Atlanta is making way for new public housing

ATLANTA — In 1936, Atlanta built Techwood Homes, the nation’s first housing project. By the 1990s, a greater percentage of the city’s residents were living in housing projects — sprawling red-brick barracks that pockmarked the skyline — than in any other city in America.

Now, Atlanta is nearing a very different record: becoming the first major city to knock them all down. By next June, officials here plan to demolish the city’s last remaining housing project, fulfilling a long and divisive campaign to reduce poverty by decentralizing it.

Coop fees go through the roof

CO-OPS across the city have raised their maintenance charges by as much as 15 percent in recent months, and one of the main causes is rising property taxes.

Board members and building managers say that while maintenance increases averaged only about 5 percent last year, many co-op buildings are now dealing with double-digit increases.

Reinventing America's Cities: The Time is Now

HE country has fallen on hard times, but those of us who love cities know we have been living in the dark ages for a while now. We know that turning things around will take more than just pouring money into shovel-ready projects, regardless of how they might boost the economy. Windmills won’t do it either. We long for a bold urban vision.

In Staten Island, Harnessing the Wind

STAND for a moment by the shores of Arthur Kill, on the southwestern coast of Staten Island, and look past the choppy waves at the fuel storage tanks of Sewaren, N.J.

Harnessing the Sun, with Help from Cities

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Rick Clark’s garage is loaded with fast toys for playing in the sun. He has a buggy for racing on sand dunes, two sleek power boats for pulling water skiers, and a new favorite: 48 solar panels that send his energy meter whirring backward.

NY Court deals landlords huge setback

This is such good news... I'm looking forward to seeing some major speculators declare bankruptcy in the next year or two......

Judges say Tishman Speyer must keep units rent regulated as long as they get tax breaks, derailing building owners' plans to deregulate units to pay off their mortgages.

Tishman Speyer Properties and other owners of rent-regulated buildings suffered an enormous blow Thursday when the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled buildings receiving certain tax benefits could not deregulate apartments.

Joining the Car Pool, in the Internet Age

ALMOST two years ago, Marc Alston began to look around for a way to share the 50-mile daily commute between his home in Wappingers Falls and his job in White Plains. He found the solution on the Internet through a Web site that allows commuters — or people who want to share a ride anywhere — to find others going their way.