AirBnb Faces Setback & Brooklyn | Bronx Tenants Demand Affordable Housing

Sandra Cruz Morales protests outside 1469 Fifth Ave., the last rent-stabilized building on her Harlem block. (NY Daily News)

1. D.C.‘s Big Problem with Short Buildings “The largest shopping center in Virginia is expanding, and it plans to gain an office building that will stand taller than almost everything in nearby Washington, D.C.News like this doesn’t bode well for the District.As Bill Bradley noted in a Monday blog post for Next City, height limits in D.C. may be limiting its economic growth.” [Next City – 05/22/13]
2. AirBnb Suffers Setback in NYC Court Decision. ” A New York City judge has issued a rebuke to Airbnb, the popular short-term home rental site. Airbnb had intervened on behalf of a user, Nigel Warren, who faced stiff fines for renting his Manhattan apartment to a visitor from Russia for three nights.” [The Brian Lehrer Show- WNYC – 05/23/13]
3. NYC’s ‘Cluster-Site’ Homeless Program May Threaten Affordable Housing. “Homelessness and housing advocates criticize the cluster-site program for its expense, effect on other tenants and impact on the stock of rent-stabilized housing.Patrick Markee, senior policy analyst at Coalition for the Homeless, called the program “a complete policy disaster.” [Brooklyn Bureau – 05/21/13]
4. Realty Company Trying to Push Out Rent-Stabilized Tenants in Harlem, the Bronx. “A realty company that bought six rent-stabilized tenement buildings two months ago in gentrifying areas of Harlem and the South Bronx is trying to intimidate hundreds of largely Mexican and Ecuadorian immigrant tenants to vacate those buildings by the end of this month, residents say.” [New York Daily News – 05/21/13]
5. Will Restaurant Rent Hikes Change the Face of Soho? “Yesterday, the restaurant world buzzed with rumors that Soho favorite Lure Fishbar could close because of an"exorbitant” rent increase. This news comes not long after it was reported that Jo’s in Nolitais also closing to become something other than a restaurant, and there have been recent rumors that Balthazar would close.All of this has led our friends at Eater to wonder, what’s the value of basement corner space in Soho?” [Curbed NY – 05/22/13]
6. Tracking the Trend of Manhattan’s Skinny Condo Towers. “Another day, another plan for a soaring, skinny Manhattan condo tower.As reported inWednesday’s Wall Street Journal, developer Bruce Eichner has reached a series of deals to buy a development site south of Manhattan’s Madison Square Park, where he plans a nearly 800-foot condo tower on a lot just 50 feet wide, according to people familiar with the matter.” [Wall Street Journal – 05/23/13]
7. Selling the Public on Public Housing. “If you don’t live in public housing, you probably don’t think about it very much. When you do think about it, vague and negative stereotypes likely come to mind, about high crime rates and entrenched poverty.  You might not think that the housing projects in your city have anything to do with you.A new public relations initiative called ReThink is trying to change those attitudes.” [Atlantic Cities – 05/23/13]
8. Critics Blast Proposal to Replace 5Pointz with Luxury Apartments at Public Hearing . “A plan to replace Queens graffiti mecca 5Pointz with a pair of high-rise luxury apartment towers was blasted by critics at a contentious public hearing Wednesday night, as opponents accused the developers of ripping the iconic art center from the hands of the local creative community.” [DNA Info – 05/23/13]
9. Land Use Reaching New Heights with Illicit Night Club in a Chelsea Water Tower. “A trapdoor in the water tower opened when the guests approached. Thumping live music, candlelight, chatter and the sound of clinking glasses emerged, as well as a helping hand.Inside was a round wooden space no bigger than a freight elevator, filled with about a dozen people sipping whiskey cocktails..” [New York Times – 05/22/13]