A rendering of the Aqueduct casino in Queens

New York City will not be getting a casino – at least not for the next five years.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined a plan to bring New York’s first three commercial gaming franchises to upstate destinations, the New York Daily News reported. Cuomo’s plan, which is subject to approval by the Legislature, also calls for a ban to casinos in the five boroughs, Long Island, and the city’s northern suburbs, in a bid to spread tourism and push gamblers upstate.  [more]

Gov. Cuomo

Governor Andrew Cuomo called out a group of 10 mortgage servicers and lenders that are holding up nearly $41 million in insurance claim checks designated for Hurricane Sandy victims, the Wall Street Journal reported. The governor stressed that issuing these checks needs to be sped up in order to help these homeowners rebuild.

The mortgage companies are generally regional lenders, such as the Houston-based Selene Finance and Select Portfolio. Selene is currently holding on to nearly 75 percent of its Sandy claim funds, worth $1.87 million, while Select is holding back 56 percent of claims, worth $4.9 million. [more]

Scott Rechler and Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Scott Rechler, the head of RXR Realty, is known for his vast New York City real estate holdings, managing some 20 million square feet of property and emerging as the second-biggest buyer of Manhattan commercial real estate since the recession. But since 2011, Rechler has worn a second hat as a top advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo, sitting on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Bloomberg News reported. [more]

Andrew Cuomo

Following the Governor Cuomo’s announcement that the city would spend $400 million to buy up homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy, storm victims are receiving some more good news. The deadline for storm victims to register for FEMA assistance has been extended to Mar. 29 from Feb. 27, 2013, Governor Cuomo announced today. Federal disaster assistance for residents of one of the 13 disaster-declared counties can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance. The counties eligible for assistance: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Richmond, Rockland, Westchester, Suffolk, Queens, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Ulster…. [more]

From the February issue: 

Flooded homes in New York state

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $400 million plan to buy and demolish Hurricane Sandy-hit homes and have the land permanently preserved as coastline has been received warmly by residents in areas most affected by the storm, the Associated Press reported. “A lot of people need that help,” Long Beach resident Tom Mannion told the Associated Press. The plan would pay residents living in the flood plain whose homes were significantly damaged the full pre-storm value of their houses to relocate. State officials estimate that up to 1,500 homeowners might apply. A large group of these, over 150 homeowners, reside in the Staten Island neighborhood of Oakwood Beach…. [more]

Flooded homes in New York state

Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing a purchase program, which will require approval from federal officials, to spend as much as $400 million to purchase homes ruined by Hurricane Sandy, demolish them and have the land preserved permanently as undeveloped coastline, the New York Times reported yesterday. The ambitious plan would pay residents living in the flood plain, with homes that were significantly damaged, the full pre-storm value of their houses to relocate. [more]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo

In his 2013 State of the State address, Governor Andrew Cuomo withdrew his support for a New York casino he had previously championed, and is now eyeing locations north of the city, Crain’s reported. In his 2012 speech, Cuomo discussed plans to build a $4 billion convention center in Queens next to the Aqueduct racino, which seemed likely to be the first sanctioned casino in the city. But this year, he said that city casinos would thwart the state’s goal of luring city tourists to destinations upstate. “It was kind of a 180,” said state Sen. John Bonacic, a Hudson Valley legislator who chairs his chamber’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, and was pleased by the announcement. Cuomo backed plans to build three casinos upstate in economically depressed regions, and experts say the plan will help the governor receive more concessions from upstate casino bidders who won’t be threatened by city competition…. [more]

Governor Cuomo and the abandoned rail line in Queens

A plan to build an above ground park on a 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned rail line in Queens just received a big endorsement in the form of a $467,000 grant from Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Trust for Public Land announced today, according to DNAinfo. The money is earmarked for a  feasibility study and analysis of what has been dubbed the QueensWay project, a controversial High Line-style park in Queens. “Now other people recognized that potentially this could be a great project for Queens,” Andrea Crawford, a member of Friends of the QueensWay, said. “Now it has real teeth and we are really excited.”… [more]

Susan McFarland

From the December issue:  Fannie, Freddie see profits in third quarter

Government-sponsored mortgage backer Freddie Mac posted a $2.9 billion profit in the third quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported, enabling it to make a dividend payment of $1.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury for its taxpayer-financed bailout. That marks Freddie’s fourth-consecutive quarterly gain, and stands in stark contrast to its loss of $4.4 billion in the third quarter of last year. It’s also the second consecutive quarter in which Freddie has not needed any assistance from the government. Fannie Mae, meanwhile, posted a $1.8 billion profit in the third quarter and paid $2.9 billion in dividends to the Treasury, Reuters reported. The profit compares with a loss of $5.1 billion a year ago. For both GSEs, the gains were prompted by stabilizing home prices and stronger demand for housing. “We continue to see home prices improve again in the third quarter, albeit not nearly at the level they did in the second quarter. That is the single biggest driver in the results,” Susan McFarland, Fannie Mae’s chief financial officer, told Reuters. [more]