Brick Underground

The 1891 Larom House at 219 West 78th St: A hybrid Romanesque and Renaissance Revival design

Tom Miller — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:00:00 EDT

Have you ever passed by an interesting residential building in New York City and wanted to know more about its history? In this series, Brick Underground teams up with Tom Miller, creator of Daytonian in Manhattan, a blog about Manhattan buildings and other historic architecture. Each week, we run an excerpt from the Daytonian’s archives with a link to the full article.

In 1890, William H. Hall Jr. and T. R. A. Hall, part of an extended family that worked as builders and developers, purchased 10 building lots on the northern side of West 78th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. They hired the architectural firm of Thom & Wilson to design upscale, three-story-and-basement homes. Completed in 1891, they wore Romanesque Revival pants and Renaissance Revival shirts.

Among them was 219 West 78th St: Its basement and parlor levels were clad in chunky, undressed brownstone blocks, typical of the Romanesque Revival style. Beefy carved stoop newels continued the motif. Thom & Wilson introduced the Renaissance at the parlor floor with sumptuous fruit-and-flower carvings in the single lintel that connected the windows and above the doorway. Formal fluted columns with complex capitals flanked the entranceway.

The second and third floor windows within the planar brownstone surface were framed by shallow quoins and capped with lintels carved with intricate swags of fruits and flowers. A pressed metal cornice with paired corbels completed the design.

The house underwent a quick succession of owners until about 1896 when glove importer Frank William Larom and his wife, the former Elizabeth Elmira Shute, moved in. They had two children, Irving Hastings and Edith Emerson.

Edith Emerson Larom was 12 years old when she died on April 21st, 1905. The little girl's casket sat in the parlor until her funeral there on April 24th.

The 1914 Social Register listed Irving Hastings Larom as living in the Cottage Club at Princeton University. Known as Larry, after his graduation the following year, he relocated to the Far West with Winthrop Brooks of the Brooks Brothers family. They established Valley Ranch, a dude ranch near Cody, Wyoming. An ad for the place noted, "You'd enjoy wearing ranch clothes, the cowboys, the ranch work, the saddle-leather atmosphere of the place."

The 219 West 78th St. property saw a succession of owners and was remodeled again after the Feingold Realty Corporation purchased it in September 1962. The owner was architect Alexander Feingold. He reconfigured the interior to seven apartments while preserving the exterior appearance.

At the time of Feingold's purchase, the neighborhood had severely declined. Thirty-five years later, Feingold still lived here. He recalled his early years there to The New York Times journalist Christopher Gray in 1995, saying, "the block was plagued by prostitution and drugs." Feingold and his neighbors turned things around. Gray reported, "An early step forward, around 1966, was the planting of trees by the Department of Parks, followed by brick enclosures Mr. Feingold's firm designed for the tree pits a few years later."

There are still seven apartments in the building and Thom & Wilson's interesting hybrid design is amazingly intact.

For more on this property and its inhabitants, check out the full article.

Community Opportunity to Purchase Act has a good chance of passing under Mamdani

Cassidy Jensen — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:30:00 EDT

Last month, New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse revived legislation that would allow certain nonprofits and community land trusts a first shot at buying struggling multifamily properties—and this time, the mayor is in favor of the bill.

The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act would give certain nonprofits and community land trusts vetted by the city the opportunity to make a first offer on a distressed multifamily building that’s up for sale.

Former Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a previous version of the bill after it passed the City Council late last year, but Mayor Zohran Mamdani has already signaled his support of COPA this time around.

COPA is different from a bill proposed on the state level known as the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which gives tenants themselves the right of first refusal.

In his 112-page "Block By Block” housing plan, Mamdani’s administration promised to work with Nurse to pass the re-introduced bill.

“COPA provides an extra layer of protection for tenants of distressed properties, who may be at particular risk for displacement or further declining conditions if their buildings were to be purchased by speculative buyers,” the plan said.

The bill already has a majority with 27 co-sponsors. It will become eligible for a vote after a hearing in the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings.

“I am grateful for my colleagues who have rallied behind this bill, which will help preserve at-risk affordable housing, prevent displacement of working-class families, and stop the destructive speculative cycles destabilizing our communities,” Nurse said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Speaker Julie Menin told Brick she “looks forward to reviewing the bill as it moves through the legislative process.”

How the law would work

The bill gives particular nonprofits—or private developers with nonprofit partners—the chance to make the first offer on a distressed property when an owner puts it up for sale.

After the building goes on sale, an organization vetted by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development has 20 days to send a letter of interest to the seller, then another 70 days to submit an initial offer. They also have the right of first refusal if the owner receives another offer.

This version of COPA applies to a smaller number of buildings, and like the bill’s previous iteration, the timeline only kicks in when an owner decides to sell.

Generally, the law applies to distressed buildings with at least four units that are not owner occupied. Distressed could mean there are at least three daily violations on average over a year, or that the building is part of HPD’s alternative enforcement program or subject to an in-rem foreclosure action.

COPA also applies to buildings with 100 or fewer units that have affordability protections expiring in the next two years. A previous version of COPA included 421a buildings, but the current bill does not.

Will Spisak, a senior policy strategist at New Economy Project, which supports the bill, said that COPA would apply to an estimated 300 buildings each year, a relatively small number considering the tens of thousands of buildings that are sold in NYC every year.

But those 300 buildings could become perpetually affordable units for 50,000 families, Spisak said. “From a market perspective it's really small. But from a household perspective it can be really significant,” he said.

The legislation’s logic is based on the idea that distressed properties are targets for real estate speculation that leads to higher rents. “Tying displacement to distress is a way we’re able to identify where preservation is most important and most needed,” Spisak said.

COPA’s detractors

This new version of the bill applies to a narrower set of buildings, a change which has tempered opposition from the Real Estate Board of New York, which initially praised Adams for vetoing the legislative package that included the bill.

In a more recent statement, REBNY President James Whelen said nonprofit housing providers have a role to play in addressing New York’s housing crisis.

“Previous versions of COPA, however, would have included large swaths of buildings that were not distressed and contained other measures that would have worsened the city’s on-going housing crisis. We will continue to work with the City Council to advance solutions that will protect tenants, encourage much needed investment, and address the city’s housing supply crisis,” Whelan said.

However, Small Property Owners of New York, a landlord group, still opposes the revised bill. Board President Ann Korchak said she fears COPA would disrupt the housing market and create a burden for small sellers, even when limited to distressed properties.

“The city already has tools to deal with these kinds of buildings—7A, in rem foreclosure. The city clearly knows what type of building it's looking to capture and at this point, I question why you even need COPA,” she said. “Based on the fact that they already have these tools, why disrupt the whole market?”

Korchak also opposes the bill on ideological grounds, calling it “un-American” to interfere with owners’ property rights.

One of the bill’s staunchest opponents on the council was Council Member Darlene Mealy, who wrote in a December op-ed in City and State that she feared the bill would infringe on the rights of Black landlords in her Brooklyn district. Her office did not respond to Brick’s request for comment.

What is a CEMA loan, and how can it reduce my mortgage recording tax?

Evelyn Battaglia — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:30:00 EDT

New Yorkers have access to a little-known mortgage strategy that can save thousands of dollars. A consolidation, extension, and modification agreement—known as a CEMA—is most commonly used by homeowners refinancing their mortgages, though in some cases, buyers can use it too.

The appeal is straightforward: A CEMA can dramatically reduce what you owe in mortgage recording tax. Rather than paying tax on the full amount of a new loan, the process assigns an existing mortgage from one lender to another, so you're only taxed on the unpaid principal. The savings can be considerable.

"If you pay off one mortgage and take out another, you have to pay the tax on the face amount of each mortgage. When refinancing with a CEMA loan, you take the existing mortgage, consolidate it with the new one, and pay the tax on the gap between the two," said Miguel Lopez, an attorney who works with National Cooperative Bank.

[Editor's note: A previous version of this post was published in March 2025. We are presenting it again with updated information for June 2026.]

For example, if you have a principal balance of $100,000 on your mortgage and then refinance with a new lender for a mortgage of $200,000, you will only have to pay a mortgage recording tax on the $100,000 difference rather than the full $200,000.

This loan type is unavailable to co-op buyers because the mortgage recording tax is paid only on real property, such as a condo or townhouse, whereas in a co-op, you are buying shares in a building.

In NYC, the mortgage recording tax rate is 1.8 percent for mortgages under $500,000 and 1.925 percent for those over $500,000. So with a CEMA, in the example above, you would pay $1,800 instead of $3,600.

"We do it every time we can," said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage. "The mortgage recording tax in New York is expensive, and you want to do everything you can to avoid paying it again."

What are CEMA loans, and when they make sense
How they work	CEMA loans can help avoid paying the full mortgage recording tax, potentially resulting in significant savings. The existing mortgage is consolidated with the new one, and the tax is then paid on the difference between the two amounts. For example, if you consolidated a balance of $100,000 with a new mortgage of $200,000, you will only pay tax on $100,000.
When they are available	CEMA loans are most commonly used by owners who are refinancing. Purchase CEMAs are rare but allow buyers to pay tax only on the new mortgage amount minus the remaining balance transferred from the seller. Because the recording tax is only paid on real property, co-op owners and buyers do not qualify for a CEMA.
Other considerations	Banks may charge flat fees or a percentage of the loan amount. Some banks will not offer CEMAs when refinancing with another bank. The loans can take up to six months to be approved.

Potential costs of CEMA loans

A CEMA loan does have its own expenses. If you refinance with your current lender, the process is easier because there's no need to obtain approval to reassign the loan. However, if you switch banks, your original lender must approve the assignment of your mortgage to the new one, which can trigger fees. You'll need to decide whether it's worth the additional expense.

According to Cohn, banks may charge anywhere from $500 to $1,000, or a percentage of the loan amount.

"It's at the discretion of the bank, so the CEMA makes sense when the cost of doing it is significantly less than the cost of paying the mortgage recording tax," she said.

There may be other complications if you're refinancing from one bank to another. Some lenders will not provide CEMA loans when refinancing with an outside bank, Cohn added. CEMAs can also take time to be approved—from four to eight weeks. Another potential issue might arise if the chain of title is incomplete.

"You can't ensure that the bank that holds the mortgage has retained all the copies and proper forms," she said. "Far too often, we don't get them—documents get lost, and without a complete, unbroken chain, you can't do a CEMA."

A purchase or 'splitter' CEMA

The other type of CEMA—called a purchase CEMA, or "splitter"—involves consolidating two or more loans into a single loan as part of a sale. A seller who is still paying off the mortgage can transfer it to a buyer who needs financing. In a situation like this, the buyer will only have to pay the mortgage recording tax on the new mortgage amount, minus the seller's remaining loan balance. In turn, the seller saves on transfer taxes, paying only on the sales price of the home minus the remaining mortgage debt transferred to the buyer.

Keep in mind that a purchase CEMA, or mortgage assignment, is different from a mortgage assumption. An assignment allows you to take on someone else's mortgage and negotiate your own rate and terms, versus a mortgage assumption, where you take on a mortgage exactly as it was for the original borrower, with the same rate and terms.

Still, CEMA loans aren't common for buyers.

"The purchaser takes on the seller's current obligation, but the seller is technically still liable on that note," Lopez said. "At some point, a bank technically could come and collect on that note. It's very rare that two banks agree to do a purchase CEMA."

Purchase CEMAs may become more common in the future if interest rates start to climb, according to Lopez. "If we get to a point where there is a 12 percent rate on mortgages, and sellers have a 3.75 percent rate, we could see an uprise as the savings outweigh the potential risk," he said.

—Earlier versions of this article contained reporting and writing by Alanna Schubach.

HUD issued new rules for emotional support animals. For New Yorkers, not much will change

Cassidy Jensen — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 09:30:00 EDT

New internal guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicated the agency is limiting its enforcement of renters’ rights to have an emotional support animal.

HUD’s previous guidance said that “any assistance animal” should be admitted into dwellings and their common areas without restrictions or pet fees, whether those animals are trained or untrained.

Now the agency plans to only investigate federal complaints in cases where an animal has been specifically trained to help someone with tasks related to their disability. This guidance doesn’t affect service animals, such as a dog trained to guide someone who is visually impaired.

Some empirical research has shown that emotional support animals can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The HUD memo could mean that some renters with emotional support animals in the U.S. could face eviction, but in New York, state law still protects your right to have an emotional support animal.

What does the memo say?

In the May 22nd memo, Craig W. Trainor, assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, wrote that he was rescinding earlier guidance from the agency on the definition of emotional support animals. The new guidance uses a stricter definition from the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“In light of these standards, [HUD’s fair housing enforcement arm] will find reasonable cause for failure to provide a reasonable accommodation involving the waiver of a pet policy only where the animal has been individually trained to perform work or perform tasks directly related to the complainant’s disability,” according to the memo.

The guidance specifically doesn’t address complaints against housing providers covered under the American with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

That means that some of the obligations for public housing authorities or federally subsidized housing are unaffected by this rule change—so you may have greater protections if you live in NYCHA housing or have a Section 8 voucher.

What does this mean for New York renters?

This memo doesn’t mean you automatically lose your accommodation for an emotional support animal in your apartment, but it could limit your options for filing a federal complaint.

It’s also important to note that this memo relates only to HUD’s enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act. It doesn’t impact any rights under New York state law or renters’ right to bring a lawsuit in court, which is known as a “private right of action.”

Under New York State Human Rights law, landlords must allow emotional support animals and modify “no pets” policies, unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Disabled renters just need to show that their animal support animals help the symptoms of their disability to qualify for an accommodation in their housing.

This law only applies to animals that are legal to keep as pets in New York, so tarantulas, ferrets, and squirrels are all excluded as emotional support animals.

A spokesperson for the NYC Commission on Human Rights said the commission is aware of the HUD memo, and that the rights of New Yorkers with disabilities won’t change.

“The New York City Human Rights Law is one of the strongest anti-discrimination laws in the country. Anyone who has experienced or witnessed discrimination is encouraged to contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights,” a spokesperson said in an email to Brick.

To file a complaint with the NYC Commission on Human Rights, call 212-416-0197 or call 311 and say, “File a complaint with NYC Commission on Human Rights.” You can also make an online complaint.

The ESA industry

Trainor wrote in the HUD memo that “an entire industry has emerged to convert pets into emotional support animals,” citing marketing materials from companies that claim to get customers an ESA letter within 24 hours. About one in five of his division’s Fair Housing complaints had to do with untrained emotional support animals. “This cannot continue,” he wrote.

Prairie Conlon, clinical director at the company CertaPet, which helps patients obtain ESA letters, lamented that a few unscrupulous companies have given animal-based treatment a bad name.

“What needs to happen is there needs to be regulation on these companies. Emotional support animals are absolutely valid treatment,” Conlon said. “It’s really sad that it’s gotten to this place where it’s kind of a joke.”

If you’re looking for documentation for an emotional support animal, the law requires you to have an “ongoing therapeutic relationship” with a health provider like a doctor or a therapist, Conlon said.

That means a medical professional will likely require that you fill out an intake form and complete regular check-ins, instead of a 24-hour process. You should be wary of companies that promise a suspiciously quick process of obtaining a letter that documents your need for an emotional support animal.

It’s an especially bad sign if a company won’t tell you the name of the doctor or therapist assigned to you. “There are companies that say, ‘we are protecting the privacy of the doctor or therapist that’s working with you.’ Huge red flag,” Conlon said.

A good clinician will also be willing to help speak to your landlord about the necessity of your emotional support animal, she said.

The 1887 Henry and Helen Hirsch House at 116 East 95th St: A parade of wealthy occupants

Tom Miller — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:30:00 EDT

In 1887, developer brothers William J. and John P. C. Walsh planned an ambitious project: A row of 12 houses on the south side of the 95th Street block between Lexington and Park avenues. The steeply sloping site was known as Goat Hill. The architectural firm C. Abbott French & Co. turned to the popular and often whimsical Queen Anne style.

Like its neighbors, 116 East 95th St. was three stories tall above a brownstone fronted basement. A dog-legged box stoop rose to the segmentally arched doorway topped with a terra cotta lintel connected to the window creating a graceful, wavelike effect. A cast metal oriel, flanked by basketweave brick panels, dominated the second floor. Elaborate terra cotta decorations on the third floor featured sunbursts and mythical faces, and the central opening was topped with a draped swans' head pediment. Rather than a cornice, the house was completed with an arched brick parapet supported by a complex brick corbel table.

The house changed hands in quick succession. The original owner, James R. Cuming, lost it in foreclosure in 1891 to Daniel P. Mahoney, who immediately sold it to Henry Wallach, who sold it to the Irving and Mollie Hirschfeld in May 1895. The couple paid $16,500 for the house, or about $636,000 in 2026.

The Hirschfelds, too, would not remain. On April 12th, 1902, they announced the engagement of their daughter, Minnie, to Henry Cohen. Before the end of the year, they had sold 116 East 95th St. to Henry Hirsch and his wife, the former Helen Ella Gattman. The couple, who were married in 1864, had seven adult children. In July 1903, only months after purchasing No. 116, the couple hired architect J. Berry to make the equivalent of $276,000 today in interior renovations.

Henry Hirsh died in the house at the age of 77 on May 26th, 1916.

Four years later, The New York Times reported that Helen Ella Hirsch had sold the 20-foot-wide house. The buyers were Latham Gallup Reed and his wife, the former Mary Newbold Welsh. An attorney, Reed was descended from members of the Plymouth Colony.

Decades later, in 1946, 116 East 95th St. was sold to Colonel George Leonidovich Artamonoff and his wife, the former Jessie Downing. Born in Kursk, Russia, Artamonoff's father was General Leonid Konstantinovich Artamonoff of the Imperial Russian Army. George fought in the White Army in 1919 before fleeing to the U.S. in 1921.

At the outbreak of World War II, Artamonoff was commissioned a major in the U.S. Army and was later made "director of the Tokyo office of the Marshall Plan," charged with "restoring economic relations between Japan and countries of Southeast Asia." The Artamonoffs leased the house until June 1949, when they sold it.

The subsequent occupants of the residence continued to be affluent.

The house, still a single-family home, was renovated in 2020. It was most likely at this time, that the stained-glass in the parlor floor transoms were removed in the process of replacing the windows.

For more on this property and its parade of wealthy inhabitants, check out the full article.

Amazon Prime Day is here. Make a delivery plan to avoid package theft

Jennifer White Karp — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 09:30:00 EDT

Another popular Amazon Prime Day event is happening Tuesday, June 23rd through Friday, June 26th, when exclusive deals are available to members. But before you start filling up your shopping cart, one online retailer urged New Yorkers to consider how to get their packages delivered safely.

That’s because New York City ranked second-highest among cities in the U.S. for package theft in 2025, according to a report. Thieves stole $248 millions worth of goods as a result of 6.37 million incidents at NYC apartment buildings and houses, according to SafeWise’s 2025 Package Theft Report.

That steep financial loss is due in part to NYC’s large population and multi-family-style housing. With millions of residents receiving deliveries that are often left unattended and highly visible at their final destination—in a lobby, near an entrance, or on a stoop—the last leg of the delivery can be the diciest part.

Shane Margereson, owner of UK online retail site Ecigone, said shoppers should treat their delivery strategy as part of the purchase, not an afterthought.

"Prime Day is exactly the kind of shopping moment where people order quickly and then forget the delivery risk. In a city like New York, a parcel can pass through several shared spaces before it reaches the customer, so leaving it unattended is a gamble," he said.

Margereson advised using an Amazon locker, collection point, or signed delivery whenever possible.

If you opt for signed delivery, obviously you or someone in your household needs to be available to sign for the package, which isn’t always very convenient.

Still: “The safest parcel is usually the one that never waits in a lobby or on a doorstep," Margereson said.

Here are some more time-tested Brick tips for how you or your building can prevent package theft.

Get your neighbors on board

If you don’t have a doorman, you need to take some simple, common-sense steps to safeguard your deliveries.

For example, post a sign (or ask your building to do so) reminding your fellow residents to never buzz in strangers. It just takes a few seconds for a thief to get in and get out with packages sitting near the door.

Tracking your delivery makes sense—you want to know which day to be home to receive your package. Signing up for text alerts means you get a notification the moment your package has arrived and can go scoop it up before a thief does.

Try the buddy system. If you can’t be there to receive your package, ask a neighbor if you can text them to take your package inside for you (and offer to do the same for them) when you receive a delivery notification.

A secure delivery location away from home

Another strategy is to have your packages sent to secure location. For Amazon purchases, you opt to use a free Amazon Locker as your shipping address. Select a locker closest to you at check out and use an access code sent by Amazon to retrieve your package.

You can also get a United States Post Office box. They come in four sizes, and your package doesn’t have to fit inside. For large items, you’ll get a slip in the mail telling you to pick it up from the counter during business hours or retrieve it from a secure parcel locker. A small, 5-inch by 5.5-inch PO box costs $306 for 12 months at the Post Office at 775 Fourth Ave. in Brooklyn.

For townhouse owners or self-managed buildings, a large locker on your property like this Landport is an option. An access code is provided to delivery people (and fellow residents) to open it. It comes in a choice of colors and costs $699.

Cheering the Knicks NBA championship win and recalling more affordable NYC rents

Jennifer White Karp — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:30:00 EDT

New York City rents look nothing like they did back when the Knicks last made the NBA finals.

In 1999, when the New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games, a subway ride cost $1.50, a movie ticket had just gone up to $9.50, you could get a three-course meal for under $25, and the average rent for an apartment (of all sizes) in Manhattan below 96th Street was $2,696 by the end of the year.

Today’s numbers are of course very different. A subway ride now costs $3 and a movie ticket averages $20. A casual meal out can run $30 to $40 per person before drinks, tax, and tip. And NYC rents are in a different league.

According to the MNS May 2026 Manhattan Rental Market Report, the average rent for a non-doorman studio is now around $3,290 and a doorman average rent is around $4,480. The the average rent for all Manhattan apartments has climbed past $5,200.

Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS Real Estate NYC, said qualifying for an apartment in Manhattan today looks nothing like it did when the Knicks last played for a championship.

On the one hand, you need to earn over $200,000 today to qualify for a Manhattan apartment at the average rent. In 1999, you needed to make half that to meet the standard landlord salary requirement of 40 times the annual rent.

But on the the other hand: "Back then, if you wanted to secure an apartment, you had a pay a deposit in either cash, certified check or use a credit card, which wasn't easy," Barrocas said.

Manhattan listings drop 21 percent

Median rents in Corcoran’s May rental market reports for Manhattan and Brooklyn reflected a similar trajectory. Manhattan median rent reached another all-time high in May of $5,125, an increase of 1 percent from April and 7 percent from May 2025.

Listings dropped 21 percent year over year, the fourth consecutive month of double-digit declines. New lease signings were down 6 percent annually.

Demand continues to outpace a persistently constrained supply environment, said Gary Malin, COO at Corcoran.

“We’re seeing record pricing across multiple unit types, particularly in studios and one bedrooms, as renters compete for a shrinking pool of available apartments. Vacancy remains historically tight and listings are down sharply year-over-year, driven by limited new development, a high rate of lease renewals, and [NYC laws] that have slowed new construction and reduced inventory coming online,” Malin said.

Brooklyn median rent up 6 percent

In Brooklyn, median rent was $4,347 in May, an increase of 6 percent both month over month and year over year, according to Corcoran. This was a new, all-time high, surpassing the previous record of $4,296 set in February.

Listings were down 5 percent year over year, the third consecutive month listings dropped on an annual basis.

How first-time NYC buyers can apply for up to $100,000 in down payment assistance

Brick Underground — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 10:30:00 EDT

For many New Yorkers, saving enough money for a down payment is the biggest obstacle to buying a home, but there's a New York City program designed to help first-time buyers get over that hurdle.

As of January 30, 2025, NYC's HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program expanded both its funding and eligibility, making forgivable loans of up to $100,000 available to a much larger pool of first-time buyers.

[Editor's note: A previous version of this article was published in February 2025. We are presenting it again with updated information for June 2026.]

The expansion came after the city secured an additional $41 million for the program, doubling its funding to $82 million. Officials estimated the increase could help roughly 1,000 additional households purchase a condo, co-op, or one- to four-family house in the five boroughs.

The timing is notable. Even as mortgage rates have fluctuated and inventory remains tight, prices across much of NYC continue to put ownership out of reach for many renters—especially those who can afford monthly mortgage payments but struggle to accumulate tens of thousands of dollars for a down payment and closing costs.

"The HomeFirst program has helped more individuals and families achieve the dream of home ownership, which we know is a pathway to personal financial stability," said Kim Moscaritolo, deputy press secretary for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. "When people are able to purchase homes that they love, it creates stronger, more vibrant communities," she said.

A track record of helping buyers

Since the program's 2008 launch, 3,609 families have applied for assistance. According to HPD, 3,060 applicants were ultimately approved and received some level of aid.

The average assistance amount has been approximately $80,000, though awards ranged from $22,000 to the program maximum of $100,000.

Those figures suggest that while HomeFirst serves a relatively small share of total buyers, it has become an important tool for first-time buyers who might otherwise remain renters.

Who qualifies now

The biggest change may be who is eligible to apply.

Previously, HomeFirst was limited to households earning up to 80 percent of area median income (AMI). The new rules raise that threshold to 120 percent of AMI, opening the program to many middle-income New Yorkers who previously earned too much to qualify but still struggled to purchase a home.

For a single-person household, that means the income cap increased from roughly $87,100 to about $136,080 annually.

Applicants must also:

Be first-time homebuyers, meaning they have not owned a home during the previous three years
Contribute at least 1 percent of the purchase price from their own funds
Complete a homebuyer education course through an HPD-approved agency (the certificate is valid for up to one year)
Obtain mortgage pre-approval from a participating lender (ask the above agency for a referral)
Purchase a condo, co-op and one- to four-family home within NYC

HPD also recommends buyers maintain sufficient savings to cover two to six months of principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and mortgage payments on your new property. (Plus, you’ll have to cover an $850 application processing fee.)

The catch: You have to stay

Unlike a grant, HomeFirst assistance is structured as a forgivable loan. Buyers don't make monthly payments, but they must remain in the home as their primary residence for a set period, depending on the loam amount.

For loans of $40,000 or less, the forgivable period is 10 years. For loans exceeding $40,000—which now includes many recipients—the requirement extends to 15 years.

If you move out or sell before that period ends, and some or all of the assistance may need to be repaid.

—This article was updated for June 2026 by Evelyn Battaglia.

New York just extended the J-51 tax abatement. Here are five key details condo and co-op boards need to know

Emily Myers — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:30:00 EDT

Governor Kathy Hochul’s $269 billion state budget revived a crucial tax break aimed at helping co-op and condo buildings complete essential capital improvements. The J-51 tax abatement, which was set to expire at the end of the month, is now back with expanded eligibility and bigger benefits. “We hit a three run triple,” said attorney Bruce Cholst, a partner at Herrick, Feinstein who was involved in lobbying for the legislation.

The abatement has been extended for 10 years, covering eligible improvements through June 29th, 2036. This is much longer than the four-year extensions of the past and should give buildings more time to take advantage of the program.

Through the J-51 program, co-op and condo boards can recoup the cost of major infrastructure upgrades as a property tax abatement. The abatement is delivered annually and can be no more than 8.3 percent of the costs, over a maximum of 20 years.

Here are five key details about the J-51 extension.

1) More buildings now qualify for J-51 benefits

Eligible buildings are those where the average assessed value of apartments is up to $60,000, which roughly equates to a sales-based market value of about $550,000. This is a slightly higher threshold than the previous average assessed value cap of $45,000. It means hundreds of additional co-ops and condos will be eligible to apply for the benefits.

Another key factor of the threshold is that it will be adjusted annually to reflect increases in the consumer price index.

“The escalation is a very big victory because it preserves the benefit,” Cholst said. It means fewer buildings will cycle out of the program as the average assessed value increases annually.

To confirm your eligibility, first find your building's BBL (borough, block, lot) number through DOB NOW. Then use the BBL to look up the property on the NYC Department of Finance website where you’ll find the assessed value. Calculate the average assessed value by dividing the building’s assessed value by the building’s total number of apartments.

2) Projects already underway may still qualify

The average assessed value is measured on the start date of construction. This means you could have work already underway and if it is an eligible upgrade such as a facade repair, elevator replacement, or energy efficiency improvement, and your building is under the new average assessed value limit, you may be able to access the abatement.

“The new program is applicable to construction that completes after June 29th, 2026,” said Benjamin Williams, head of the property tax department at Rosenberg & Estis.

Even if you are under the average assessed value you’ll need to check whether the work is covered—cosmetic improvements and adding luxury amenities are not. One unchanged detail is that the cost of the work must be at least $1,500 per apartment so less extensive projects may not qualify.

3) Application fees are lower

There’s a new fee structure for the program and although the fees are non-refundable, they can be included in the costs for the work. The new application fee is $75 per dwelling unit for buildings with more than six apartments and it is capped at $20,000. A $1,000 base fee per application has been shelved and although the cap will increase annually with inflation, it can be included as part of the abatement.

“If your application is successful you will get your fee back,” Williams said.

In the past, the fees were not capped and could not be included in your infrastructure costs, which made the program prohibitively expensive, particularly for the large, campus-style co-op buildings that would have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in administrative fees.

4) Boards can recover a larger share of project costs

The abatement may be as much as 100 percent of a project’s Certified Reasonable Cost or the fair cost of an upgrade. In the past the program could offset up to 70 percent of the capital improvement costs. “You are going to get more of a benefit for the work done,” Cholst said. NYC Housing Preservation and Development prepares the list of the types of improvements eligible as well as a reasonable cost schedule—that is, the reasonable cost for a specific type of project.

5) One final legislative hurdle remains

NYC legislation and rule-making are still required to enact the program. In most cases laws and amendments included in the executive budget do not need ratification by the city. However, in this case, the city does need to pass legislation before it moves forward. “It’s a complication,” Cholst said.

There’s no suggestion the rule making won’t happen, but in the past the process has taken several months and that introduces an element of uncertainty to the program. For eligible co-op and condo boards that complete work in July, patience will be key.

“They will have to sit on their hands and wait for the City Council to act,” Williams said.

The Arnet Seaman House at 51 Charles St: An 1867 Italianate-style home with ‘every convenience’

Tom Miller — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:00:00 EDT

In 1866, George Starr began construction of a brick-faced mansion at the northwest corner of West Fourth Street and Van Nest Place. Completed in 1867, the Italianate-style home was three bays wide and three stories tall above a brownstone basement. A stone stoop rose to the parlor floor where, most likely, a cast iron balcony fronted the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The elliptically arched openings originally wore molded eyebrows and the doorway would have been impressive, adorned with scrolled brackets and a pediment or similar treatment.

Arnet Seaman, who operated a brick business, and his wife, the former Mary Anna Rhodes Riffey, purchased 1 Van Nest Pl. The family maintained a country home in Tarrytown, New York.

Even affluent families leased unneeded space in their homes and shortly after moving in, on February 22nd, 1867, the Seamans advertised a room to let with “every convenience.” In 1867, that meant gas lighting and indoor plumbing.

In 1893, The World reported 1 Van Nest Pl. had become a clubhouse as well as "residence and home for enlisted men serving on board ships of the United States Navy." It would be a short-lived venture. By March 1894, the club had moved out and the house was leased to a series of tenants.

The property was sold at auction in 1912. Eventually the name Van Nest Place was abandoned in favor of Charles Street and the corner structure was renumbered 51 Charles Street. A subsequent alteration in 1933 removed the stoop and lowered the front entrance, now with a Greek Revival inspired frame, to below grade. There were now four floor-through apartments in the building.

Among the more colorful tenants over the subsequent decades was Marion Abt Bachrach, the public relations director of the Communist Party of the United States and a target of the government’s “Red Scare” campaign. While suffering from cancer, she was tried in Federal Court on "charges of conspiring to teach and advocate the overthrow of the Government by force and violence." Perhaps surprisingly, she was acquitted in 1956. She was still living at 51 Charles St. in 1957 when she died.

As some point after 1940, the window details were removed. Otherwise, little has changed outwardly to 51 Charles St.

For more on this building and its colorful residents, check out the full article.

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