Welcome to Issue #32 of The Rubin Report: The Pulse of the NYC Development Market!

Why do I put out this report? Let me take you back for a moment.

I started my real estate career in 1998, 27 years ago, selling & renting residential properties mostly across the borough of Queens. I pivoted 100% into commercial real estate, specifically Investment Sales, after a Google search for “Top Commercial Real Estate Firms in NYC.” That led me to my first interview at the famed Massey Knakal Realty Services, at 275 Madison Avenue, on a summer day in 2006. (Ironically, that’s now the very office building where Development Site Advisors is headquartered!) I won that job, got issued a territory (Astoria, Sunnyside & Woodside at the time with 2,516 targeted properties) and the rest as they say is history.

Since then, I’ve been involved with the sale of hundreds of real estate transactions across every cycle this city has thrown at us:

-From the ashes of 9/11 to the 2008 Great Recession…

-From the expiration of 421-a tax abatement in 2016 and again in 2022…

-From a global pandemic that froze the city in 2020…

-To interest rate shocks starting in 2022…

-And a political climate and policies that’s shifted hard left since 2018.

But the truth is New York City always comes back.

Not because of policies, but because of the people who build here.

Developers. Owners. Risk-takers. Visionaries.

That’s who we serve. That’s all we serve.

Since 2019, my entire focus has been land + air rights: development sites and redevelopment properties.

Nothing else.

No multifamily, no long-term leased retail, no warehouses. (we refer that business out to the right broker for the assignment.)

We built the only firm in NYC with a team of truly in-house architects and zoning experts that only sells development sites.

We don’t chase commission. We don’t sell to tally. We don’t dilute the brand. And we don’t pivot. We only exist to add value.

Because if we’re not the best at it, we simply won’t do it.

I launched The Rubin Report: The Pulse of the NYC Development Market to cut through the noise.

To help owners, developers, residential and commercial agents, attorneys, architects and frankly, anyone who cares about this city understand what’s really happening in the world of development.

Who's building. What’s being built. Where zoning is changing. What those changes are. What policies are coming down the pipeline. And how those shifts affect land value, construction costs, feasibility, and where there is long-term opportunity.

NYC doesn’t stand still. It reinvents itself block by block, lot by lot, building by building.

And if you understand that process, you don’t have to just watch the skyline change you can become part of shaping it.

That’s what this report is about. My report will make you money: if you know how to use it.

I hope you enjoy it and please share it with anyone who you might think will benefit from it.

In this issue

• Recent New Building Filings: Manhattan & Queens
• The Land Lending Landscape
• Get Smart on The New Rezonings
• The All-Electric Buildings Act is here - What is it?
• The Interborough Express (IBX) Advances from Planning to Active Phase

7 New Building Permits: Manhattan & Queens

MANHATTAN

246 West 18th Street, Chelsea

Where: Located between 7th Ave & 8th Ave

Zoning: C6-2A

Lot Area: 4,600 sf Interior Lot

Lot Frontage: 49.42’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build an 11-Story, 120-ft-tall, 27,540 ZFA, 19-Unit Apartment Building

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Reuben Pinner of Prime Builders

Architect: Rasesh Doshi of RyDE Design Group

Filing Rep: Ori Altmark of Pine Code & Zoning Consultant

Structural Engineer/Demolition: George Cambourakis of Structural Engineering Technologies

MEP/Excavation Engineer: Raimundo Ramos of Downtown Engineers

SOE Engineer: Ahmed Abdelmohsen of FMA Engineering Services

Plumbing Engineer: Nicholas Kumbatovic of Cameron Engineering

Scaffold: Amal Hassan of Rigid Structural Design

Deal Notes: Site Purchased for $10,500,000 ($381/zfa) via a Bankruptcy on 8/5/2024 with an Acquisition Loan from Lender SME Capital Ventures for $8,000,000.  Construction Loan from SME Capital Ventures on 12/24/2024 for $11,150,000 ($405/zfa).

*Rendering image from rydedesign.com

110 East 16th Street, Gramercy/Union Square

Where: Located between Union Square E & Irving Place

Zoning: C6-2A

Lot Area: 6,660 sf Interior Lot

Lot Frontage: 65’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build an 22-Story, 283-ft-tall, 110,386 ZFA, Mixed-use Building with 52 Dwelling Units, 30,677sf of Commercial Space

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Dan Unger of Tishman

Architect: Morris Adjmi of Morris Adjmi Architects

Filing Rep: Graham Daley of JM Zoning

Excavation/Underpinning Engineer: Walter Kaeck of Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineer

MEP Engineer: Christopher Burgess of EP Engineering

Foundation Engineer: Borys Hayda of Desimone Consulting Engineering Group

*Rendering image from tishman.com

408 East 116th Street, East Harlem

Where: Located between First Avenue & Pleasant Avenue

Zoning: R7B/R7X

Lot Area: 5,638 sf Through Lot

Lot Frontage: 56’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build an 7-Story, 75-ft-tall, 17,925 ZFA, Apartment Building with 23 Units

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Imer Cami of AVC General Contracting | Cami Brothers Harlem LLC

Architect: Michael Muroff of Michael Muroff Architect LLC

Deal Notes: Paid $5,081,875 ($283.50/ZFA)  for the site in December 19, 2024 with owner financing in the amount of $4,000,000.

QUEENS

30-16 23rd Street, Astoria

Where: Located between 30th Avenue & 30th Road

Zoning: R6B

Lot Area: 3,125 sf Interior Lot

Lot Frontage: 25’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build an 5-Story, 50-ft-tall, 6,210 ZFA, 8-Unit Apartment Building

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Konstantine Drakopoulos

Architect: Gerald Caliendo of Gerald Caliendo Architects

Structural/Foundation/Excavation Engineer: Gennady Saratovsky of Engineering Group Associates

Filing Rep: Adriane Barongi of IMA Expediting

MEP Engineer: Chris Sideris of Sideris Kefalas Engineers

Demolition Engineering: Peter Stroh of Stroh Engineering Services

Deal Notes: Purchased the site for $1,275,000 ($205/zfa) on 6/8/2023 in an all-cash transaction. Construction loan from Dime Community Bank for $2,785,000 ($448/zfa) on 1/23/2025.

38-80 11th Street, Long Island City

Where: Located on the corner of 10th Street & 40th Avenue

Zoning: M1-3

Lot Area: 22,546 sf Blockfront Lot

Lot Frontage: 199.93’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build an 6-Story, 70-ft-tall, 110,430 ZFA, 150-Unit Homeless Shelter

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Matthew Gross of Urban Builders Collaborative (UBC) + Gerard Lettire of Lettire Construction + Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC)

Architect: Randy Wood of Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects

Structural/Foundation Engineer: Stephen DeSimone of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Curbcut Engineer: John Carbone of AKRF

Excavation Engineer: Ziad Maad of Geotechnical Engineering Services

Filing Rep: Olga Yujuk of Design 2147

Mechanical Systems Engineer: Matthew Wavro of Skyline Engineering

Construction Fence Engineer: Ryan Hansen of Hansen Engineering

Demolition Engineering: Santiago Helman of H & O Engineering

Demolition Expeditor: Viviana Henao of Expedite Dem Inc

Granted Homeless Shelter - The non-profit bowery residents' committee (brc) or provider), is seeking funding from the new york city department of homeless services (dhs) to construct and operate a new families with children shelter (shelter or facility) in long island city, queens (proposed action). under the proposed action, dhs would enter into a 30-year contract with the provider, where the term will allow the building owner to secure the financing necessary to construct the new building for the purpose of providing temporary shelter for families with children.

BRC received rent approval for an annual rent of $4,550,004 for 150 units.

Deal Notes: Purchased the site for $14,000,000 ($127/zfa) on 3/29/2024 in an all-cash transaction.

*Rendering image from lettire.com

70-28 Grand Central Parkway, Forest Hills

Where: Located between 70th Road & 72nd Road

Zoning: R7A/R7X

Lot Area: 57,038 sf

Lot Frontage: 240’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build a 13-Story, 139-ft-tall, 191,930 ZFA, 241-Unit Apartment Building + 121 enclosed parking spaces & 86 open parking spaces.

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Rudolf Abramov of RJ Capital Holdings

Construction Management: Jason Sinclair of JS Realty Development | Sinclair Construction Management

Architect: Luigi Russo of SLCE Architects

Filing Rep: Yury Yagudayev of Yagudayev Architecture Studio

Excavation/Foundation Structural Engineer: Neil Wexler of Wexler Associates

MEP Engineer: Waldir Alvarez of Ettinger Engineering Associates

*Rendering image from sinclaircm.com

61-06 Junction Blvd aka 93-30 93rd Street, Rego Park

Where: Located on the corner formed by Horace Harding Expy, 93rd Street & Junction Blvd

Zoning: R8

Lot Area: 139,558 sf

Lot Frontage: 613’

What’s Filed: Plans filed to build a 22-Story & 28-Story, 2-Tower 230.5-ft-tall, 660,029 ZFA, 630 Dwelling Unit Mixed-Use Buildings consisting of 70,468 zfa of Commercial Space, 113,636 of Community Facility Space and 475,925 zfa of Residential.

Development Team:

Developer/Owner: Jiashu Xu of Grand Construction and Development

Architect: Ning Lu of Lu Ning Architecture

Filing Rep: Joseph Todisco of Domani Consulting

The Land Lending Landscape

SOFR, The Secured Overnight Financing Rate today it is at 4.3%. This is important because construction loans are typically based off of 400+ points above SOFR. For example, a construction loan today at 550 over SOFR would equate to 9.8%.

The Prime Rate has been steady at 7.5% since December 2024. Many private lenders will base their rates on the prime rate; typically, 300 to 500 points+ above prime. So, for example, if you purchased a development site and financed the acquisition, that short term acquisition loan rate would most likely be between 10.5% and 12.5%+.

The 10 Year Treasury Rate is at 4.289%, down from it’s high of 4.79% in January of this year. (In August of 2020, the 10-year was at 0.70%!). This rate is typically tied to Mortgage Rates. Today a 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Average sits at 6.58%

Get Smart on The New Rezonings

MSMX - Midtown South Mixed-Use Neighborhood Plan

By applying new higher-density R11 and R12

districts with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, the plan would create 9,700 new homes, including up to 2,900 permanently affordable homes.

Approved by The New York City Council Land Use Committee on 8/6/2025!!

The Jamaica Neighborhood Plan

The proposal would update zoning to help Jamaica grow and thrive, with up to 12,000 new homes - including around 4,000 permanently income-restricted affordable homes — in a 230-block area of Jamaica.

Approved by City Planning Commission on 8/13/2025!

The OneLIC Neighborhood Plan

The OneLIC Neighborhood Plan

would create 14,700 homes including 4,300 income restricted affordable homes and over 3.7 million square feet of commercial and community facility uses

In the Public Review Process

Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan (AAMUP)

The plan now allows the development of 4,600 new units, including around 1,900 permanently affordable homes — in a 13-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue & neighboring blocks of Crown Heights & Bed-Stuy.

Approved by The New York City Council on 5/28/2025!

The All-Electric Buildings Act

The state’s rules will apply to new structures up to seven stories tall and, for commercial and industrial buildings, up to 100,000 square feet beginning Dec. 31, 2025. Buildings bigger than that will need to be built all-electric starting in 2029.  The new law will start phasing in beginning in 2026 and will be fully implemented beginning in 2029, depending on the size of the construction project.

Here is what the plan does:

• Starting in 2026, most new construction of buildings in New York that are seven stories or shorter must be built to use electric heat and appliances. This will also apply to larger commercial buildings with 100,000 square feet or more of conditioned floor area.
• Taller residential buildings and smaller commercial buildings will be rolled into the program in 2029.

There are exemptions:

• Some industries, like restaurants, hospitals and doctors’ officers, factories, and agricultural buildings will be automatically exempt from these requirements.
• Existing buildings will not be impacted by these new requirements, even if they’re being repaired or renovated. If you build an addition on your house, you can still use gas.
• Existing gas appliances can also be replaced with new gas appliances.
• Waivers will be available for new construction projects if the local electric corporation or municipality can’t provide reliable service within a reasonable timeframe.

Interborough Express (IBX) Advancing from Planning to Active Phase

The Interborough Express (IBX) will connect historically underserved communities in Brooklyn and Queens to the subway, bus and Long Island Rail Road, while significantly reducing travel times between Brooklyn and Queens, with an end-to-end run time of 32 minutes along the 14-mile line. In April, Governor Hochul approved $2.75 billion in funding for the project as part of the historic 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan.

The IBX will be a new transit option for close to 900,000 residents living in neighborhoods along the route, along with 260,000 people who work near the corridor in Brooklyn and Queens. It will create 19 stations and connect with 17 different subway lines — A, C, E, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 5, 7, B, D, F, M, J, Z and L trains — 50 bus routes and two LIRR stations. The project will be built along an existing, 14-mile freight line owned by the MTA LIRR and CSX Corp. that extends from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens. New York and Atlantic Railway currently operates freight rail on the corridor under a concession agreement on the LIRR branch.

(You can see a video of the IBX area by clicking the image below)

The IBX will be the first new end-to-end rapid transit built entirely within New York City since the IND Crosstown Line, now called the G, fully opened in 1937. IBX stations built in Brooklyn will be the first transit stations built in the city’s most populous borough since the A line extended from Broadway Junction to Euclid Ave in 1948. IBX stations in Queens will be the first new transit stations built since the Archer Avenue extension of the E, J, and Z lines to Jamaica in 1988.

What to look out for? Major rezonings to happen across these lines!