The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is banning underground
blasting along the Second Avenue Subway construction site in the night time after 7 p.m. starting
today, the New York Times reported, in response to noise complaints
from residents and community leaders.

The project’s contract
originally allowed the blasts until midnight, although MTA construction
chief Michael Horodniceanu said they usually stopped by 9 p.m. The
blasts (listen in video above) are necessary to remove underground rock for construction
of the three new stations that will serve the route, at 96th, 86th and 72nd streets. [more]

The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway is running two years behind schedule and is poised to run $420 million over budget, according to Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who told the Post this weekend that the news comes straight from the Federal Transit Administration. The agency had originally set a target completion date of 2016 for the first installment of the T train, slated to run between East 96th and East 63rd streets. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has budgeted $4.5 billion for the project. That’s particularly bad news for businesses along the stretch of road affected by the construction. As The Real Deal reported last month, businesses along Second Avenue between 69th and 74th streets are reporting that sales have dropped by as much as 40 percent since construction began. [Post]

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There won’t be any out-of-towners checking into Bellevue anytime soon, according to the Observer, after officials put the kibosh on plans to transform the one-time psychiatric facility at 462 First Avenue between 26th and 28th streets into a hotel and conference center. The homeless shelter currently in place at the Bellevue site has been decried by community advocates as sub-standard, and Representative Carolyn Maloney said that the failure of the hotel plan should not deter other development. “It is unfortunate that the Department of Homeless Services failed to come up with a concrete plan for replacing the men’s shelter, but we should now work together to develop such a plan,” Maloney said. “Right now, the Bellevue building is in terrible shape and we should not continue to house vulnerable populations there.” [more]

Among the top 10 individual donors to members of the House and Senate from New York are some of the city’s biggest names in real estate, according to an analysis of campaign finance records by the New York Times and the Center for Responsive Politics. Coming in second on the list was hotel magnate George Tsunis, managing director of Chartwell Hotels, and his wife, Olga. The pair gave a total of $49,200 last year to federal lawmakers from New York like representatives Nita Lowey, Gary Ackerman and Carolyn Maloney. Developer Joseph Sitt and his wife Betty gave $36,100 to New York politicians last year, ranking fifth. Also on the list was William Rudin, the Rudin Management CEO who gave $32,500 with his wife, Ophelia, putting them in the No. 8 spot. Rudin Management’s Manhattan portfolio includes 16 office and 20 apartment buildings. Together the top 10 individual donors gave more than $381,000 in 2009. [NYT]

From left: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Representative Carolyn Maloney, City Council member Jessica Lappin, and State Assembly member Micah Kellner

Major multi-family owner Urban American is suing the state Public Service Commission over electric billing in thousands of units of mostly rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan.

The New Jersey-based company filed a lawsuit Jan. 15 in State Supreme Court in Albany to overturn a ruling by the commission that blocked the company from individually billing tenants in four Manhattan apartment complexes for electric usage, known as submetering. Currently the electrical charges are folded into the rent bill based generally on the apartment size, not on actual usage.

The case is being closely followed by elected officials including Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who urged the state to block the submetering until certain conditions were fulfilled. [more]

Grubb & Ellis announced today that it will serve as the exclusive broker for the former Cabrini Medical Center. Also, the Ready, Willing and Able program, which provides temporary housing and other social services for recently incarcerated New York City residents, was awarded a $350,000 grant. In addition, New Heights Academy Charter School celebrated the opening of a new 32,000-square-foot wing today. Click here for more. TRD [more]

U.S. lawmakers today expressed anxiety about the future of the
commercial real estate industry. Joint Economic Committee Chairman Rep.
Carolyn Maloney said at a hearing that the “time bomb is ticking” for
commercial real estate. Lending for commercial projects has stalled and
many are concerned that developers will be unable to refinance $400
billion in commercial real estate debt that is coming due this year.
Commercial real estate nationwide is worth about $6.7 trillion and has
about $3.5 trillion worth of debt. [more]

A group of 12 officials wrote to Mayor Michael Bloomberg this week to
urge the city Economic Development Corp. to use the former Bellevue
Psychiatric Hospital to provide nursing and care for seniors, rather
than turn it into a hotel. The officials, including Manhattan Borough
President Scott Stringer and Comptroller William Thompson, are asking
for a meeting with the mayor’s office to express concerns about the
Bellevue development, and to address the shortage of nursing home and
assisted-living housing in the area. “The community’s needs would both
be better served by redeveloping the Bellevue building for medical,
scientific or institutional use, as the zoning requires,” said
Rep. Carolyn Maloney. “The East Side has a wealth of hospitals, but a
serious shortage of nursing home and sub-acute rehab facilities.” In response, David Lombino, a spokesperson for the Economic Development Corp,
said, “Redevelopment of the former Psychiatric Building is necessary to
generate revenue for Bellevue Hospital so it can continue providing
high-quality medical care for the city residents. In addition, our plan
is designed to preserve the deteriorating building without costing
taxpayers. We will be discussing our plan with local elected officials
in the coming weeks.” TRD
[more]