Extell’s Gary Barnett (left) and broker Robert Shapiro are in favor of REBNY’s 421-a proposal.

The city is mulling over a proposal from the Real Estate Board of New
York that would increase the value of 421-a negotiable certificates
that are part of an affordable housing incentive program that gives
10-year tax abatements to owners and developers of residential
apartments. The industry group wants to base the tax deduction on the full assessed value of
the property — as the state law was originally written in the 1980s –
not on a narrower limit that was imposed two years ago. In 2007, the state law capped the amount that could be deducted at an
assessed valuation of $65,000. Once the limit was in place, the
certificates with it sold for prices about half those of the
certificates that were not capped. By Adam Pincus [more]