From left: Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David Burney, Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri and the single-occupancy housing style

Antiquated laws for housing types in the city are restricting development of the type of residencies needed most in the city, according to the Citizens Housing and Planning Council. The New York Times reported that last week, the council hosted an exposition where architects presented ideas for new types of housing for lower-income New Yorkers. Developers and city officials were on hand and critiqued the proposals. Many of the designs were based on the concept of single-room-occupancy hotel.

The current problem, according to the new housing advocates, is that even though most homes are designed with families in mind, just 17 percent of city housing units are occupied by parents raising children under the age of 25. [more]

The risks of illegal apartment conversions attracted attention earlier this year after two fires killed five people, prompting the city to step up enforcement of housing regulations. But some experts wonder if enforcement will make any difference to the number of illegal apartments when the apartments play such a big role in meeting housing demand, City Limits reported.

It will never eliminate the underground housing market because alternative housing options are inadequate, Sarah Watson, a senior policy analyst at Citizens Housing and Planning Council, told City Limits.

“There’s no doubt the path forward is difficult politically, but we need to recognize that there’s a mismatch between the types of housing we have and the ways we’re really living today.” [more]

Richard Lefrak’s organization is a possible contender for Stuy Town

Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty were pilloried for aggressively pushing out tenants and running afoul of the city’s J-51 tax abatement rules. But some of the firms that are being mentioned as possible replacements as owners or managers at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village — such as developers LeFrak Organization and Rose Associates, and real estate firm Stonehenge Partners — come with their own skeletons in the closet. The New York City real estate world is bracing for a struggle among titans for management or ownership of the 11,200-unit housing complex on Manhattan’s East Side following the announcement  last month that the owners would cede control. Potential parties must negotiate with special servicer CWCapital Asset Management, the majority of which is owned by Canadian institutional fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The special servicer represents the interests of the bondholders of the securitized loans on Stuyvesant Town. Other firms being bandied about as possible investors or investors are WL Ross & Co., Centerbridge Partners, Related Companies, WinnCompanies and Prudential Douglas Elliman, according to media reports. The thorny city tax abatement program known as J-51 that contributed to the forfeiture of Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village has dogged one of the leading contenders for the site, LeFrak. [more]