The Daily Dirt: What’s next for housing court?

An analysis of New York's top real estate news

(Getty)
(Getty)

Last night Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order allowing the commencement of residential evictions.

For now, that probably doesn’t make much of a difference, since the courts have paused all eviction orders until further notice. Still, some landlords may opt to get the process going as soon as the court changes course.

“Given this new update, there is no longer a reason to wait until August 20th before starting residential proceeding based on non-payment of rent or other reasons,” attorney Stuart Saft said in an email. The court will decide whether to issue a judgement of eviction or determine that a tenant was financially impacted by Covid-19. The governor signed a bill last month that basically provided a road map for landlords and tenants once housing court starts seeing eviction cases. The bill extended eviction protections for those financially impacted by Covid-19, but allowed landlords to receive money judgements.

The court is reportedly expected to issue further guidance soon, so we’ll see.

Meanwhile, New York state Sen. Zellnor Myrie is seeking to bar all eviction and foreclosure filings for commercial and residential tenants until a year after any part of Cuomo’s statewide disaster emergency is still in place, Georgia Kromrei reports. Unlike other measures, including the bill recently signed by Cuomo, tenants would not need to prove financial hardship to receive protection eviction.

Meanwhile, the city has postponed its tax lien sale until September.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced that the city’s lien sale on overdue property taxes, as well as water and sewer bills, will be held in September. The sale was originally slated for May 15 and was rescheduled for August as the coronavirus crisis took hold.

The announcement comes the same day that the mayor signed into law a bill that provides property tax relief to some owners. Property owners criticized the measure for not going far enough, and the month-long delay in the city’s tax lien sale isn’t likely to satisfy calls for additional relief.

What we’re thinking about: Who is Analina Smeraldi? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

CLOSING TIME

Residential: The priciest residential closing recorded Monday was for a condo unit at 275 West 10th Street in the West Village, Manhattan, at $19 million.

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Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was for a building at 5701 Foster Avenue in Brooklyn, at $7.2 million.

BREAKING GROUND

The largest new building filing of the day was for a 109,270-square-foot, seven-story building at 5278 Post Road in the Bronx. Jay Martino of Stagg Group filed the permit application.

NEW TO THE MARKET

The priciest residential listing to hit the market was for a condo at 555 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at $22.5 million. Compass has the listing. — Research by Orion Jones

A thing we’ve learned…

Jules Kroll, founder of Kroll Bond Rating Agency and K2 Intelligence, is from Bayside. According to the New Yorker, he’s credited with creating the corporate investigations industry, beginning with the launch of his firm, initially known as J. Kroll Associates and then Kroll, Inc. He’s also apparently comedian Nick Kroll’s dad. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Elsewhere in New York

— City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has a rough road ahead of him if he vies for Gracie Mansion, Politico New York reports. The city’s 2021 budget hurt his chances with progressives, but Johnson said his plans to run for mayor haven’t changed. “I’m still considering running for mayor, yes. It has not been my focus, to be honest, since the beginning of March when the pandemic hit,” he said.

— St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx has 250,000 bees on its roof, the New York Post reports. Don’t worry, it is on purpose. The Belmont hospital built a hive as part of a rooftop garden and plans to net 150 pounds of honey in its first harvest.

— Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to expand broadband internet access to another 600,000 New Yorkers, Gothamist reports. The expansion is part of the mayor’s “Internet Master Plan,” and will invest $157 million — including $87 million from the NYPD’s budget — toward extending internet service to residents, including 200,000 who live in public housing.