the renewal, Davis Polk will be expanding its footprint at 450 Lexington Avenue by an additional floor, adding 30,000 square feet. The firm’s new footprint at the building will be over 700,000 square feet, constituting the largest lease in New York City in 2023 to date.
The 40-story Class A office tower, located conveniently near Grand Central Terminal between 44th and 45th Streets, is in a prime transit-oriented submarket that continues to be an attractive office destination for current and future employers. 450 Lexington was completed in 1991 and remains one of the newest and most impeccably maintained properties in midtown.
“Davis Polk’s long-term commitment to 450 Lexington Avenue is another example that New York City’s office market is here to stay,” said RXR Chairman and CEO Scott Rechler. “As the needs of employers and the nature of work evolves, we are working constantly to ensure our spaces are keeping up with those changing demands. We are thrilled that Davis Polk has once again committed to making 450 Lexington Avenue its home in New York City.”
In connection with the lease, RXR and its partners are investing over $300 million for extensive capital improvements throughout the building common areas and across Davis Polk’s 23 floors. The planned renovations will encompass the full modernization of lobbies and workspaces, including the addition of numerous amenities inside of Davis Polk’s premises focused on improving employees’day-to-day experiences and addressing their evolving needs.
Overall, the entire building will see extensive upgrades in the lobbies and elevators that include modern and timeless aesthetics that are harmonious with the building’s historic structure. Renovations are being designed by global architecture, design, and planning firm Gensler. New space configurations, lighting, finishes, and added architectural features such as striking stone, glass, and wood materials will complement feature ceiling elements and modern glazed entryways.
“We are thrilled that 450 Lex will continue to be our long-term home going forward and we are grateful for RXR’s collaboration in reaching a mutually acceptable outcome in the context of a challenging and difficult market environment,” said Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s Chair and Managing Partner. “We are embarking on a truly exciting, complete renovation that will transform the look and feel of our office and offer the Davis Polk community a uniquely modern, welcoming and collaborative space.”
The building’s “Sky Lobby” will also receive a full remodel. It will include private outdoor terraces and Loggia spaces for Davis Polk featuring new indoor/outdoor space, operable doors, seating, and planting. Additionally, Davis Polk will create new gathering spaces, meeting spaces, and culinary options throughout the firm’s premises.
“RXR is delighted to continue our longstanding relationship with Davis Polk,” said William Elder, EVP, Managing Director of RXR’s New York City Division. “450 Lexington Avenue is a dynamic asset with floorplates that allow for adaptability and creativity. Through our planned enhancements and infrastructure updates for the entire building to enjoy, including the reimagined offices and enhancements for Davis Polk’s headquarters, this office tower will continue to serve as a modern workplace destination.”
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge on Tuesday dismissed lawsuits filed by Airbnb and three hosts over New York City’s rules for short-term rentals, saying the restrictions are “entirely rational.”
In a 14-page ruling, Supreme Court Judge Arlene P. Bluth said having to comply with a registration system does not present an “overly onerous obligation” to the company and hosts. Such a system, she said, will help identify many illegal short-term rentals before they’re listed on the Airbnb platform.
“To be sure, these rules will likely not be perfect,” she added. “But it addresses a problem raised by OSE (New York City Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement) and avoids a key obstacle — enforcing the ban on illegal short-term rentals.”
A city official cited thousands of illegal short-term rentals when defending the new rules in court, noting 43,000 on just Airbnb in 2018. The city received nearly 12,000 complaints regarding illegal short-term rentals from 2017 to 2021.
New York’s 2022 ordinance requires owners to register with the mayor’s office, disclose who else lives in the property, and promise to comply with zoning, construction and maintenance ordinances.
San Francisco-based Airbnb has called the restrictions “extreme and oppressive” and a de facto ban against short-term rentals that left the company no choice but to sue.
“Taken together, these features of the registration scheme appear intended to drive the short-term rental trade out of New York City once and for all,” Airbnb said in June. The company said the mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement “failed to consider reasonable alternatives.”
Asked to respond to the court’s decision, Theo Yedinsky, global policy director for Airbnb, on Tuesday evening said the city’s rules are “a blow to its tourism economy and the thousands of New Yorkers and small businesses in the outer boroughs who rely on home sharing and tourism dollars to help make ends meet.”
Downtown Manhattan is about to get a big dose of upstate New York.
Almost exactly two years after the Rochester-based grocery giant Wegmans announced it would debut its first-ever Manhattan location in the former Kmart on Astor Place during the second half of 2023, now comes word of its specific opening date. And, just like the company said in 2021, it’s right on target.
The two-level, 87,500-square-foot store — located in the 1907-built 770 Broadway — will open for business on Oct. 18 at 9 a.m., according to a company release.
It’s the first Wegmans location in Manhattan, but not the first within city limits.
“We know our customers can’t wait to come see what we have in store and our employees have been training, in some cases, for over a year to get ready for this day,” says store manager Matt Dailor in the release. “Wegmans is a celebration of food and people, and we can’t wait to open the doors on October 18 to our community here in the East Village.”
On Oct. 27, 2019, almost exactly four years before the opening of this Astor Place spread, Wegmans made its Big Apple debut across the East River in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which remains open.
Ever since the company announced its forthcoming Astor Place location, the space has been decorated with company designs. Now, windows bear logos — as do docking stations for Citi Bike right in front.The new store runs two levels at 770 Broadway in the former Kmart space.The new store is still in the works, and will have one floor for prepared foods and the lower level for grocery staples.Visitors will recognize the interior design of Wegmans, though this one will have unique elements in its decorative windows resembling the building’s own architectural details.Under rainy skies, the Brooklyn Wegmans opened in October 2019.The Brooklyn opening drew crowds of fans to the store.“Wegmaniacs” loaded up on their favorite products, which will also happen when the Manhattan location opens this fall.
The bulk of Wegmans locations are in New York State — spanning from Buffalo to a forthcoming store in Long Island’s Suffolk County — with plenty of others in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Virginia and North Carolina. Future stores, according to the Wegmans website, will include one in Norwalk, Connecticut — which will be the first to open in that state.
The grand opening of the Astor Place behemoth comes full circle after summer 2021 saw speculation that Wegmans would move into the former Kmart, which shut abruptly in July 2021. Published reports, as well as Reddit chatter, said the space would be replaced by a “first-class regional grocer,” leading many curious minds to offer their guesses of Wegmans, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.
What customers can expect: fresh sushi, sandwiches, pizza and even Mediterranean bites from the “Mezze” section. What’s more, in the first half of 2024, visitors will also have an on-site dining room with a sushi bar, as well as a Champagne and oyster bar.
Similar to Trader Joe’s, Wegmans has long attracted a cult following — particularly among natives of Western and Central New York who grew up chowing down on its fresh, and reasonably priced, food.88
The loyalty was so strong for some upstate natives that, despite living in New York City, they’d drive 330 miles home to Rochester to load up on several months worth of groceries to cart back to Manhattan. Others deliberately rented apartments or bought homes near the closest Wegmans stores — and not just for breezy shopping, but also for nostalgia.
Longtime customer favorites include the brand’s ginger-flavored sparkling water, the cave-ripened Cremeux de Bourgogne cheese, chocolate-dipped chocolate chip cookies that sandwich flavored buttercream frosting and, this being an upstate brand, its Buffalo wings.
Five people were injured, including a firefighter, when a crane collapsed into a neighboring building after catching fire in New York City on Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The construction equipment and debris fell near 41st and 10th Avenue in Manhattan around 7:40 a.m, the FDNY said.
The five injured people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The crane caught fire and collapsed at W. 41st Street and 10th Avenue (from NY Post)
The owner of a nine-story office condominium in Manhattan’s Garment District has fallen behind on its debt obligation after the building’s sole office tenant stopped paying rent.
The loan backing the commercial portion of the 18-story 315 West 36th St. building, built in 1926, is now in special servicing, according to the Morningstar Credit database. The building’s owner, Walter & Samuels, has been in default since April, according to commentary by special servicer Midland Loan Services.
The largest tenant in the property WeWork, signed a lease in 2015 covering roughly 135K SF across all nine floors of office in the building. But WeWork has stopped paying rent, according to the special servicer commentary, and is not planning to renew its lease for the space.
The building has 143K SF of leaseable space, including ground-floor retail. Walter & Samuels took out a $77M loan at the building in 2018, which matures in March 2028. Walter & Samuels, led by David Berley, paid SL Green $115M for a 35.5% stake in the building a few months after WeWork signed its lease.
WeWork doesn’t list the building on its website, but does offer coworking space down the block at 229 West 36th St.
The building has nine stories of residential condos atop the commercial property and spans 276K SF in total. Ratings agency Fitch signaled in early June that the property’s CMBS debt could face a credit downgrade, Crain’s New York Business reported.
The lender and special servicer have executed a pre-negotiation letter and are starting workout discussions for the space, according to the servicer commentary.
Representatives for Walter & Samuels and WeWork declined to comment to Bisnow.
WeWork’s contraction efforts in recent years have led to upheaval in the office markets it operates in. After closing scores of locations in the early months of the pandemic, it announced last fall it would close 40 more as its losses mounted. It was sued in Chicago earlier this year for vacating a property it agreed to lease until 2033.
In one instance, WeWork stopped paying rent to itself. At 600 California St. in San Francisco, a building in which WeWork has a 3% ownership stake and occupies more than 50%, loan documents indicate it stopped paying rent earlier this year, Bisnow previously reported.
Lead pipes may carry water to as many as 900,000 New York City homes, more than 60 years after such pipes were banned across the five boroughs, according to a new report by the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning.
By analyzing publicly available data from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, the report found that nearly half of all buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan are served by pipes that are either certainly or potentially made of lead, a dangerous heavy metal that can cause permanent brain damage and other developmental problems in children if consumed. Staten Island’s Port Richmond had the highest proportion among individual neighborhoods.
The pipes need to be replaced for the health of the public, said Joan Matthews, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which contributed to the report. That’s why she and the report’s other authors want the City Council to pass a bill mandating that city agencies replace the lead pipes within the next decade.
Why lead pipes remain in NYC
Lead is a dangerous heavy metal that can cause permanent brain damage in children.
New York City’s water supply is lead-free, but it can become contaminated in the service lines that lead from water mains to people’s homes. About 40% of city service lines are believed to contain lead.
You can check the status of your pipes on the Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Connection Information map.
If your home has a lead or possible lead service line, follow the Department of Environmental Protection’s guidelines for reducing exposure. You can also follow that link to request a free test kit.
New York City treats its water to prevent corrosion, the chemical reaction by which lead flakes off the pipes and into the water supply, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. “While we agree that privately-owned lead service lines should be removed, and are actively working to do that, NYC’s daily water supply is safe,” DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala said via an emailed statement.
But lead levels can still spike depending on the temperature of the water and the time since it was last turned on. Nearly a decade ago, Flint, Michigan experienced a lead crisis after merely switching what water source went through its pipes.
New York City outlawed new installations of lead service lines — the pipes that carry water from central mains to individual buildings — in 1961. But many of the predating lead service lines are still underground, and because so much time has passed, it’s unclear exactly how many remain.
For the new report, the data team for the NYC Coalition to End Lead Poisoning — a group of experts and advocates that’s been campaigning for the cause since the 1980s — studied lead service line records published biannually by the Department of Environmental Protection. The city agency identifies confirmed lead service lines throughout the five boroughs. It also labels a pipe “potential lead” if historical records indicate that at least a portion of the water service line is lead. But it’s hard to know for sure because the pipes were installed so long ago.
The report’s authors classified the number of each service line by neighborhood and joined the counts with population data to estimate how many New Yorkers use the poisonous pipes.
The report found about 40% of citywide service lines include some lead pipe. Those service lines provide water to an estimated 1.8 million people, or more than 20% of the city’s population.
Brooklyn and Manhattan led the city in the estimated proportion of lead service lines, at 46% and 44%, respectively. The Bronx, meanwhile, had the largest chunk of confirmed lead service lines of all the boroughs.
Staten Island had a below-average proportion of lead service lines at the borough level, but its Port Richmond neighborhood, situated on its North Shore, had the largest share by far of lead service lines: an estimated 61% of its pipes are either believed or confirmed to contain lead. East Harlem, Coney Island in Brooklyn and Jamaica in Queens also ranked high on the list of neighborhoods most plagued by lead service lines.
