FHFA Nomination | Micro-Unit Backlash | Urban Design in a Post-Sandy World

Representative Mel White (D-NC), FHFA Nominee. (AP Photo/ J. Scott Applewhite)

1. Obama Selects Mel Watt as Nominee for FHFA Director This afternoon President Obama will introduce his choice to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Representative Mel Watt from North Carolina, a twenty-year veteran of Congress and member of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. [The Nation – 05/01/13]
2. Seattle’s Micro Unit Plans Face Backlash Some residents are complaining that micro-apartments crowd too many people together, aren’t compatible with some neighborhoods, don’t encourage people to put down roots, and circumvent a design review process meant to get public input…There’s a demand for micro-housing because more people are living in single households, said John Infranca, research fellow at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University Law School. [USA Today – 05/01/13]
3. Post-Sandy Initiative Launches Report: “Building Better, Building Smarter” The Post-Sandy Initiative is structured as the planning and design community’s response to the recent Superstorm…As part of this Initiative, many professionals have given their time to explore important issues about the emergency planning for and response to Sandy, both in terms of short-term recovery efforts and long-term resiliency considerations. Their contributions have made it clear that we can, and need to, do better in the face of future extreme weather events. [Post Sandy Initiative – 05/01/13]
4. HPD Calls for Designs for Phase 2 of Hunters Point South Development in a “Post-Sandy World” The Bloomberg administration is seeking a developer for the second phase of the vast Hunter’s Point South middle-class housing project on the Queens waterfront. Given the location, the city is insisting all interested parties take the altered expectations of a post-Sandy world into consideration. [Crain’s New York – 05/01/13]
5. FEMA Rules Bar Aid to Co-ops Hit by Sandy Since the hurricane, thousands of homeowners have been startled to discover that co-ops are largely barred from federal disaster assistance. The rules have stirred growing criticism from members of Congress from the region, who contend that the system fails to take into account how people live in New York City, where co-ops have flourished. [New York Times – 05/01/13]
6. U.S.Population Growth May Demand Innovation in Housing and Urban Structures The U.S. population will grow 36 percent to 438 million in 2050 from 322 million today. At today’s average of 2.58 persons per household, such growth would require 44.9 million new homes. To meet this demand, completely new urban environments will have to be created in the United States. Where and how will the new American homes be built? What urban structures are to be created? [City Lab – 04/30/13]
7. Tenants Sue NYCHA Over Backlog of 300,000 Repairs To fix a water leak last month, workers cut out a piece of wall behind the stove in Pian Tam’s apartment at the Alfred E. Smith houses in Lower Manhattan. Then they covered the opening with plastic and told her that they would come back later to plaster the wall.By later, they meant January 2014. At the earliest. [New York Times – 04/29/13]
8. Greenpoint, Bushwick See Rents Spike As They Drop in Williamsburg Bushwick isn’t the only spot to face recent “incredible” rent leaps - Greenpoint has seen its own 20 percent spike this year, a new report shows.The North Brooklyn neighborhood’s average residential rents have jumped $457 from last spring, MNS Real Estate’s annual report says, as new high-end apartments hit the market and developers prepared for more to come. [DNAinfo – 05/02/13]
9. New Report Cites Disparity in “Severe Housing Costs” Between Working Renters and Owners The Center for Housing Policy today released a report on housing affordability among working households in the US.  The report concludes an ongoing uptrend in the incidence of “severe housing costs” among ‘working renters’ whereas ‘working owners’ actually saw a decrease from 2010 to 2011.  Despite the trend, the pace of increases for renters did decline somewhat in 2011, falling to a 0.9 percent pace vs a 1.1 percent pace in 2010. [Mortgage News Daily – 05/02/13]
10. NYC Rent Stabilized Tenants Could Face Rent Hikes As High as 9.5% After a brief half-hour meeting last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted on proposed increase rents for NYCrent stabilized apartments. If approved, tenants with one year leases could see their rent go up between 3.25% and 6.25%, while tenants with two-year leases face an increase between 5% and 9.5% [Gothamist – 05/01/13]