Category: Herkimer Home Garden Real Estate

How Can An ADU Help the Housing Crisis in Upstate NY?

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Help solve housing crisis! Approve ADU Housing NOW!
14.5 M housing units suffered damage in the last year due to severe weather. ADUs can help solve our immediate housing crisis.

Linda J. Kaidan

Accessory Dwellings to the Rescue NYS

Nationwide extreme weather has magnified the severe housing crisis in upstate NY.  On 2/17/22 The Washington Post reported that 14.5 million dwelling units sustained property losses in the preceding 12 months. Damages totaled about  $57 Million by November 17, 2022.  The current US population is  333 M and there is 1 housing unit for every 2.5 people (US Census).

36.25 M people suffered damage to their homes from severe weather in a 1-year period. (36.25 M / 333 M ) or 10% of the US population in a single year!

ADU is an accessory dwelling unit that can be attached or detached.  New York State Senate Bill S4547A 2021-2022,  which has not yet passed, proposes the legalization of ADUs on properties zoned residential, with the expectation that it will help homeowners earn some income while proving affordable rental housing in a tight market. The American Institute of Architects describes ADUs as attached or detached units situated on a single lot. They may include garage apartments, finished basements, or in-law suites.

In New York State some municipalities provide legal zoning for ADUs! Where can we build an ADU?

In Utica, NY you can build an ADU up to 800 SF.

Syracuse ADU zoning is defined in the document Rezone Syracuse Ordinance  December 2019.

Neither Albany, NY nor New York City have approved ADU construction. Overall it appears that little headway in ADU permitting has been achieved in New York State’s urban areas. It seems very sad that zoning is not more flexible, especially as it would help create more affordable housing, provide extra income to homeowners and stretch urban infrastructure.  Let’s hope we can change some minds soon.

Micron’s 100 Billion $ Investment Leads to Land Grab in Central NY

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Land Grab
Housing Shortage in Central NY May be causing Land Grab

by Linda Kaidan

On Aug 25, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order to implement semiconductor funding in the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Chip manufacturer Micron considered two candidate states for its new facility: Texas and NY. Just one week after  Hurricane IAN struck Gulf  Coast  Fort Meyers FL on October 4, 2022, Micron Announced its $100 Billion Megafab Manufacturing Facility would be built in central NY.

Texas has been troubled by significant flooding, drought, and tornados making it unattractive in terms of climate change safety! It is anticipated that the new Micron facility in Clay New York will bring 50,000 new jobs to New York State. US-based supply chain safe DRAM production reduces risk while improving our local economy.
 
There is limited availability of homes nationwide! Even before IAN caused massive devastation in Florida, Pewtrusts.org reported that it might take 10 years to catch up on housing shortages. Massive construction of housing projects in NYS will be needed to provide homes for those who move here!
 
Greedy investors are motivated to grab available properties in Central NY. Some may use street gangs to harass vulnerable owners into moving! If you feel that this is happening to you don’t give in or you will be giving up your personal goldmine! We recommend an easy solution that is totally legal. Try Halt II Dog Repellant. Legal in New York State it repels dogs of all kinds 🙂 Also, take lots of photos and post them on YOUTUBE. Use hashtag gangBgone#. Giving up your nest egg is idiotic and will result in far more economic insecurity for your family!
 
Be brave and keep safe. You CAN do it!
 
 
 

NYS Affordable Housing Replaces Crumbling Contaminated Building

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Herkimer Village Affordable Housing Improvements
Tan building in background under demolition will be replaced by parking for adjacent affordable housing with funding provided by New York State.

by Linda Kaidan

It’s taken many years, but the dangerous hulk of a building at the corner of Protection Ave and King Street is finally being demolished. Yesterday a Herkimer County  Official and a Rochester-based asbestos removal contractor supervised the leveling. You can view how it looked just 10 days before.

Dangerous dilapidated structure on King St Herkimer days before demolition.

The property will be repurposed as a parking lot for affordable housing residents in an adjacent complex currently under renovation. 

Herkimer Stoneridge Affordable Housing
Expected Completion 2023

Public parking is woefully unavailable in Herkimer Village. On-street overnight parking is not available either. It would be very helpful if on-street permit parking were allowed for at least one vehicle per residence. This would help many share their homes with others in a time of great housing shortage. 

New Stone Ridge Day Care
Housing Project Funded By New York State

We might also consider multi-story housing. There is much precedence in our municipality.  Ground-level could provide parking for 3 or 4 stories of small to moderate-sized apartment units above.  More public transportation could help alleviate the need for parking and reduce ever-rising fuel and maintenance costs for those dependent on their own vehicles.

New York State’s investment in affordable housing infrastructure is much appreciated :).

Climate Change Projected To Improve Herkimer NY Economy

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by Linda Kaidan

 We’re republishing this prophetic article, first posted in June 2017, to help those researching places to move to in upstate New York following the devastation of Hurricane Ida.

Yesterday’s New York Times discussed damage to our economy likely to be caused by climate change. Herkimer County NY (see above map) is likely to have GDP growth of at least 5% per year rather than GDP decline. This is indicated by the dark green color on the map. Similar advantages of climate are shared by west Alaska, adjacent Hamilton County and Maine.

Climate Change DEMOGRAPHICS will transform herkimer

The Herkimer Post’s recent review of Herkimer’s soaring home sales strongly hints that retirees who might once have moved South are relocating to Central New York, and especially to conveniently-located Herkimer. Given increasingly refined and alarming climate change figures, this migration trend’s likely to accelerate. 

There’s little residential construction in Herkimer and the supply of available housing is small. Competition for existing homes will become brisk. Buyers of vacation homes may also be turning their eyes from the sandy but imperiled Atlantic and Gulf beach communities north to the Mohawk Valley and Southern Adirondacks.

A critical mass of middle and upper-middle-class home buyers inevitably transform a community. Landlords either sell out or renovate properties to appeal to affluent newcomers. Empty storefronts become shops again. The police become responsive and the streets safe as criminals move on, no longer tolerated and unable to make a living. We saw this transformation happen in Boston’s Roxbury and Charlestown, and we’re seeing it begin here in Herkimer.

Promising new technologies can reduce greenhouse gas

Climate change becomes more erratic and costly every year. Yet there are many technologies that will help combat this devastating process. As our president continues to deny climate change, some technology innovators are filling the gap left by ineffectual governance.

Bill Gates is heading a $1 billion venture fund supporting development of clean energy technology, Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Co-founders include Jeff Bezos and Richard Brandon. The goal of the fund is to build companies that will provide affordable emissions-free energy. Gates is personally investing $1 billion in startups and companies starting this year.

Climeworks, a new Swiss company hopes to extract 1% of worldwide CO2 from the atmosphere by 2025. Company founders Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher invented a Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology while students at ETH Zurich. They have lowered the cost of CO2 extraction from the air to less than $600 per ton. Climeworks envisions that they can create 250,000 plants by 2025.

Reducing greenhouse gases is essential to the planet’s survival, but blocking the sun may buy some time. Today there are over 375 operational nanosatellites in space, which may help us to find and improve climate change solutions.

As the earth grows ever hotter, it makes sense to consider moving to those green places on the map which are the most sustainable to live in, places like Herkimer, NY.

From September 16, 2017:

Herkimer County Ideal for Hurricane Refugees

Herkimer Hydraulic Canal No Longer Exists Yet Lowers Property Values

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Herkimer Hydraulic Canal Park

by Linda Kaidan

Final phase of Herkimer's Hydraulic Canal project is finished. (View from East Smith Street toward the Mohawk River.)
A section of the now completed Hydraulic Canal project, looking toward the Mohawk River from East Steele Street. Despite the out-of-date FEMA Flood maps, the area is no longer a flood risk

What is Herkimer’s Hydraulic Canal? How does it impact FEMA flood designations which influence both property values and the cost of flood insurance?

In the 1830’s Herkimer, NY was home to several major industries including furniture manufacturing and a paper mill. Local companies made use of hydraulic energy to power their production enabled by the construction of the Herkimer Hydraulic Canal. The canal’s water originated in West Canada Creek.

Ancient map of Herkimer's Hydraulic Canal, published by New Department of Environmental Conservation.
Ancient map of Herkimer’s Hydraulic Canal, published by New Department of Environmental Conservation.

“An oompah band can march most of the length of the former canal.

Eventually, the canal was no longer used and became a dumping site and a flood hazard. By 2021, a remediation project succeeded in making the hydraulic canal area much safer. The former Herkimer Hydraulic Canal is now cleaned, filled in, and flood safe. It is now a lovely green space.  An oompah band can march most of the length of the former canal. Newer parts of the greenway are fenced off and hopefully will become a village park that leads to the banks of the Mohawk River.

Herkimer Hydraulic Canal(left). View from East Steele St.
Hydraulic Canal (left) where it crosses beneath East Steele Street and continues on to the Mohawk River to the right.

If you think your property has incorrect FEMA flood zoning you can submit a zoning change to FEMA!

It appears that remediation has not yet become part of the FEMA flood risk map commonly used by realtor.com. FEMA still shows this area as a dangerous flood zone (FEMA flood map-featured image-top). It continues to adversely impact local property values and gives potential home buyers concern.
If you are selling a home along the former hydraulic canal please contact FEMA to change your flood zone rating using this link.  If you are planning on getting flood insurance, you should also consider examining your FEMA designation and make an effort to correct it where applicable. It can save you from higher premiums!

The current FEMA Flood Map shows flooding in zones where Herkimer Hydraulic Canal has been filled in.
The current FEMA Flood Map shows flooding in zones where Herkimer Hydraulic Canal has been filled in.

Herkimer Soars As Americans Migrate From Coasts

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Stephen Ames Berry

Herkimer’s soaring into a brave new world, as people migrating from our coasts to climate and pandemic safety zones such as upstate New York move here, contending briskly for homes. A house in our cute conveniently located village seems to sell every 90 seconds, even as prices continue ever upward. The sharp-eyed will have spotted license plates from as far away as Alaska and Washington state, California and Texas, with the Carolinas and Florida well-represented. 

There are a phenomenal number of people scoping out our once forgotten area. Linda Kaidan’s photos of the Mohawk Valley, centered on Herkimer, have had over 4 million views. In the last 30 days, The Herkimer Post has enjoyed almost 15,000 page views, 90% of them from new visitors. We have a well-earned reputation for telling it as it is. And you do want to know how it is there before you commit to someplace new. (“We Publish What They Won’t” proclaims our masthead. We are not “The Herkimer Happy Hour.”)

Herkimer Post 30 Day Page Views as of 5.4.21
Herkimer Post 30 Day Page Views as of 5.4.21

When the eviction moratorium ends, we’ll probably see more houses for sale here as nonpaying tenants are moved on and battered owners decide to wash their hands of what was once a safe, reliable investment. Even then there won’t be enough housing stock to meet the press of the demand.

Historically in boom times, undeveloped land is the next to go. Given the rapid growth of chip manufacturing in Upstate, notably Cree in Utica, this region may become the new Silicon Valley. Hopefully, New York will impose strict controls on growth. I hope we won’t see our magnificent countryside crammed with houses and choked by traffic. 

Climate change projected to improve Herkimer NY economy

 

Fast 3D-Printed Housing in New York State: A Simple Solution for a Complex Time

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Linda Kaidan

PERI, a German technology company, has been the first to create a 3D printed multistory building that is fully German certified. The BOD2 3D printer can construct a 3 story building of 10,000 square feet.

With construction supplies in short demand, it’s a relief to see the debut of a new construction methodology that can decrease construction prices by 50% or more. 3D printing robots have become more functional than ever, and now can be used to create buildings of up to 3 stories. This multi-story functionality is especially important, as it can reduce urban sprawl.  We need never again create another San Fernando Valley of congestion, unbreathable air, and unaffordable homes.

Upstate New York has experienced a massive shortage of housing in the last year. Few homes are available for sale. Housing unavailability is also driven by many who see central and northern NY as an ideal location for remote work and home offices at a more reasonable price than their current homes in more urban areas. Statistics published by the New York State Association of Realtors for the 12 month period ending January 2021 indicate that sales increased by 16.7% and inventory dropped by 26.7%.

Constructiondive.com reports significant increases in basic building material costs over the past year, much of it the result of Covid-19 disruption:

Material % change Jan. 2020
to Jan. 2021
Iron and steel 15.6%
Steel mill products 7.4%
Softwood lumber 73%

SOURCE: Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of BLS data

3D Printing to the Rescue!

3D printed homes are constructed from concrete paste, typically mixed from local materials. Floors and walls, both interior and exterior, are extrusion printed by giant robots which are programmed to manufacture predesigned and tested structures on site. This construction can often be completed in a matter of days and includes whimsical curves that are far more enchanting than right angles and parallel planes. Home construction robots can cost $250,000 and up, but careful research and selection of a manufacturer will help to quickly build cost-efficient, high-quality housing. We certainly hope to see some local 3D printed housing soon spring up here in Upstate New York.

Recent 3D print housing projects in the US include gorgeous $10k Austin TX homeless housing and a home in Millbrook, NY listed for sale on Trulia for $300,000. Don’t be shy! Buy a nice abandoned farm and turn it into an attractive, affordable 3D printed home community. Help house our future😊

Marcy’s Nanotechnology Industry Drives Central NY Housing Shortage

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Nanotechnology Industry Drives Central NY Housing Shortage
Marcy magnet for home sales in central NY

by Linda Kaidan

As New York’s population decline continues Marcy’s Cree nanotechnology manufacturer draws real-estate buyers to our neighborhoods. Data from realtor.com shows that on 6/17/20 only 3 homes of any kind were available for sale in Marcy.

Proximity to Marcy is a strong indicator of reduced number of homes for sale.

Using realtor.com’s filter of all housing types including mobile, multi-family and single-family homes while excluding homes under contract, I collected statistics of homes for sale in 10 nearby communities. US census data provides population data.  The distance of each location to Marcy is derived from Google maps. I  also created an availability statistic which is a function of population and available homes for sale.

Distance to Marcy in miles Towns
1-10 Mohawk, Frankfort, Whitesboro, Rome, Utica, New Hartford
11-20 Herkimer
21-30 Little Falls, German Flats

The highest availability of homes for sale was found in Little Falls with one home for every 95 people.

In contrast, the lowest availability was found in Utica with one home available for every 905 people.

Lower availability of homes for sale suggests that we construct new affordable housing.

As internet purchasing outstrips brick and mortar retail establishments, outdated and defunct structures become available for re-purposing as residential communities. An example of  an outstanding makeover target is the abandoned Kmart located at 200 Washington St, Herkimer. This property has over 6.7 acres of sub-dividable land and is assessed at $2 million.  In convenient walking distance to numerous amenities, it also offers  relaxing views of the beautiful Mohawk Valley hills.

A close example of such an affordable housing construction project currently underway is the Snohomish County Washington site, formerly a Kmart.  Four hundred much needed residential units will replace the unused commercial area. Building energy efficient smaller homes with multi use and shared community spaces will positively impact our quality of life.

Affordable owner-occupied homes and improved public transportation will create a stronger community and a healthy local economy.

It’s clear that Marcy’s new nanotechnology industry drives Central NY housing shortage. But we can use this to our advantage by creatively creating affordable and accessible  housing alternatives. 

 

Walmart’s Elegant Upholstery Solution: Drab Holiday Upholstery Begone!

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Walmart’s Elegant Upholstery SolutionTransform your drab, worn and stained kitchen/dining  upholstery with Walmart’s elegant upholstery solution.

Dilapidated dining chairs look worse than ever on the holidays especially when guests are coming. Walmart can offer you an inexpensive and amazing solution with a little DIY magic of your own. Cover a stool or chair in 4 easy steps for under $4 in less than 1 hour.

Our once expensive bar stools were old and stained! With a guest arriving in a matter of days Walmart offered a quick solution that looks great the first time you try it!

Gathering Materials: Fabric and protective material

Step #1 I looked in the Walmart craft section for vinyl fabric. I discovered a bolt of dark brown vinyl 56” wide selling for $6.97 a yard. One yard is enough fabric to cover 2 bar stools with round seats 18” in diameter. I have 3 stools, so I bought 2 yards which leaves extra in case of mistakes!

Step #2 I used Walmart’s 5.5” x 8.5” stick-on soft plastic sheets to cover staples. A huge pack of 50 costs only $5. These are also in the crafts department and are amazingly easy to work with.

Your Tools: Just heavy-duty stapler and scissors

Step #3 The only tools you’ll need are a heavy-duty staple gun and reasonably OK scissors. Walmart sells the Arrow electric staple gun for $27.84. That’s the one I have and it’s great for permanent or semi-permanent projects. Just make sure that all sharp edges are covered.

The Process: Cutting, Stapling, Covering

Step #4 Measure your target seat. Add enough to cover the length, width and edge leaving enough extra to pull underneath and staple.

When you are done stapling, cover the tops of each staple for a finished look.

It took me about 1 hour to reupholster the first stool.I think it will be much quicker to do the next 2.

If you are interested in some quick and inexpensive design advice, add copy, or Airbnb.com & other photo prep contact me at NYURhome@gmail.com. You can see some projects I’ve done at NYURhome.com.

Happy Holidays 😊

Linda Kaidan

Expert Google Guides Photographer Putting Central NY on the map with 875,000+ photo views

Housing for NYC’s Climate Refugees in Central NY: An Urgent Priority

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NYC2050 underwater? Housing for NYC’s Climate Refugees
What should we do to save NYC residents from near term coastal disaster?

By Linda Kaidan

Why Housing for NYC’s Climate Refugees? Everywhere we’re finally acknowledging the immediacy of coastal climate change devastation. Now is the time to replace traditional spending behaviors with healthy behaviors that can save millions of people and millions of dollars. 

For example, we might ask, can we put part of NY’s $90.2 billion FY 2020 budget to better use as an investment in new permanent housing for 1 million coastal residents migrating to inland homes in Central NY?

New Housing for 1+ Million People

NYC Climate Change Migration Housing for NYC’s Climate Refugees

$60 billion will create infrastructure and homes for 1 million people in Central NY (CNY). The existing  Utica/Rome SMSA  population is roughly 350000.  With CNY quadrupling in size, exciting opportunities will exist for workers, learners and investors.

Central NY is experiencing significant growth in Health and High-Tech Sectors. For example, Cree is investing in a $1 Billion semiconductor chip processing plant in Utica. In Syracuse, Microsoft is participating in “Smart Cities”. New residents will have good opportunities for jobs, education and growing services. Ongoing expansion in medical sectors is taking place in both these cities.

Horrible facts mean let’s act quickly for a healthy future

Central NY has elevations well above the maximum predicted sea level rise. These range from 400 ft to 800 ft above sea level. New York State has the resources and wisdom to prepare for inevitable devastation by directing investments to critical targets that will promote security and prosperity. Rerouting coastal investment to optimal inland locations is key to our success!