No one has to be told that its expensive to live in New York City.  Its even more so when you’re on a fixed income like many retired New Yorkers.  If you’ve worked all your life, and are now over the age of 65, there are benefits that you are entitled to that you may not know about.

New York City’s Department of Aging has put together a wonderful tool called “QuickCheck” that will help you find out about those benefits.   There are three great things about this service, its free, its easily accessed online, and its completely anonymous.

So, if you’ve ever wondered if you qualify for any of the many programs out there for seniors such as EPIC (which allows you to save money on many medications), SCRIE (which provides rent increase exemptions for seniors), or the New York City School Tax Credit (which you can get even if you’re retired) then take a look at QuickCheck.

Will the Barclays Center draw thousands of fans who will take public transportation to the venue and walk around the area spending their dollars and bring economic plenty, or will drivers clog the area zooming in and then zooming out without contributing anything except air and noise pollution? The proposed reduction of sidewalk widths surrounding the mega complex suggests the latter. Interesting post…

If you are thinking about moving into a specific neighborhood in Brooklyn (or in any of the 5 boroughs) and would like to find out more about it, the My Neighborhood Statistics page gives you a ton of statistical information you might find useful in making a decision.

You can search for information by inputting a specific address or an intersection, and you’ll get information about crime in the area, school overcrowding, sidewalk cleanliness, noise complaints and so much more.

It’s a great tool for current city residents to find out more about their hometown or for anyone thinking of moving into any of the many different nabes in New York City.

“Really?”, you may be saying to yourself, and of course the next logical question (if you don’t already know the answer) is “What is BID?”

What is a BID?

In New York City the acronym “BID” stands for a Business Improvement District.  A Business Improvement District is an organization created by the The New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) that is made up of local property owners and commercial tenants who are dedicated to promoting business development and improving the quality of life in the area the BID serves.

The BID provides additional street cleaning, security and various beautification projects such as new signature for local business funded by an assessment paid by the property owners and business in Bid area.

What Can You Learn From A BID

Since one of the main goals of a BID is to help local business improve their sales, BID websites are chocked full of information about the businesses in the area they serve as well as any special events that will be taking place there.

So, if you thinking about moving to my favorite Brooklyn neighborhoods of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, or Bedford Stuyvesant, check out these BIDS:

The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (MARP) – Which covers the section of Myrtle Avenue that runs through Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

The Fulton Area Business Alliance (FAB) – Which covers Fulton Street as it runs through Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

Bed-Stuy Gateway – Covers a broad section of the neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant.

For information about other BIDs in Brooklyn or in any of the five boroughs of New York City, go to The NYC Department of Small Business Services website.

The article also states that “median sales price in Brooklyn reached $475,000 in the first quarter, up 1.9% from the same time a year ago.”

If you are thinking about putting your property on the market, numbers like those mentioned show that now is a great time. Sales are up and prices are recovering.

If you want to take advantage of the uptick is sales that always occur in spring and summer, give me a call now at the number below or email me and I’ll help you get your property sold quickly and for the best possible price.

© 2010 Elaine Cooper. Unless otherwise noted all the content, both written and in pictures, found on this blog is the property of Elaine Cooper. If you would like to use this image, please Contact Me with your request.

It requires indoor, secure bicycle parking in all new developments.  The new regulation applies to multi-family residential buildings (such as condos and coops), community facilities (such as strip malls & shopping centers), and commercial buildings (such as office building), including public parking garages.

This is a fantastic step towards decreasing the greenhouse gases being released into the air here in Brooklyn, as well as the rest of the city. By having secure places for cyclists to place their bicycles both at home and at their place of employment, more people will use cycling as a means of transportation.  Great for the environment and great exercise.

Kudos to the City Council

The BID will run along Fulton Street from Rockwell Place all the way to Classon Avenue which passes through both Ft Greene and Clinton Hill. Business that are located in the BID will be required to pay a fee. The fee covers extra security, street cleaning and holiday decorations as well as marketing efforts and other items to improve the area.

Opponents of the BID, particulary in the Clinton Hill end of the mile long stretch the BID covers, are worried that the cost will cause their already failing business to totally collapse.

To see the benefits of a BID, you just have to walk a few blocks over to Myrtle Avenue. When I first moved into the area, Myrtle was not a very inviting place to shop, and I would typically either go to Downtown Brooklyn, or Manhattan to buy what I need. Now, Myrtle Avenue is well lit and cleaner with many new shops and restaurants.  I can now say I shop on Myrtle Avenue weekly.

The Myrtle Avenue BID helps merchants get new signage and provides other benefits that, from my consumers point of view, has only helped to make Myrtle Avenue more vibrant, which in turn must have helped merchants make more money.

Time will tell whether or not a Fulton Street Bid will help do the same for the ailing portions of Fulton Street that the Myrtle Avenue BID has done along Myrtle Avenue.

Eight High Schools in New York City made the list, one right here in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene Brooklyn ranked #67. The other New York City Public High Schools that made the top 100 are as follows:

#23 – Stuyvesant High School – New York, NY 10282
#29 – High School of American Studies at Lehman College – Bronx, NY 10468
#31 – Dual Language and Asian Studies High School – New York, NY 10002
#32 – Staten Island Technical High School – Staten Island, NY 10306
#33 – Bronx High School of Science – Bronx, NY 10468
#48 – Queens High School of Science of York College – Jamaica, NY 11451
#67 – Brooklyn Technical High School – Brooklyn, NY 11217
#71 – Townsend Harris High School – Flushing, NY 11367

The inclusion of so many New York City Schools on this list, 8 out 27,000 schools nation wide, is a big accomplishment and shows that the city’s public school system, though not perfect, does have some bright spots.

The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) is responsible for the enforcement of the rent regulation laws, and can reduce rents and/or penalize owners that break them.

Rent Control

The older of the two rent regulation laws, rent control generally applies to buildings constructed before 1947.  It limits the amount an owner can charge tenants for rent, restricts their ability to
evict tenants, and ensures that they provide their tenants with essential services.

A maximum base rent (MBR) is established for each rent controlled apartment and if the landlord provides essential services and has no violations, every two years the rent can be adjusted up to 7.5 percent to reflect changes in operating costs.   Tenants can challenge the rent adjustments if they are not receiving the services they are entitled to.

With DHCR approval, rents can also be increased because of increased fuel costs, owner hardship, if the owner increases services or equipment, makes capital improvements to the entire building, or makes improvements to an apartment.

Rent Stabilization

Generally, rent stabilization covers buildings built after 1947 and before 1974, and apartments removed from rent control.  There are approximately one million rent stabilized apartments in New York City.

Rent stabilization also limits the amount an owner can charge tenants for rent, restricts their ability to evict tenants, and ensures that they provide their tenants with essential services.  Once a year the Rent Guidelines Board sets rates for rent increases in stabilized apartments.

Like rent control, rents for a rent stabilized apartmnet may be reduced if the owner fails to provide required services.

So, as you can see, there are not a lot of differences between rent control and rent stabilization.  For even more information about rent control and rent stabilization, go to DHCR Factsheets.