The Land Bank is moving right along with plans to develop 13 & 15 Chambers Street. Their main offices at 15 Chambers are almost done, and now they are seeking a developer to complete 13. Here is the official announcement which can be seen in its entirety on the website:
The Renovation of 13 Chambers Street comprises the second phase of the renovation of 13-15 Chambers Street. The Phase Two project comprises the renovation of the former Brutus Hodge Funeral Home, which is a 4-story wood and masonry apartment building, into renovated apartments over the ground floor commercial apace.
INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
1. BID SUBMISSIONS
Bids shall be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope clearly marked with the name of the Bidder, the name of the project bid upon, and shall be addressed to:
Newburgh Community Land Bank
Attn: Madeline Fletcher, Executive Director
P.O. Box 152 Newburgh, NY 12550Bids shall be delivered to the above address or sent via email
To: mfletcher@newburghcommunitylandbank.org no later than:
12:00 noon, August 13, 2013
2. SECURING DOCUMENTS
Copies of the Bidding Documents may be obtained from:
JEFF WILKINSON, R.A.
178 Main Street.
Beacon, NY 12508
Ph: 845-838-9763Copies of the Bid Documents can be obtained at a cost of $75 per set or upon request by the potential Bidder may be sent free of charge via e-mail. All queries and questions shall be directed to the office of the Architect, Jeff Wilkinson, R.A., 178 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508, Ph: 845-838-9763 Email: jawil@earthlink.net
-Image via Google Maps
Here we go. The next “i’m here to save Newburgh” scam financed by our tax dollars, controlled by a third party, operated by arms-length outsiders, no track record, free properties from the city(I think the city has now given them 30 properties and they haven’t even done one). This is an old script, when are they ever going to rewrite it? Where are all those politicians who campaigned on accountability and transparency?
+1
They’re busy being “visionaries” and promoting austerity measures. What, you don’t think the taxpayer should mow roadside weeds? Don’t you care? And grab a monkey wrench before you leave your house…the sewer line is leaking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dok-FV3YVHw&list=UUV5WAVf4DXJLCSU2yXImM2g
(1:50:00 in)
A million $’s in the red, but don’t worry they’ve been “monitoring” the issue.
A large portion of the financing, as you know, comes from the dollars scammed by the mortgage industry. The LB model is to be self sustaining, and ultimately to right the blight. ‘Outsiders’ sometimes see and do things we cannot. There are at least 5 properties in the process of rehab (eg on Gidney, on Grand, etc). Members of city council are actually showing up in important ways in the community. You’ve gotta watch Newburgh with your third eye…
Michael:
I just knew you wouldn’t be able to resist posting a comment to this! I’m just surprised it took you a whole !% minutes! Let’s raise a glass to the LB….Cheers! Here’s hoping you can break the cycle and actually do what you promised.
Let’s not spin this. All the financing comes from tax dollars. The labeled ‘Bank Settlements’ are a continuation of the white washing of the financial/mortgage crisis. Yes, the Land Banks have advantages. However, the program has essentially expanded the role that the ‘State’ plays in our communities as it relates to housing and in the process is transferring private liabilities to the public at large. Yes, I’m being critical but do not singularize that as pessimism. Until I see a full disclosure of accounting and, hopefully, a relative net gain I will err on the side of caution.
‘Third eyes’ aside, a wakening from ‘eyes wide shut’ is an apt qualifier toward any revitalization.
fyo…
Follow the money trail: 2008 TARP was a tax payer funded $700 bil. bailout of the tbtf players by way of shoring up their balance sheets and transferring their ‘toxic assets’ (i.e. mortgage backed securities) to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. Most of the tax payer funded Recovery Act never made it to the homeowner (also the initial funding source for LBs) and, for the money that does, the banks receive a $ for $ credit for distribution. Since 2006 the “too big to fails” have paid out $ 163 bil. in penalties/fines, yet the recent “settlement” reached in 2013 is just $ 25 bil. of which the states (49) share $2.5 billion. New York state receives approx. $ 108 mil. of which 10% is allotted to the state as a civil penalty and over $60 mil. is to be spent on “housing counselor programs” and legal fees. Of the $ 37 mil. balance, $12.4 mil. was to be distributed to NYS Land Banks, the City of Newburgh receiving $ 2.4 mil.. Further, the July 2014 AG’s amended Land Bank Program has expanded in scale and in scope as it: adds ten additional Land Banks with funding up to $ 33 mil. total, partnered with Enterprise Community Partners for “project support”, provides grantees the ability to use funds to hire full time staff and “leverage” additional resources from both private and public sources to access an additional combined $21 mil. over the next two years for the current eight LBs. This highlight to “leverage” is telling in that the provisions are already written in the statute of added debt through access to the capital markets (i.e.bonds) and the ability to seek inclusion of the school district in its operations. Again, although the local and state municipalities are not liable per se should the Land Bank default on its debt obligations, there is nothing stopping tptb of providing another taxpayer ‘bailout’ should it occur and a potential haircut to bond holders (Pension/Retirement Funds etc.). As well, let’s not forget the preferred tax treatment attached to Land Bank property that remains until the property is sold to a private party. I’ll add, some states have moved to include ‘brown fields’ in their LBs’ portfolios.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/national-mortgage-settlement-summary.aspx#NY
http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/statement-ag-schneiderman-signing-legislation-authorizing-10-new-land-banks
Let me count the ways: PODER, NCAC, PKE, NDA, UR and at least two others(that escape my memory and existed pre-mass internet) did the exact same thing while I’ve been here. History is important here. Why no sense of caution? Why not some more wait and see? Who are these people? No one knows. At this point it looks like a power play for property- a taxpayer-funded speculator group. If it’s going to use taxpayer money- and stop taxes from being accrued putting them on the shoulders of the rest of us- it should be administered out of City Hall. We already have a budget for an entire department that’s tasked with the same exact thing. We have a new City Manager who has a lot of experience in this area. But again, the greatest fail is its unsustainable micro size and its ignorance of its role regionally. That’s why I’m excited about the Columbia students’ work coming this fall. Few, if any, of all those expensive dusty studies sitting on our archived shelves dealt with our role regionally- yet it is one of biggest advantages. Patterns for Progress was delving into this issue aggressively a few years ago. It’s a crucial component that seems to completely ignored by the LB.