Columbia University (Manhattan, NY)
By Morgan Evans, LICENSED REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON
(Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
Is this a safe neighborhood or what's the crime rate? (FAQ#4)We work with many buyers that may not be familiar with all neighborhoods of Manhattan, they often ask us questions about the building and neighborhood, sometimes when we work with parents buying for children buyers, they are especially concerned about the neighborhood safety and crime rate. As a licensed Real Estate professional, we can not legally answer this question since we do not have the specific statistics or accurate data of each neighborhood's crime rate. Keep in mind that Manhattan New York is a city that almost never sleeps, on the average, working professionals work long hours than usual, many leave work 6:30pm or much later, and then usually go out socializing with friends or dinner with friends until late. So at ...
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By Mitchell J Hall, Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn
  Back in December I reported that the New York State Supreme Court awarded two small businesses a big victory over Columbia University, ruling that property owners can't be forced to give up land the school needs for an expansion project. The court ruled that the Empire State Development Corporation a state agency tried to stack the deck in Columbia’s favor and called the project a "Scheme". The court said that NY state "colluded" with Columbia to produce the very conditions that would then allow ESDC to seize property. The court ruling said "taking the properties to benefit an elite private university is unconstitutional and unwarranted. This week, in a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals overturned the lower court ruling that prohibited the state from using eminent domain to ta...
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By Mitchell J Hall, Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn
  Rendering of Columbia campus at 131st Street & Broadway Empire State Development Corporation has adopted the Columbia University General Project Plan and authorized a public hearing for the university's proposed West Harlem expansion.The state agency declared the 17-acre expansion footprint as blighted, a necessary step before using eminent domain. Two reports characterized the area by aging, poorly maintained and functionally obsolete industrial buildings, with little indication of recent reinvestment to revive their generally deteriorated conditions.The $6.28 billion project, which is to be funded entirely by the university, will add up to 6.8 million square feet of new, state-of-the-art facilities in up to 16 new buildings and in an adaptively reused existing building.The additiona...
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By Mitchell J Hall, Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn
Summer is almost over as evidenced yesterday by the crowds of NYU students in Greenwich Village. With a little help from their parents they moved into dorms and apartments in Greenwich Village.  Yesterday was NYU "Move -in Day."  A similar scenario takes place in Morningside Heights as Columbia University students begin moving in to their dorms and luxury apartments that Columbia owns. Both NYU and Columbia have been building real estate empires in their respective Manhattan neighborhoods. Both private non profit institutions have real estate holdings worth more than half a billion dollars. Columbia ownes more than 7,000 apartments and it's real estate is worth approximately $635 million. This number excludes the value of wharehoused property it has not yet converted to educational use....
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