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☆ The Brooklyn landlord everyone hates could soon come to your neighborhood. Tenants warn these private equity groups are raising rent and ignoring maintenance issues.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Private equity firms have bought up hundreds of smaller apartment buildings in trendy New York neighborhoods. Private equity firms own a very small, but growing, fraction of American real estate. Some argue that private equity, hedge funds, and other institutional investors are a convenient target and are being unfairly blamed for the nation's worsening housing affordability crisis. The recent increase in private equity purchases, particularly of single-family homes, has drawn scrutiny, including from Congress, over the last few years. Democrats also couldn't reach agreement on measures that would have boosted tenant protections, including rent stabilization and eviction protections.

Persons: Kathy Hochul's, Hochul Organizations: Service, Carlyle Group, The New York Times, Conway Capital, Peak Capital Advisors, Times, Institutional, New York Gov, Democrats Locations: New York, Brooklyn, Wall, Silicon, gentrifying, Queens, Bushwick, Bedford, Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, Ridgewood , Queens, York City, Brooklyn's Gowanus

In New York City, debates over affordability often center on the proliferation of opulent high-rise developments. But in the boroughs, deep-pocketed investors are buying up hundreds of smaller buildings, prompting a new set of concerns in the city’s deepening housing crisis. Over the past few years, private equity firms have quietly spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying apartments in neighborhoods like Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg in Brooklyn and Ridgewood in Queens, property records show. Private equity firms — which typically invest money on behalf of pension funds, endowments or other large sources of wealth — focus on assets, like businesses or housing, that they can buy relatively cheaply but that have big profit potential. Their expansion into the housing market across the nation has prompted scrutiny in Congress about whether the trend is amplifying America’s affordability problems.

Locations: New York City, Bushwick, Bedford, Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Ridgewood, Queens, New York

☆ Manhattan rents hit a record high for the third time in four months
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —Rents in Manhattan hit another all-time high in July, the third record high in the past four months, even as rents are cooling in other parts of the country. That’s up 6% from a year ago and up 2.3% from June, when rents hit were at $4,300. A one-bedroom apartment in the borough had a median rent of $4,295, up 7.4% from last year; while a two-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $5,200, up 4% from a year ago. Not only did median rents go up, but the amount of concessions — or incentives offered by landlords — continued to drop. All the metrics for rent tracked in the report — including median rent, median rent inclusive of concessions and the average rent — hit record highs.

Persons: Douglas Elliman, Miller Samuel, That’s, —, ”, Jonathan Miller, Miller, “ Organizations: DC CNN Locations: Washington, Manhattan, New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, New York

☆ What Does It Mean to Be a Witness?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Mateo Askaripour | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

WITNESS: Stories, by Jamel BrinkleyThe National Book Award finalist Jamel Brinkley’s sophomore story collection, “Witness,” opens with an epigraph from James Baldwin, describing how thin the line is between a witness and an actor: “Nevertheless,” Baldwin concludes, “the line is real.” But is it? Over the course of 10 splendidly thought-provoking stories — set in Brooklyn and featuring animal rescue volunteers, florists, ghosts, UPS workers and a host of other characters — Brinkley shatters Baldwin’s thesis, masterfully demonstrating that witness and actor are one and the same. The act of witnessing is often rooted in physical sight, so an emphasis on what the eye perceives only makes sense. Throughout the collection, characters see and are seen, experiencing a kaleidoscopic range of emotions in response to being observed. “I can see your true nature now,” a woman tells her brother in “Witness,” a particularly heart-shattering story about a jobless grad student living in a cramped apartment with his ill sister and her new husband.

Persons: Jamel Brinkley, Jamel, ”, James Baldwin, “, ” Baldwin, — Brinkley, Brinkley Locations: Brooklyn

When the police returned two days later, they found the remains of three other women — Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. They were all also found bound at the feet or ankles and wrapped in burlap along a stretch of sand about a quarter mile long. Seven other bodies would be found in the months that followed, including Ms. Gilbert, four other women, a man who was never identified and a 2-year-old girl. The bodies, two of which were only partial remains, had not been bound and wrapped as those in the first group were. But that dumping, he said, has generally been the work of an organized crime group or gang.

Persons: Gilbert, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard, Fred Klein, Joel Rifkin, ”, Klein Organizations: Bronx, Barnes, Brooklyn and, Hofstra University Locations: Brooklyn, Brooklyn and New Jersey, Nassau County

☆ New York police arrest man suspected of firing from a scooter, killing one
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 9 (Reuters) - New York City police on Saturday arrested a man suspected of randomly firing at people while riding a scooter through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens earlier in the day, killing an 87-year-old man and wounding three other men, officials said. As he's driving on the scooter he's randomly shooting," Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny of the New York City Police Department told a press conference. The victim who died was an 87-year-old man shot in the back, Kenny said. The other victims were a 44-year-old man shot in the cheek who was in critical condition, a 63-year-old man shot in the right shoulder in stable condition, and a 21-year-old man who was hit in the shoulder and was not as seriously wounded, Kenny said. Police declined to identify the suspect but said he had one prior arrest on his record.

Persons: he's, Joseph Kenny, Kenny, Hamod Ali Saeidi, Daniel Trotta, Leslie Adler Organizations: New York City, Saturday, Police, New York City Police Department, The New York Daily, Thomson Locations: New, Brooklyn, Queens

☆ New York City shootings: Gunman riding scooter kills 1, injures 3 in Queens and Brooklyn, NYPD says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Nic F. Anderson Artemis Moshtaghian Ashley R. Williams | Nic F. Anderson | Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —One person died and three others were wounded Saturday in a string of shootings in Brooklyn and Queens that New York police described as “random” in nature. A gunman riding an illegal scooter without a license plate opened fire at five different locations in Jamaica, a neighborhood in the Queens borough, and in Brooklyn, according to the New York Police Department. As he’s driving on his scooter, he’s randomly shooting people.”Shell casings appear at one of the crime scenes where four people were shot in separate shooting incidents in New York City on July 8, 2023. But numerous witnesses reported seeing a man riding a scooter “randomly firing at a group of people,” Kenny said. NYPDLess than a minute later, the suspect shot a 63-year-old man in his right shoulder, Kenny said.

Persons: ”, Joseph Kenny, he’s, Kyle Mazza, Kenny, ” Kenny, Edward Caban Organizations: CNN, New, New York Police Department, AP Police, Authorities, Police, NYPD Locations: Brooklyn, Queens, New York, Jamaica, New York City, New York . New York City

A gunman killed one person and wounded three others on Saturday as he drove a scooter across Brooklyn and Queens, randomly firing at groups of people and at stores in a chaotic two-hour stretch before the police arrested him, the New York Police Department said. The 25-year-old gunman, whose name was not released by the authorities, began his rampage around 11 a.m. in Brooklyn where he shot a 21-year-old man in the left shoulder from behind, prompting officers to respond to the scene near the corner of Ashford Street and Arlington Avenue, Joseph Kenny, an assistant chief at the detective bureau, said at a news conference. Seventeen minutes later, a report came of another shooting, this time in Queens, which mirrored the one in Brooklyn, Chief Kenny said: a man on a scooter firing a gun. At the second attack, the gunman fatally shot an 87-year-old man near a nail salon on Jamaica Avenue near the Richmond Hills section of Queens, the police said.

Persons: Joseph Kenny, Kenny Organizations: New York Police Department, Arlington Locations: Brooklyn, Queens, Ashford Street, Jamaica, Richmond

☆ 18 Hasidic Schools Failed to Provide Basic Education, New York City Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Eliza Shapiro | Brian M. Rosenthal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If the findings are upheld by the state education department, as is expected, the schools could be required to submit detailed improvement plans and face government monitoring. The law, however, does not make clear what consequences the schools might face if they do not commit to improving. A spokesman for the city’s Department of Education said in a statement that it had performed a “thorough, fair review” of the Hasidic schools. “Schools that are found to not provide a substantially equivalent education will work with the Department of Education to create and implement a remediation plan,” the spokesman, Nathaniel Styer, said. Hasidic leaders have defended the schools previously, saying they prepared students for happy and fulfilling lives in the Hasidic community.

Persons: Nathaniel Styer, “ Organizations: city’s Department of Education, “, Department of Education, ”, The New York Times Locations: Brooklyn, Hudson

☆ How the Brooklyn Bridge went from being a 'wild experiment' in architecture to becoming designated a historical landmark 140 years later
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Elias Chavez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The history of the Brooklyn Bridge is filled with death, disease, and controversy. The main architect died before the bridge was even built, and several workers died in the process. Tools and techniques used to build the bridge — then thought to be a "wild experiment" — are commonly used today. The Brooklyn Bridge, one of New York City's famous landmarks, turned 140 this year, and its history has been wrought with death, disease, and controversy. During the bridge's construction, over a dozen people died, while countless others were bedridden with a then mysterious illness, including the bridge's architect Washington Roebling.

Persons: Washington Roebling, John Augustus Roebling Organizations: Morning, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington Locations: Brooklyn, New York, Manhattan

☆ I built a thriving side business without ever having a viral moment. Here’s how I grew my following and secured partnerships with brands like 1-800-Flowers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Christopher Griffin is known as Plant Kween to more than 400,000 followers on social media. I'm known as Plant Kween on Instagram, where I have more than 400,000 followers. During my lunch breaks, after-work hours, and weekends I focus on my Plant Kween business and content creation. The Plant Kween for 1-800-Flowers.com collection launched in February 2023. ET so folks can get a little dose of Plant Kween joy before they start their day.

Persons: Christopher Griffin, —, I'm, pothos, I've, Meyers Organizations: Service, New York University, Creative Artists Agency, Kimpton, Saks Locations: Brooklyn , New York, Instagram, Headspace, Brooklyn, East Coast

☆ The Army Corps’s Flood Plan Could Ruin New York’s Waterfront. It Doesn’t Have To. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Mr. Gutman is an environmental planning consultant and a member of the New York-New Jersey Storm Surge Working Group. In terms of population at risk, New York City is the most vulnerable city in the country, according to Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization. These highly effective and reliable harborwide surge barriers can protect large areas while leaving shorelines free for recreation and other uses. Hudson River Park 12 feet 12 feetHudson River Park 12 feet 12 feetHudson River Park 12 feet 12 feetGantry Plaza State Park 12 feet 12 feetGantry Plaza State Park 12 feet 12 feetImagine bicycling up the Hudson River Greenway in Manhattan next to a concrete wall between you and Hudson River Park. It consists of walls, small storm surge barriers and other shoreline barriers.

Persons: Robert Yaro, Daniel Gutman, Quoctrung Bui, Taylor, John Lehr, Yaro, Gutman, Hurricane Sandy, Rohit Aggarwala, Aggarwala, Jeroen Aerts, “, Sandy Hook, Arthur, Sandy, David Ralston Organizations: The New York Times, Regional Plan Association, Metro Flood Defense, New Jersey Storm, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Corps, Hurricane, Climate Central, United Nations, New, LaGuardia Airport, Vrije University Amsterdam, New York City, Bronx Manhattan, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens Brooklyn Jamaica Bay, U.S . Army Corps, Engineers, Oceanographic, Dade Locations: York, New, New York, New Jersey, floodwalls, New York City, Rotterdam, Netherlands, London, St, Petersburg, Russia, New York Harbor, Central, Greenpoint, Manhattan’s, Jersey City, Hudson, Greenway, Manhattan, United, Jersey, Bronx, Queensbridge, South Williamsburg, Yonkers, Ossining, Market, Newtown, New York State , New Jersey, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Arthur Kill, Jamaica, Bronx Manhattan Jersey, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens Brooklyn, Bronx Manhattan Jersey City Queens Brooklyn Jamaica Bay Staten, Texas, Galveston, Houston, Hurricane, Miami

☆ Manhattan rents up 10% from a year ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

While rents are cooling in some parts of the United States, the cost to rent a Manhattan apartment hit a record high in May for the third month in a row. That’s up 10% from a year ago and up 3.6% from April, when rents were at a record high of $4,241. Over the past 18 months, rents have been consistently near or breaking record highs in Manhattan, said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel. A one-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $4,275 in May, up 7% from last year, while a two-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $5,400, up 8% from a year ago. For those looking for an apartment in New York City, expect more record high rents ahead.

Persons: Douglas Elliman, Miller Samuel, That’s, Jonathan Miller, “, ” Miller, —, Miller, ” Organizations: DC CNN, Federal Reserve, Brooklyn Locations: Washington, United States, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, New York City

☆ We all need 'Sushi Tuesdays': Finding a way forward after suicide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jodie Sadowsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —When Sam Maya, a beloved husband, father, friend, stockbroker and coach, died by suicide 16 years ago, he left a note. Maya spent nearly a decade writing "Sushi Tuesdays," which aims to humanize the face of suicide. Post Hill PressShe spent nearly a decade writing “Sushi Tuesdays,” beginning with a blog by the same name, an homage to the weekly ritual she created after her husband’s death. When Sam Maya died, Tasheff was a single mother living on a budget in Brooklyn and couldn’t travel to California to visit. Maya continues to honor her Tuesdays with therapy and yoga, a hike with a friend, and sometimes a sushi lunch.

Persons: Sam Maya, Charlotte, Charlotte Maya, Maya, Ashwini, Nadkarni, ”, “, Sam, ” Maya, Gregory Stratz, Tim Stratz, Jason Maya, Parker, Danny Maya, Daniel Stratz, Karen Ray, they’d, The, Jane Doe, Jane, she’s, Jane ”, Bess ”, Katherine Tasheff, Tasheff, swiftness, Daniel, Daniels, —, Lauren Kerwin, Kerwin Organizations: CNN, Post, Press, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Research, Brigham, Women’s Hospital, Psychological, Karen Ray Photography, Rice University, American Foundation for Suicide Locations: Boston, Maya’s, Brooklyn, California

☆ At This Staten Island Garden, the Plants Are All Queer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Alyson Krueger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Alice Austen House on Staten Island celebrates the life of the trailblazing photographer Alice Austen, who lived there in the mid-19th and early-20th centuries. Amid its rolling, verdant grounds and vine-covered porch, there’s also a new initiative in the works: the Queer Ecologies Garden Project. for this story, and who consulted on creating the garden. Prefer and Victoria Munro, the executive director of the Alice Austen House, aim to celebrate this widespread gender fluidity of the natural world while focusing on plants that are particularly loud and proud in their functions, or are culturally associated with the L.G.B.T.Q. “It sort of challenges the notion that being queer is a choice,” said Ms. Munro of the project.

Persons: Alice Austen House, Alice Austen, Austen, there’s, Marisa, Victoria Munro, ”, Munro Organizations: Historic Landmark, New Locations: Staten, Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, New York City

☆ They Knew Little About Oysters. Now They Have a Farm With 2 Million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Heather Senison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They’re installing an oyster automat outside the warehouse to sell boxes of Little Rams and shucking gear, and plan to bottle their homemade oyster sauce. It’s not every day that a couple shows up from Brooklyn and elbows their way in with folks who grew up clamming. They joined the Long Island Oyster Growers Association, where Ms. Bassett helps with public relations and marketing. Phil Mastrangelo, 57, part owner of the Oysterponds Shellfish Company in Orient, one of the biggest farms on Long Island with 10 million oysters, said the wife-and-wife team’s marketing has benefited others. 1 oyster in the world and it’s good for them to be promoting the region again,” he said.

☆ Nuveen Buys Giant New York City-Focused Affordable Housing Portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Will Parker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New York City area properties include several large apartment buildings in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty ImagesNuveen, the asset management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, is acquiring a more than 12,000-unit affordable housing portfolio in one of the largest multifamily housing deals this year. The properties are largely concentrated in the New York City area, including several large apartment buildings in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Other buildings are located in Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas and other states, Nuveen said on Tuesday. The portfolio includes developable land and existing buildings in need of rehabilitation that could eventually produce an additional 8,000 low-income apartments, Nuveen said.

☆ A Manhattan-based real estate investor who couldn't afford to buy in NYC breaks down 4 strategies for buying property if you live in a pricey city
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Julia Lemberskiy realized pretty quickly after moving to New York City that owning a home was out of the question. Manhattan, New York is the most expensive housing market in the US, and Brooklyn and Queens, two of the other five boroughs that make up New York City, both cracked the top 15 priciest markets. She broke down four strategies for buying property if you live in a pricey market. Invest in a nearby, more affordable marketIf you live in a major city like Lemberskiy, starting small might be impossible. When Lemberskiy realized she couldn't afford to own in NYC, she started looking in upstate NY, where she eventually bought her first property.

☆ A 30-year-old tech worker who brings in up to $20,000 in monthly Airbnb revenue from 5 units explains her strategy for renting in expensive NYC and buying in 'undervalued' areas elsewhere.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

When Julia Lemberskiy moved to New York City in 2018, she wanted to buy property. Today, she owns three Airbnb properties that bring in up to $20,000 a month in revenue. Her overall investing strategy is to buy "undervalued properties" in "undervalued areas," which she finds by looking at approved development projects in the community. For starters, the purchase prices in New York City are astronomical. While buying property in New York City was off the table, buying property in general was not, especially once Lemberskiy decided to settle down in the States.

☆ Trump attorney says Manhattan is an 'unfair venue' for the former president, calling it 'pro-Joe Biden.' Yet that's where he built his empire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Donald Trump's attorney argued the former president can't get a fair trial in Manhattan. Donald Trump was born in New York City, where his family built their empire. Even before he was officially charged, Trump complained that the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was politically motivated. Donald Trump was quoted in the obituary saying he was grateful that his father focused his construction business in Brooklyn and Queens. ''It was good for me,'' a chuckling Donald Trump said, according to the Times.

☆ Inside Nike: Sources share claims of sexism, cheating, abuse at the world's wokest brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Joshua Hunt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +51 min

The conservative blowback came as no surprise to Parker, who told Nike's board of directors to expect some short-term backlash. In late 2014, the BBC sent a film crew to Portland to interview several former Oregon Project employees. "He would be at the side of the track calling out runners' splits but wouldn't call Kara's out," Adam Goucher told me. When people asked why she left the Oregon Project, she said it was a "personal decision." "I don't think it has anything to do with who the CEO is," Goucher told me.

☆ Scared to Bike in the City? Here’s the Gear You Need to Stay Safe—Plus 10 Smart Tips from Skilled Cyclists
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Daniel Varghese | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE with city cycling wasn’t promising. The suburban rides of my childhood hadn’t prepared me for crumbling concrete, hulking cargo trucks and hostile drivers. By the time I moved to New York City six years ago, biking seemed absurd. The New York City Department of Transportation reported it tracked 33% more bike trips year-over-year between May and December of 2020. Recently, I realized I was tired of being too scared to join the new wave of cyclists.

☆ Inside a shake-up at the world's 'most feared law firm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Casey Sullivan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

It's been a tumultuous period for Quinn and the storied law firm he built over the past 37 years — now the world's largest litigation firm with hourly rates that can be north of $2,000. But behind the scenes, a shift at QE has been the talk of elite law firm circles. Indeed, the firm – known as a singular, even freewheeling, institution that brands itself as the "#1 Most Feared Law Firm in the World" — may appear to be less in the image of its founder as a generational shift brings changes. "We all thought it was important that the world understands this is not a one generation law firm." One former firm partner in California says he believes Quinn's inner circle generally got better deals.

People walk through the Brooklyn Bridge during a strike for climate on March 03, 2023 in New York City. Protesters demand New York State support found and pass the Climate Jobs, and Justice Package. The disadvantaged communities in New York City are located in large parts of northern Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as central Brooklyn and across the coastlines. Outside New York City, disadvantaged communities are located in regions such as Western and Central New York, the Finger Lakes, Long Island, Mohawk Valley, Mid-Hudson and the Capital Region. Communities that aren't highlighted won't be eligible for specially designated funds that will prioritize reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in those regions.

☆ Buy this under-the-radar footwear stock that could become the next $1 billion athletic brand, Credit Suisse says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time for investors to buy into Swiss footwear stock On Holding before it becomes the next $1 billion athletic brand, according to Credit Suisse. Analyst Michael Binetti raised his price target on the stock, and maintained an outperform rating after the firm's latest quarterly results . On Holding beat revenue expectations in its fourth quarter, and issued strong first-quarter and full-year guidance, according to consensus expectations on FactSet. Binetti's $33 price target, which was raised from $28 previously, implies the footwear stock can jump 21% from Tuesday's closing price of $27.26. That's because of what the analyst sees as a "long runway" for the increasingly popular footwear brand.

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