Bronx Rep. Torres touts affordable housing dub in now-failed Signature Bank loan sale
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres is touting the finalization of a real estate loan portfolio sale last month after Signature Bank failed last spring — saying more than 19,000 units of Bronx housing are out of the hands of potentially careless developers and now belong to investors who prioritize affordable housing.
Torres sounded the alarm after New York City’s Signature Bank was the latest in a string of big bank collapses to send ripple effects through the economy in March 2023. Signature Bank, which championed cryptocurrency lending, closed its doors last spring after California-based institutions Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank — also big digital and crypto dealers — fell a few weeks prior due to instability with crypto deposits, customer withdrawals and plummeting stock prices.
Signature Bank’s loan portfolio — part of the bank’s assets at the time of its collapse — was particularly worrisome for Torres, since the bank served as a major real estate lender in the city. He cautioned that the loans in the Bronx and other boroughs could be sold to a buyer who “brings greater disinvestment and displacement,” or that the properties will be refinanced at higher interest rates — which he said “could mean less money for the maintenance” of the properties themselves.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public trust in the country’s financial system, was responsible for selling the residential New York City loans after Signature Bank’s failure.
“When New York City sneezes, the Bronx gets the flu,” Torres told the Bronx Times in an interview earlier this month. “And nowhere more so than on the issue of housing.”
But the warning bells quit ringing last month after the loan portfolio was sold in three parts, and Torres said he’s happy with the buyers.
NYPD reports three Bronx teens and one 12-year old missing in the past week
The NYPD is currently seeking the public’s assistance in locating multiple Bronx teenagers and a 12-year old, all males from within the borough, who were reported missing late last week.
The three teens and 12-year old were reported missing by the NYPD on consecutive days late last week — Thursday, Jan. 11 and Friday, Jan. 12.
Initially, the string of recent incidents involving missing teens began with the disappearance of 12-year old Jaylin Colon, who was reported as being last seen leaving his home located on Cambreleng Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx at approximately 7:40 a.m. on Jan. 11.
The 48th Precinct says Colon is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 110 pounds. He has a medium complexion, short black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a black coat, brown sweater and multicolored sneakers.
Police at the 52nd Precinct described Ovalie Vasquez as a 5’6″ male who is approximately 135 pounds and was last seen wearing a dark green jacket and grey sneakers.
The next day, on Friday, Jan. 12, police reported two more missing teens from the Bronx, both from within the confines of the 43rd Precinct.
Is a men’s homeless shelter still coming to the northeast Bronx?
Northeast Bronx residents may have been fooled. While they were told three years ago a shelter wasn’t coming to Community Board 11, it seems one is being built.
In July 2021, NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) announced the single men’s 200-bed shelter, which was set to be constructed at 1682 Stillwell Ave. near private homes and schools, instead will now be located at 2443 Poplar St. in Westchester Square and a community health center will come to Stillwell. Yet, it still appears a shelter is being constructed at that site.
While plans call for a the conversion of a one-story building to a six-story community facility, the certificate of occupancy preview says there will be 40 units with 25 beds per floor on four floors.
According to Andrew Rudansky, press secretary for the New York City Department of Buildings, (DOB) this will be an independent out-of-hospital health facility with sleeping accommodations for patients and is being built under Use Group 4. The zoning lot of 1682 Stillwell Ave. is in a M1-1 / R6A district and use of group 4 is allowed in those districts, according to the DOB.This is as-of-right, meaning the proposed development complies with the zoning for the property, and therefore does not need to go the NYC Planning Department to request a rezoning or request a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA).
However, Use Group 4 does not actually allow sleeping accommodations — those parameters fall under Use Group 3, which is not allowed in this M zoning.
The developer, BILD Architecture, is building on the R6 portion and not the M1. This means they don’t need a special permit to put a shelter there under Use Group 3, but require a letter approving from NYC Housing Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for Use Group 3.
Bronx residents owed $7.2 million in unused gift cards from comptroller’s office
A total of $7.2 million in funds from unused gift cards is owed to Bronx residents, according to a report from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office.
In 2023 alone, DiNapoli’s Office of Unclaimed Funds (OUF) recovered $27 million in gift cards that were never spent, according to the report. When a New Yorker misplaces or never uses a gift card, the money doesn’t just disappear — after five years, it goes to the OUF, which currently houses over $18.4 billion in unclaimed funds.
The Bronx ranks third among the boroughs for the amount of money collected from unused gift cards, the report states.
“Many people don’t realize that after five years, unused gift card balances are turned over to the Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds,” DiNapoli said. “Now is a great time to check for unclaimed funds and use those gift cards you received over the holidays to avoid possible inactivity fees or having the money turned over to my office.”
Bronx residents can check for unclaimed funds owed to them by searching their name on the OUF website. If unused gift card money is registered under their name and address, they can claim it through the site and receive a check for that allotted amount.
The Bronx is ‘valuable’ when it comes to housing affordability in NYC: report
Affordable housing in the Bronx may be a crucial tool in fighting the housing crisis in New York City, according to new data from the New York State Comptroller’s office.
In a housing report released on Jan. 12, the comptroller’s office emphasized that affordable housing development in the Bronx “may be particularly valuable to ease affordability issues” in New York City’s housing market — pointing to the low rental vacancy rate and amount of affordable housing stock built in the borough since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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