Monday, April 17, 2023

YIMBY’s 2023 Q1 Report Tallies 9,138 Residential And Hotel Units Filed From January Through March In New York City

 


As New York City abounds with fresh spring blooms, New York YIMBY has fresh numbers reflecting the permit filing activity that took place in the first quarter of 2023. In the period spanning from January through March, the Department of Buildings registered permits for 840 new buildings (surpassing last year’s quarterly average of 806), combining for a total of 13.4 million square feet. Of these, 668 building will be allocated for residential and hotel use, and will contribute a total of 9,138 units to the city. The full quarterly report, summarized below in a series of custom charts and analyses, is available with a subscription to YIMBY’s Building Wire.

Number of permit filings per month

Number of new construction permits filed per month in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Number of new construction permits filed per month in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

As last year’s annual report showed, monthly filing figures for new buildings, averaging 269 per month, have generally remained stable throughout the year; however, a slight dip in the second half of the year, especially in its last quarter, gave us cause for concern that the downward trend would continue into 2023. Fortunately, this year’s first quarter boasted a strong three-month showing with a monthly average of 280 permits, considerably surpassing last year’s average of 269 and leaving in the dust the 2021 monthly average of 168.

January registered a total of 267 filings, surpassing December’s total of 188 by a whopping 42 percent and eclipsing last year’s respective January figure of 259 filings. The 247 filings in February reflect a slight drop, yet filing activity surged well ahead in March with a total of 327 filings. Last year, only one month had a better showing (also March, with 336 filings), and none of the monthly tallies came even close in 2021, when the highest tally registered in December with 219 filings.

601 West 29th Street (right) and the Hudson Yards skyline. Photo by Michael Young


Number of permit filings by borough

Number of new construction permits filed per borough in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Number of new construction permits filed per borough in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

When sorted by borough, the general trend for new building permit filings in the first quarter of 2023 very closely follows that from the previous quarter and more or less resembles our observations from other prior quarters.

Just as in Q4 2022, Queens lead the pack with 284 filings, a 26 percent increase above last quarter. Brooklyn followed closely with 251 filings, a 17 percent increase during the three-month period. Staten Island showed a similar rate of increase, where the 194 filings in Q1 represent a 19 percent bump up from the prior period.

The tally for the Bronx remained steady, dropping by a single filing from the previous quarter to a Q1 total of 94. Manhattan displayed the most significant decrease, where the Q1 2023 total of 17 reflects a nearly 58 percent drop from the previous quarterly total of 40.

One Madison Avenue (center). Photo by Michael Young

Residential and hotel units filed per borough

Number of residential and hotel units in new construction permits filed per borough in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Number of residential and hotel units in new construction permits filed per borough in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

While the total number of filings in the first quarter of 2023 (840) significantly surpasses that of the previous quarter (738), the total number of residential and hotel units within the filings decreased by over 3,000, dropping from 13,030 in Q4 2022 down to 9,862 in Q1 2023.

Concurrently, the trend line also shifted dramatically, with some boroughs displaying much more significant number shifts than others. The total for the Bronx dropped by one-sixth, from 3,018 in Q4 2022 down to 2,483 in Q1 2023, lowering from second to third place among the boroughs. By contrast, Brooklyn, which nearly matched the Bronx in the last quarter, edged ahead to second place by rising from 2,991 units in Q4 2022 to 3,118 in Q1 2023.

Reflecting its dramatic drop in total filings, Manhattan displayed the most significant decrease in filing unit count, plummeting nearly five-fold from a total of 2,351 units in Q4 2022 down to just 541 units in Q1 2023. In turn, Queens still leads the boroughs with a total of 3,487 units, albeit still dropping 27 percent from the previous quarter’s total of 4,777 units.

Low-density, remotely situated Staten Island remains in last place, though its 15 percent decrease from 275 units in Q4 2022 to 233 units in Q1 2023 is not the city’s most severe.

The filing with the highest unit count is found in Queens, where the 69-story, 824-unit tower proposed at 42-06 Orchard Street in Long Island City is poised to become the borough’s tallest. In Brooklyn, the highest unit count registers at 589 Fulton Street (Downtown Brooklyn, 591 units); in the Bronx, at 1959 Jerome Avenue (Morris Heights, 333 units); and in Manhattan, at 110 East 16th Street (Union Square, 150 units).

While Staten Island typically registers only a handful of multi-unit (three and more units) apartment building filings per quarter, not a single filing tallied over two units in Q1 2023.

1841 Broadway. Photo by Michael Young


Permits listed by unit count per filing

New residential and hotel construction permits filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023 grouped by unit count per filling. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

New residential and hotel construction permits filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023 grouped by unit count per filling. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

The previous analyses revealed that between the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, the total number of building filings rose considerably while the total unit count also dropped by a non-negligible quantity. As such, we may extrapolate that the average filing dropped in its total unit count during the period, with the city displaying more smaller filings rather than fewer large ones.

An analysis of permits listed by unit count per filing not only confirms this theory, but also reveals that while the total number of small-building filings indeed increased, the 3,000-plus-unit count drop may be explained by a significant drop in large-building filings.

Between the two quarters, the number of single-family filings surged from 106 to 171, and two-family filings from 167 to 231. The number of small apartment building filings remained largely constant, with three- to nine-unit filings lowering from 124 to 121 and ten- to 49-unit filings increasing from 94 to 106.

The totals for large apartment buildings show more significant decreases. During the three-month period, the number of 50- to 99-unit filings decreased from 27 to 20; 100- to 499-unit filings fell from 34 to 17 (likely accounting for the majority of the total unit count decrease); and filings in the 500- to 999-unit range have dipped from three to two.

405 Park Avenue Photo by Michael Young

Permits listed by average unit count per filing

Average unit count (residential and hotel) per new construction permit per borough filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Average unit count (residential and hotel) per new construction permit per borough filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

In the previous analysis we observed that between the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, residential and hotel filings have averaged smaller unit counts. In the following analysis, we look at how these decreases have affected each of the five boroughs individually. Although the general trend line has remained consistent, relative decreases between the boroughs vary significantly.

The greatest decrease in the average unit count per residential filing took place in Manhattan. Although the borough still boasts by far the largest average filing size, between the two quarters the average filing unit count nearly halved, dropping from 91 down to 53. The Bronx still claims the second-largest average filings, though its average filing unit count dropped by roughly a quarter, from 43 to 31. Queens is also still in third place, though just barely, as its average filing unit count nearly halved from 28 to 16.

By contrast, average filing unit counts remained rather consistent in the two trailing boroughs. Between the two quarters, the average number of units per filing in Brooklyn dipped from 17 to 15 and remained virtually the same in predominantly single- and two-family Staten Island, sliding from 1.6 units per average residential filing in Q4 2022 to 1.5 units in Q1 2023.

Photo by Michael Young

Permit filings by floor count category

New construction permits filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023 grouped by floor count. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

In the analyses outlined above, we observed two salient trends: First, between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, the total number of filings grew, particularly in the residential category. Second, the average unit count per filing shrank as the result of more filings for smaller residential buildings and fewer for especially large multi-unit behemoths.

Given the reduction in average unit numbers, we would naturally also expect lower average floor counts; however, this data somewhat outperforms expectations. While the number of low-rise filings indeed increased notably, the number of mid- and high-rise filings remained stable, or even grew in some categories.

This discovery suggests that on average, tall buildings proposed in Q1 2023, particularly of the residential variety, have become slimmer, as the rather significant decreases in large multi-unit buildings does not correlate with relatively consistent floor counts.

Between the two quarters, the average floor count per filing dropped by half a story, from 4.1 floors in Q4 2022 to 3.6 floors in Q1 2022. This trend is generally attributable to a surge in low-rise filings, which rose from 115 to 132 filings for single-story buildings; from 165 to 222 for two-story filings; from 165 to 206 for three-story filings; and from 111 to 126 for four-story filings. With a notable increase in every floor count category, the total share of low-rise buildings rising four floors or below increased from 75 percent of the total in Q4 2022 to 82 percent of the total in Q1 2023.

For the most part, the changes in the taller building categories did not display any precipitous drops. From Q4 2022 to Q1 2023, the total number of filings in the five- to six-story category dipped from 71 to 65; the number of seven- to nine-story filings decreased from 69 to 64; and the number of 20- to 29-story filings slid from seven to five.

The only notable drop was observed for high-rise filings with ten to 19 floors, which lowered by around a third from 31 filings to 18. This decrease somewhat closely correlates with the 50 percent drop in filings for buildings in the 100- to 499-unit range during the period.

On the other hand, the number of building filings with the highest floor counts actually increased between the two quarters. While both quarters tally three filings with 30 or more stories, Q4 2022 had no filings over 39 floors, while Q1 2023 included one filing in the 60-story range and another in the 50-story category.

The filing with the highest floor count may be found in the booming Court Square section of Long Island City, Queens. Located one-and-a-quarter miles east of Midtown across the East River, the 69-story skyscraper at 42-06 Orchard Street is poised to become the tallest in the borough.

Of the ten filings with the highest floor counts, four are situated in Manhattan, while Brooklyn and Queens each have three. After the Orchard Street tower, the entries rank as follows: 589 Fulton Street (Downtown Brooklyn, 52 stories); 413 Ninth Avenue (Hudson Yards, Manhattan, 34 stories); 4 East 49th Street (Midtown, Manhattan, 29 stories); 126 East 57th Street (Midtown East, Manhattan, 28 stories); 147-35 95th Avenue (Jamaica, Queens, 24 stories); 110 East 16th Street (Union Square, Manhattan, 22 stories); 370 Livingston Street (Downtown Brooklyn, 22 stories); 60 Cedar Street (Bushwick, Brooklyn, 19 stories), and 45-15 Davis Street (Court Square/Long Island City, Queens, 17 stories).

The tallest filing in the Bronx (1959 Jerome Avenue, Morris Heights) ranks at 12th place with 15 stories. Staten Island expectedly lags in the skyline department, with its tallest filing being a seven-story building proposed at 400 Lake Avenue in Mariners Harbor.

Photo by Michael Young

Average number of floors per filing per borough

Average number of floors per new construction permit per borough filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Average number of floors per new construction permit per borough filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

As noted above, despite a notable decrease in average unit counts per filing and a significant increase in low-rise filings, the number of mid- and high-rise filings remained largely consistent between the latest quarter and the preceding one, with a smaller-than-expected drop within the category. And while the average floor count per filing did dip from 4.1 in Q4 2022 to 3.6 in Q1 2023 (and saw a more gradual decline from last year’s quarterly average of 3.8), average filing floor counts per borough also remained rather consistent between the two quarters, and even showed some minor increases.

The overall trend line remained very similar between the two quarters, with Manhattan far ahead in first place; the Bronx and Brooklyn trailing well behind in second and third place, respectively; Queens in fourth, and Staten Island rounding off the ranking.

Still, even the most significant decrease between the two quarters, observed in the Bronx, is relatively minor, as its average filing floor count dropped from 5.1 to 4.7, or less than half a floor. The total for Queens dipped by a similar degree, lowering from 3.6 to 3 floors per average filing.

In turn, the three remaining boroughs saw increases. The average count per filing in Manhattan rose from 11 to 11.8 floors, from 4.2 to 4.4 floors in Brooklyn, and from 2.3 to 2.4 floors in Staten Island.

Photo by Michael Young

Total floor area filed by borough

Combined floor area of new construction permits filed per borough in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Combined floor area of new construction permits filed per borough in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

In earlier analyses we extrapolated that since mid- and high-rise filings have maintained generally consistent floor counts yet notably decreased in total unit counts, the buildings in these categories must have become more slender, packing many fewer units per typical floor. A breakdown by floor area reinforces this notion, as the total floor area of 13.4 million square feet filed for in Q1 2023 is a far cry from the 20.3 million figure from the prior quarter, again indicating a decrease in building bulk (the significant increase in single- and two-family filings during this period had only a minor effect on the total square footage, given the small size of the buildings in the respective groups).

Between 2021 and 2022, Queens was the greatest gainer in terms of total filed-for floor area, nearly doubling as it rose from 11.7 million square feet in 2021 to 19.4 million square feet in 2022. The rest of the boroughs displayed lesser fluctuations, with the Bronx rising from 7.3 to 9.7 MSF, Brooklyn increasing from 20.5 to 23.8 MSF, Manhattan dipping from 11.9 MSF to 10.1 MSF, and Staten Island rising from 2 to 3.3 million square feet.

As in the prior quarter, Queens boasted the highest volume of filed-for square footage, although its total has dropped from 6.2 million square feet in Q4 2022 down to 4.8 million square feet in Q1 2023. Brooklyn, still in second place, lowered from 5.5 MSF to 4.3 MSF. Manhattan dropped from third to fourth place, with a threefold reduction from 4.7 down to a paltry 1.5 MSF. This reduction has elevated the Bronx to third place, even as the borough reduced its total by one-third, from 3.2 to 2.1 MSF.

Only Staten Island noted an increase, rising from around 662,000 filed-for square feet in Q4 2022 to nearly 689,000 square feet in Q1 2023.

Photo by Michael Young

Average floor area per permit filing by borough

Average floor area per new construction permit per borough filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Average floor area per new construction permit per borough filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

Just as the total floor area filed for per borough dropped significantly between the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, so did the respective average filing square footages per borough.

By far the largest average filing sizes are still found in Manhattan, although between the two quarters, the average square footage decreased from 117,700 to 81,000. The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens still maintain square footages similar to one another, albeit sliding from 33,600 to 22,200, from 25,800 to 17,200, and from 27,700 to 16,900 square feet, respectively. Staten Island remains in last place with the smallest average filing square footages, dropping from an average of 4,000 square feet per filing in Q4 2022 to 3,600 square feet in Q1 2023.

The largest filing by square footage in Queens is found at 42-06 Orchard Street in Long Island City (801,916 square feet), which also has the highest floor count (69) and unit count (824) in the tally and is slated to become the tallest building in the borough.

The largest filing in Brooklyn is located at 589 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn (597,824 square feet); in the Bronx at 1959 Jerome Avenue in Morris Heights (285,216 square feet); in Manhattan at 413 Ninth Avenue in Hudson Yards (283,551 square feet); and in Staten Island at 400 Lake Avenue in Mariners Harbor (51,134 square feet). These four filings also boast their respective boroughs’ highest floor and unit counts for the quarter, except for the Staten island entry, which does not include any residential space.

15 West 96th Street. Photo by Michael Young

Permits listed by floor area per filing

New construction permits filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023 grouped by total floor area. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

New construction permits filed in New York City in Q1 (January through March) 2023 grouped by total floor area. Data source: the Department of Buildings. Data aggregation and graphics credit: Vitali Ogorodnikov

In the section that tallied quarterly permit filings into categories by average residential and hotel unit counts, we observed that much of the quarter’s drop in total unit counts from the previous quarter may be attributed to a notable decrease in particularly large apartment buildings. A similar trend may be observed when building filings are grouped by square footage, where a minor decrease in large-floor-area filings is responsible for the majority of the overall square footage drop for the quarter.

The first quarter of 2023 tallied a total of 461 filings for buildings under 5,000 square feet, which generally cover garages, single- and two-family residences, and small apartment buildings; the number is only somewhat greater than the previous quarter’s corresponding tally of 399.

The two mid-size categories, representing medium-sized commercial and apartment buildings among other typologies, saw some of the greatest increases between the two quarters. The category for filings ranging between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet surged from 125 to 183 filings; the count in next category, with filings spanning from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet, rose from 126 to 137 during the period.

The filing counts drop more precipitously in the following categories, which represent the largest proposed buildings. Although the total filing counts are small in comparison to the preceding groups, the large square footages of individual filings, greater by more than a factor of ten than those in most of the preceding categories, have an outsized impact on the overall square footage.

Between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, the number of filings for buildings spanning 50,000 to 100,000 square feet slipped from 37 to 29. The filing count for buildings measuring 100,000 to 500,000 square feet nearly halved from 45 to 26. The decline in this category, representing millions of square feet, is the most significant factor in the decrease of the filed-for floor area between the two quarters, from 20 to 13 million square feet.

Furthermore, the reduction among filings for buildings between 500,000 and 1 million square feet from four to two, and an absence of million-plus square-footers (one such building was filed for in the previous quarter) accounts for a further reduction of around 2 million square feet.

Of the quarter’s top five filings with the largest floor area, three are situated in Queens. At number one and two are the aforementioned 42-06 Orchard Street in Long Island City, Queens (801,916 square feet) and 589 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn (597,824 square feet), respectively.

At numbers three and four are 174-35 95th Avenue and 94-15 Suthpin Boulevard, two proposals in Jamaica, Queens, rising 24 and 13 floors and spanning 488,280 and 302,840 square feet, respectively. Both are part of a rapidly developing high-rise hub adjacent to Jamaica Station on the Long Island Rail Road, the fourth-busiest rail station in North America.

Rounding off the top five is 1959 Jerome Avenue in Morris Heights in the Bronx, a development that will span 285,216 square feet.

Photo by Michael Young

In summary, the first quarter of 2023 saw filings for 840 buildings (668 residential and hotel), totaling 13.4 million square feet and 9,862 residential and hotel units. The average filing stands 3.6 stories tall and holds 15,898 square feet. For comparison, the fourth quarter of 2022 tallied 738 building filings (554 residential and hotel) with 20.3 million square feet with 13,030 residential and hotel units, with an average of 4.1 stories and 27,562 square feet per filing.

In other words, between the two quarters, the building filings became more numerous, although the increase generally took place among the smaller-scaled building categories. A notable reduction among buildings in the largest floor area and unit count categories is responsible for much of the drop in the total square footage and unit counts between the quarters. In the meantime, an increase in low-rise filings, as well as a drop in high-rise filings (ten stories and taller) from 41 to 26, reduced the average floor count.

While the numbers for total filings, floor area, and floor and unit counts fluctuated between the year’s first quarter and the preceding one, the fact remains that New York City is continuing its trajectory of growth by adding hundreds of new buildings, thousands of residential and hotel units, and millions of square feet of floor space onto its drawing boards every month. The 26 high-rise buildings proposed since the start of the year alone would constitute a minor skyline, which, crowned by towers reaching almost up to 70 stories, would be the envy of most mid-sized cities in the United States and beyond.

However, the pertinent question is whether the volume of building filings submitted to the Department of Buildings is enough to respond to the city’s current issues, such as its acute housing shortage. Judging by metrics such as record-setting rents, as well as a high residential demand and low supply that together preclude any chance of housing cost reduction in the foreseeable future, the answer is a resounding “no,” and the primary culprits are a lack of infrastructure improvements, as well as draconian, debilitating zoning restrictions that effectively forbid builders from supplying the housing that the city so desperately needs.

In regard to zoning, the greatest hurdle is the city’s absurdly low floor-to-area (FAR) limits. By the start of the twentieth century, it became clear to planners and ordinary citizens alike that unchecked development ran the risk of overwhelming the city with density, whether in the form of overcrowded, suffocating tenements or back-to-back gargantuan office towers. The original response was the Zoning Code of 1916, which not only segregated city zones by use, but also dictated setback regulations that eventually created the city’s famed Art Deco skyscraper silhouettes.

By the postwar period, the global planning community embraced ideals that were seemingly innovative at the time, but ended up backfiring and causing decades of communal damage that lingers to this day. Not only were cars and auto-centric environments such as the suburbs seen as the way of the future, but the very idea of density, today considered a cornerstone of vibrant urbanity, was considered outre, regressive, and downright dangerous.

New York City’s zoning ordinance of 1961 imposed floor-to-area ratio limits, which regulated the bulk of a building based on the ratio between its lot size and total floor area. This effectively put a cap on density, as it significantly downzoned vast portions of the city and ensured that the majority of its area cannot be developed as anything but single- and two-family households, even in transit-accessible areas. Even today, one study estimated that around 90 percent of Brooklyn properties within 0.6 miles of subway stops languish under an FAR of 2.5 or below, which is even less than that of a typical brownstone (with an FAR of 3.0).

As the result of these caps, the city is unable to keep up with an ever-growing demand for new housing, creating a relentless cycle of pricing increases that has resulted in record-setting rents and an acute housing crisis. Understandably, the crisis disproportionately affects the city’s most vulnerable communities, the working class and minority groups.

Thankfully, change finally appears to be on the horizon. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is in the midst of a legislative drive to overhaul the state’s zoning regulations to encourage the construction of up to 800,000 hew housing units over the next decade by relaxing Albany-mandated state FAR caps, ease parking requirements, and effectively mandate upzoning of transit-adjacent areas; part of the reasoning behind the latter is that communities that benefit most from this state-subsidized service ought to do more to support new residents and retail, a.k.a. tax base, to support said services.

New York Mayor Eric Adams and a large number of community organizations and legislators are behind the proposal. Unsurprisingly, however, the measures are strongly opposed by Not-In-My-Back-Yard types of all varieties, ranging from auto-centric lifestyle supporters to wealthy property owners interested in maintaining high housing prices, to those unacquainted with community-encompassing benefits of zoning change.

Of course, a proper revision of the zoning code is far from a simple task, and in addition to any new housing, will require commesurate improvements to infrastructure, schools, healthcare, public space, and more. Ultimately, however, a much-needed revision to outdated state and local zoning laws will benefit our state’s residents on all levels.

606 West 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young

27-01 Jackson Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

Gotham Point. Photo by Michael Young

Claremont Hall. Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

413-421 Ninth Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

665 Fifth Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

Photo by Michael Young

MAYOR ADAMS COMMITS TO REDUCING CITY’S FOOD-BASED EMISSIONS BY 33 PERCENT BY 2030 AFTER RELEASING NEW GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INVENTORY INCORPORATING EMISSIONS FROM FOOD

 

New Inventory Shows That Buildings, Transportation, and Food Represent New York City’s Top Three Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

City Also Launches Corporate Challenge to Reduce Private Sector Food Emissions by 25 Percent

New York City Mayor  Eric Adams and Chief Climate Officer and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala today released the city's first integrated greenhouse gas inventory, which incorporates emissions from the production and consumption of food. Those emissions represent 20 percent of New York City's overall emissions — the third largest source, behind buildings (34 percent) and transportation (22 percent). The inventory — developed by the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) — includes emissions involved in the production of goods and services New Yorkers consume, whether or not that production occurs in New York City. In response to the new inventory, Mayor Adams and Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP) Executive Director Kate MacKenzie also announced that the city will reduce absolute carbon emissions from food purchases across its city agencies by 33 percent by 2030.

“New York City is leading the world when it comes to combating climate change, because we’re using every option on the menu in our fight — and that includes changing our menus, too,” said Mayor Adams. “This new emissions report shows us that plant-powered food isn’t just good for our physical and mental health, but good for the planet as well. We’ve already made great strides in reducing our food emissions by leading with plant-based meals in our public hospitals and introducing Plant-Powered Fridays in our public schools. Now, we know we need to go further. That’s why today, we’re committing to reducing the city’s food-based emissions at agencies by 33 percent by 2030 and challenging our private sector partners to join us by cutting their food emissions by 25 percent in the same time period. The way we eat impacts everything, and now we’re going to do more to impact everything for the better.”

NYC GHG 1

NYC GHG 2

“NYC Health + Hospitals is on track to serve more than three-quarters of a million plant-based meals over this calendar year. This offers alignment with the city’s strategy around Lifestyle Medicine, but also has significant implications for planetary health as well, with food being the third largest contributor to climate emissions across the city,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “Today’s announcement demonstrates the thoughtful and integrated approach the city is taking to bring healthy food to every person that might eat a meal as a patient in one of our public hospitals and how we are working to preserve and defend the environment for every New Yorker.”

“I am delighted that C40 and American Express have given us a new lens into greenhouse gas emissions,” said Chief Climate Officer and DEP Commissioner Aggarwala. “We have long known about buildings and transportation's role in emissions, and this integrated inventory gives us clearer knowledge of food's role, and the full scope of actions the government can take.”

“The relationship between what we eat and its effect on climate change and the environment is known,” said MOCEJ Executive Director Kizzy Charles-Guzman. “With transparency and bold policy to reduce food-related emissions, New York is helping its residents, and the world, understand the power that behavior change can have in achieving our climate goals.”

“In working to combat the climate crisis we’ve faced, for too long, we’ve looked only to the cars we drive and the buildings in which we live, with too little attention paid to what’s right in front of us: The food on our plates,” said MOFP Executive Director MacKenzie. “Thank you, Mayor Adams, for your leadership on these initiatives that ask of ourselves, as city agencies, accountability in carbon emission reductions, through the food we purchase, and encourages corporate cooperation to take on this challenge as well, so we can work together to effect meaningful change by 2030.”

New York City has measured citywide emissions since 2005, but this is the first time the city has included emissions from household consumption. These emissions were modeled by EcoDataLab as part of an ongoing project coordinated by C40 that is working with cities to identify urban consumption indicators for data-driven climate action and measurement. The new inventory shows that 20 percent of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions come from household food consumption — primarily from meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products. This means New Yorkers can significantly reduce the city’s emissions by eating more low-carbon food, including fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. The integrated inventory can be found on the MOCEJ website.

This new emissions inventory furthers New York City’s continued commitment to measuring its emissions and innovating to reduce its contribution to climate change, including through the food it buys. In particular, New York City’s public hospitals and schools are leading the way. By serving plant-based meals as the default option and enhancing patients’ food experience, NYC Health + Hospitals is on track to serve 850,000 plant-based meals this year — reducing its food-based carbon emissions by 36 percent as of February 2023 while reducing the public health burden of diet-related disease. The city also introduced Plant-Powered Fridays in its public schools last year, emphasizing the central role that healthy, low-carbon options must have on individuals’ plates and inspiring future generations to lead the charge in creating a more just and sustainable food system.

 

In addition to committing to reducing the city’s carbon emissions from food purchases from city agencies by 33 percent by 2030, Mayor Adams today launched the Plant-Powered Carbon Challenge, urging private, institutional, and nonprofit sector leaders to reduce their food-based emissions by 25 percent by 2030. MOFP — in partnership with the companies Coolfood and Greener by Default — will support participants in measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of their existing procurement practices. These commitments will be formalized in Mayor Adams’ strategic climate plan to be released later in April. Last year, Mayor Adams updated the city’s Food Standards, which translate the latest research on health and nutrition into guidelines for food served by the city — aligning public health and climate goals. The city was recognized by signatories to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact for its work incorporating “Good Food Purchasing” program values in its food procurement. The Good Food Purchasing program encourages large institutions to use their buying power to support five core values: local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition. The city is integrating these values into agency food spending, which will ensure that city funds spent on food support individual, community, and planetary health.   

 

New York City is a national and global leader in climate initiatives related to food and is poised to serve as a model for other cities. In 2022, Mayor Adams announced that the city had signed onto the “C40 Good Food Cities Declaration” — joining London and 13 other cities around the world delivering on the same pledge — to increase access to plant-forward and nutritious food for city residents and halve their city’s respective food waste. C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors from the world’s leading cities working to deliver urgent, local action to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone can thrive. 

 

“We understand the significant impact our food choices have on both our communities and the environment, and we are we pleased to see this administration taking decisive action to reduce food-based emissions across city agencies,” said New York City Department of Social Services Acting Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “This announcement exemplifies the city’s commitment to comprehensively combatting climate change and building a brighter, healthier, and more sustainable future for all New Yorkers.”

“With the help of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, ACS is seeking more environmentally-sustainable purchasing specifications that help reduce our carbon footprint,” said New York City Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner Jess Dannhauser. “I applaud Mayor Adams for prioritizing this critical issue and committing to reducing food-based emissions in New York City.”

“The new consumption inventory, which shows us how our food choices impact climate change, is a wonderful complement to the city’s inventory of greenhouse gas emissions that are generated from our government operations, buildings, and fleet,” said New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock. “The more we know, the better prepared we all are to make a difference.”

“In Fiscal Year 2023, the New York City Department of Aging served nearly 3 million nutritious meals to older New Yorkers, and under Mayor Eric Adams we continue to make changes to these programs to reduce the negative environmental impact they have” said New York City Department for the Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez. “We are beginning a composting program with the New York City Department of Sanitation in 10 older adult centers in Queens, which will expand to the more than 300 centers we have across the city. To further reduce waste, we also eliminated a requirement to wrap individual fresh fruits in plastic and are working on eliminating other single use plastics. As the second highest food provider in the city, we are pleased to support the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy to create a more sustainable environment, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in government to further reduce the city’s carbon footprint.”

“I’m proud to be joining Mayor Adams, the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, and our agency counterparts throughout New York City to take essential steps towards reducing carbon emissions for the betterment of our community, and of communities around the world,” said New York City Department of Education Chancellor David C. Banks. “New York City public schools will continue to prioritize sustainability in all aspects, including our kitchens and lunchrooms, to help our city meet this critical commitment.”

“Our planet is already seeing the devastating effects of climate change and it’s not just the environment taking a toll  human health will also suffer. NYC Health + Hospitals, through our partnership with Sodexo, is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by offering inpatients plant-based meals and implementing food waste and diversion programs,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “Tackling the climate crisis is a global effort and we are hopeful other health care systems will join us in saving our beautiful planet.”

“Ensuring New Yorkers eat nutritious foods and have access to them is key to their overall health, but it should not come at the cost of harming our environment,” said New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Reducing consumption-based emissions and encouraging people to adopt more plant-based foods is a win-win. This will help improve our air quality and help prevent the several chronic diseases that affect so many New Yorkers unnecessarily.”

“The nutritional services division of the New York City Department of Correction welcomes the opportunity of participating in the carbon reduction initiative set forth by Mayor Adams and the Mayor's Office of Food Policy,” said New York City Department of Corrections Senior Executive Director of Nutritional Services Glenn O'Connor.

“Taking actionable steps towards the sustainability of our schools, such as our now monthly plastic free day in cafeterias, is and will continue to be a priority for New York City public schools and the Office of Food and Nutrition Services,” said Chris Tricarico, senior executive director, New York City Department of Education’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services. “Many of our young people depend on the delicious and nutritious meals they receive in school each day, and we’re committed to making sure these meals are not only healthy, but sourced and prepared with the future of our city and our students in mind.”

Sunday, April 16, 2023

2nd Annual Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu Fair May 7, 2023

 

On May 7th, the Albanian American community will be celebrating the 2nd annual Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu Street Fair presenting the best of the best of Albanian traditions and culture. 

 

Because of the support from our friends, last year's Gjergj Kastrioti Fair was a success with thousands attending. 




Governor Hochul Announces Utica Selected as the Host City For The 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship

 

World's Top Women's Hockey Players Will Compete in the Mohawk Valley in Spring 2024

Prestigious International Competition Returns to New York After 30 Years


 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Utica was selected as the host city for the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship, tentatively slated for April 4-14, 2024. USA Hockey will host the event in conjunction with the Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority and the Adirondack Bank Center and the Utica University Nexus Center. The IIHF World Women's Championship is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. Utica will welcome ten international teams, 350 players, 30,000 local spectators and 20,000 overnight spectators to the Mohawk Valley.

"The 2024 IIHF World Women's Championship in Utica will mark the next chapter of New York's winter sports legacy," Governor Hochul said. "As the home of the 1994 IIHF World Women's Championship, as well as the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and this year's FISU Winter World University Games, New York State is proud of its commitment to winter sports and tourism. Now, thanks to significant State investments and upgrades to local infrastructure, Utica and Oneida County are gearing up to host thousands of athletes and spectators for the world's most competitive women's ice hockey tournament and welcome the world to the Mohawk Valley." 

International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif said, "On behalf of the IIHF, I would like to congratulate the City of Utica for earning the honor of hosting the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship. It is wonderful to be back in the United States for this important women's tournament, and even more so to return to the state of New York, which has more recently hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship and the IIHF World Junior Championship but has not hosted the Women's Worlds since way back in 1994. The last time the IIHF Women's World Championship was hosted by USA Hockey was back in 2017, which, history has shown, was one of the most important and exciting IIHF events ever. A lot has changed in the women's game from 1994 to 2017 to today, and although fans will certainly be thrilled to witness another chapter in the exceptional United States-Canada rivalry, we also encourage people to watch the teams from Europe and the Far East that are catching up and closing the gap. Finland and Sweden, Czechia and Switzerland, Germany and Japan have all had exceptional performances in Brampton, Ontario, in 2023, and we expect these nations to challenge the North Americans even more in 2024."

In December 2022, Governor Hochul announced the grand opening of the new $64 million Utica University Nexus Center in downtown Utica, which was supported by $22 million through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The 170,000 square-foot tournament-based recreation and sporting complex is utilized for ice hockey, box lacrosse, soccer and other field sports and draws competitive teams from across the U.S. and Canada. The Nexus Center is projected to host 24 hockey and 24 lacrosse tournaments each year, welcoming more than 320,000 annual visitors and generating over $26 million annually in direct visitor spending.

New York State has supported the Adirondack Bank Center with $10.5 million for improvements to the facility. Additionally, Utica's Downtown Genesee Street was selected as the winner of the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award in 2019, which is helping vault the city toward a brighter future by attracting new businesses, residents and visitors to Utica.

These investments build upon and continues Governor Hochul's deep commitment to leveraging and celebrating New York's rich winter sports legacy, including recent support of the 2023 FISU World University Games recently held in Lake Placid and at venues across North Country.

Silk Road Dark Web Fraud Defendant Sentenced Following Seizure And Forfeiture Of Over $3.4 Billion In Cryptocurrency

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAMES ZHONG was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for committing wire fraud in September 2012 when he unlawfully obtained approximaely 50,000 Bitcoin from the Silk Road dark web internet marketplace.  United States District Judge Paul G. Gardephe imposed today’s sentence. 

As part of the ZHONG investigation, the Government has obtained final orders of forfeiture for, among other items, 51,680.32473733 Bitcoin, valued at over $3.4 billion at the time of seizure and over $1.57 billion today.  

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Back in 2012, James Zhong committed wire fraud by stealing 50,000 Bitcoin from Silk Road, and for the next 10 years, he managed to conceal what he had done and how he obtained his fortune.  Zhong used a decentralized Bitcoin mixer, an overseas cryptocurrency exchange, and an impressive array of technological tools to frustrate tracing efforts.  But thanks to the relentless and skillful efforts of law enforcement in following the money, the federal government uncovered Zhong’s scheme and obtained final orders of forfeiture for over 51,680 Bitcoin.  Cyber-criminals should heed this message: we will follow the money and hold you accountable, no matter how sophisticated your scheme and no matter how long it takes.” 

According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings:

ZHONG’s Scheme to Defraud

Silk Road was an online “darknet” black market.  In operation from approximately 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by numerous drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute massive quantities of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to many buyers and to launder all funds passing through it.  In 2015, following a groundbreaking prosecution by this Office, Silk Road’s founder Ross Ulbricht was convicted by a unanimous jury and sentenced to life in prison.  United States v. Ulbricht, 14-cr-68 (S.D.N.Y.). 

In September 2012, ZHONG executed a scheme to defraud Silk Road of its money and property by (i) creating a string of approximately nine Silk Road accounts (the “Fraud Accounts”) in a manner designed to conceal his identity; (ii) triggering over 140 transactions in rapid succession in order to trick Silk Road’s withdrawal-processing system into releasing approximately 50,000 Bitcoin from its Bitcoin-based payment system into ZHONG’s accounts; and (iii) transferring this Bitcoin into a variety of separate addresses also under ZHONG’s control, all in a manner designed to prevent detection, conceal his identity and ownership, and obfuscate the Bitcoin’s source. 

While executing the September 2012 fraud, ZHONG did not list any item or service for sale on Silk Road, nor did he buy any item or service on Silk Road.  ZHONG registered the accounts by providing the bare minimum of information required by Silk Road to create the account; the Fraud Accounts were merely a conduit for ZHONG to defraud Silk Road of Bitcoin.

ZHONG funded the Fraud Accounts with an initial deposit of between 200 and 2,000 Bitcoin.  After the initial deposit, ZHONG then quickly executed a series of withdrawals.  Through his scheme to defraud, ZHONG was able to withdraw many times more Bitcoin out of Silk Road than he had deposited in the first instance.  As an example, on September 19, 2012, ZHONG deposited 500 Bitcoin into a Silk Road wallet.  Less than five seconds after making the initial deposit, ZHONG executed five withdrawals of 500 Bitcoin in rapid succession — i.e., within the same second — resulting in a net gain of 2,000 Bitcoin.  As another example, a different Fraud Account made a single deposit and over 50 Bitcoin withdrawals before the account ceased its activity.  ZHONG moved this Bitcoin out of Silk Road and, in a matter of days, consolidated them into two high-value amounts.

Nearly five years after ZHONG’s fraud, in August 2017, solely by virtue of ZHONG’s possession of the 50,000 Bitcoin that he unlawfully obtained from Silk Road, ZHONG received a matching amount of a related cryptocurrency — 50,000 Bitcoin Cash (“BCH Crime Proceeds”) — on top of the 50,000 Bitcoin.  In August 2017, in a hard fork coin split, Bitcoin split into two cryptocurrencies, traditional Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (“BCH”).  When this split occurred, any Bitcoin address that had a Bitcoin balance (as ZHONG’s addresses did) now had the exact same balance on both the Bitcoin blockchain and on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain.  As of August 2017, ZHONG thus possessed 50,000 BCH in addition to the 50,000 Bitcoin that ZHONG unlawfully obtained from Silk Road.  ZHONG thereafter exchanged through an overseas cryptocurrency exchange all of the BCH Crime Proceeds for additional Bitcoin, amounting to approximately 3,500 Bitcoin of additional crime proceeds.  Collectively, by the last quarter of 2017, ZHONG thus possessed approximately 53,500 Bitcoin of total crime proceeds (the “Crime Proceeds”).

The Government’s Seizure of Over 50,000 Bitcoin

On November 9, 2021, pursuant to a judicially authorized premises search warrant, law enforcement agents recovered approximately 50,491.06251844 Bitcoin of crime proceeds from ZHONG’s Gainesville, Georgia, house.  Law enforcement located these crime proceeds in an underground floor safe and on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet.  In addition, law enforcement recovered $661,900 in cash, 25 Casascius coins (physical bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, 11.1160005300044 additional Bitcoin, four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin.  Photographs of the popcorn tin, single-board computer, underground floor safe, and some of the seized items are included below:

Picture of popcorn tin

 

Picture of a single-board computer

 

Picture of a safe with cash inside

 

Picture of various seized items

Beginning in or around March 2022, ZHONG began voluntarily surrendering to the Government additional Bitcoin that ZHONG had access to and had not dissipated.  In total, ZHONG voluntarily surrendered 1,004.14621836 additional Bitcoin.

Using a conservative estimate of the lowest spot price of Bitcoin on the seizure dates, the total value of all Bitcoin seized for which the Government has obtained final orders of forfeiture is approximately $3.4 billion. 

Forfeiture Actions

On February 7, 2023, in United States v. Ross Ulbricht, S1 14 Cr. 68 (S.D.N.Y.), District Judge Lorna G. Schofield entered a final order of forfeiture as to the below property seized from ZHONG, vesting all right, title, and interest in the below property in the United States:

  • 50,491.06251844 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
  • 825.38833159 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on March 25, 2022; and
  • 35.4470080 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on May 25, 2022.

On March 14, 2023, District Judge Gardephe entered a final order of forfeiture as to the below property, vesting all right, title, and interest in the below property in the United States:

  • ZHONG’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, LLC, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings;
  • $661,900 in United States currency seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
  • Metal items, consisting of four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin, all seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
  • 11.1160005300044 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
  • 25 Casascius coins (physical Bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, collectively, seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
  • 23.7112850 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 27, 2022;
  • 115.02532155 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 28, 2022; and
  • 4.57427222 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on June 8, 2022.

ZHONG, 32, of Gainesville, Georgia, and Athens, Georgia, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud before Judge Gardephe.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation’s Western Cyber Crimes Unit of the Los Angeles Field Office.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in Athens, Georgia, for its support and assistance with the case.