Residential construction declines powered a solemn 2010 for New York City construction, that included a 12 percent decline in construction spending and 9,000 fewer industry jobs, according to report released by the New York Building Congress today. Construction spending in the city fell in to $23.7 billion in 2010 from $27.1 billion in 2009 and roughly $31 billion in 2008, and employment hit 111,800, the lowest level since 2004. Most of the job losses have come from building construction jobs and specialty trades, as the heavy construction and engineering sectors gained numbers last year. But the most drastic declines over the last two years have come from residential construction: just 5,400 new units were built last year at a cost of $2.2 billion, down from 34,000 and $6.73 billion, respectively, in 2008. TRD Comments

• Tweet

1873 Second Avenue (source: PropertyShark)

The residents of 1873 Second Avenue won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving in the comfort of their own homes this year.
Less than 48 hours before the Metropolitan Transit Authority was supposed to return displaced residents of this 12-unit rental building back to their apartments, the agency reneged on its promise. Residents will spend another four weeks in temporary housing, paid for by the MTA.

The MTA e-mailed notification of the delay to residents at approximately 6:30 p.m. yesterday (see document after the jump). [more]

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released the terms of its $1 billion West Side rail yards development deal with the Related Companies, which is up for approval by the agency’s board tomorrow and has not yet been signed by the developer (see the full agreement after the jump). According to the Observer, Related doesn’t have to start paying rent on its 99-year lease until the deal closes, which won’t happen until certain market conditions are met. [more]

The inspector general at the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched a probe into how government funds were used in some of the city’s largest transit projects, many of which have fallen years behind schedule and have been plagued by major cost overruns. The projects in question — the Second Avenue Subway, the Fulton Transit Center, the new PATH terminal and the Long Island Rail Road extension to Grand Central Terminal — have received $7 billion in federal funds, which were overseen by the Federal Transit Administration. The investigation, which began March 25 and is expected to last 10 months, will look into whether the FTA muddled its regulatory job and allowed the projects to stray so far from their original plans. The PATH terminal is a Port Authority project; the other three projects are backed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. [Post]

The Related Companies received good and bad news regarding the Far West Side last week. The good: the Metropolitan Transit Authority has granted Stephen Ross and his company another extension on a deadline to sign a contract for developing the 12-million-square-foot West Side rail yards site, which had been set to expire at the end of January. The bad: Goldman Sachs is abandoning the project, leaving the developer without a minority partner. The two events appear to be unrelated; the two-month extension was expected as the company needed more time to complete the documents on a revised financial agreement on the $1 billion, 99-year lease for the site. Related will now have until March 31 to sign the contract and hand over $21.75 million. An additional $21.75 million must then be paid over the course of one year. “Related is and remains the majority partner of the venture. Goldman Sachs has informed us that they will no longer be moving forward as a minority partner,” Related spokesperson Joanna Rose said in a statement. “Related remains fully committed and has the capabilities to execute on this historic development opportunity to create New York’s next great neighborhood.” [NYO]

Mass transit dollars need to keep rolling in to keep real estate development in New York City, and the country, moving, according to industry experts. The correlation between the health of mass transit and the long-term condition of surrounding real estate on a local level as well as nationwide was the focus at this morning’s Baruch College panel, “Transformative Infrastructure: Key Decisions on Transportation.” “Transit is a bellwether for urban decay,” said Christopher Boylan, deputy executive director of community affairs at the Metropolitan Transit Authority, pointing to the parallel improvements in transportation and quality of life in New York City since the 1970s. Much like crime and poverty have improved in the city over the decades, Boylan said that the transit system has shown marked progress. “The fact that you can get on the Lexington line and understand the announcement was a wonder eight or nine years ago,” Boylan said. “It’s not anymore.” [more]