The State Senate voted 45 to 17 yesterday in favor of the property tax cap bill Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed last week, and now the spotlight is shifting to the Assembly, where support for the measure is less than assured, according to the New York Times. Whereas Senate approval was expected — the chamber has passed limits on property taxes in recent years under both Democratic and Republican majorities — several Democratic Assembly members haven’t been as enthusiastic thus far, and were reportedly offended that Cuomo sprung the bill upon them with no advance warning last Friday to get it passed before today’s release of his executive budget. [more]

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is taking an aggressive stance on rent regulation, according to the Wall Street Journal, saying that he won’t extend a tax break for residential developers until greater protections are ensured for rent-stabilized tenants. The tax break, known as 421-A, provides a tax abatement for new residential properties, something that pro-developer advocates say has encouraged new construction, even in a rocky economy. But Silver now says he won’t support 421-A unless it is amended to include pro-tenant provisions. [more]

From left: Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Vito Lopez and Gov. Andrew CuomoDemocratic leaders in the State Assembly are indicating that they are ready to throw their support behind a cap on local property taxes, according to the New York Times. The cap, which already has backing from the Republican-led Senate, is popular with voters in New York’s suburbs, who pay some of the highest property taxes in the country. But in return for their support, Democrats are requesting stricter rent regulations for New York City, a measure which is strongly opposed by Republicans and the real estate interests that helped Governor Andrew Cuomo get elected. [more]

Negotiations have resumed between the U.S. Postal Service and the New York City Department of Education, in a deal that would turn the Peck Slip Post Office in Lower Manhattan into a 400-seat elementary school, according to DNAinfo. The postal service first entered talks with city officials to sell the property this past summer, after putting the 70,800-square-foot building at 1 Peck Slip between Pearl and Water streets on the market in the spring. But negotiations deadlocked and the proposed sale, which officials say could help alleviate Lower Manhattan’s overcrowded schools, appeared to be in jeopardy. [more]

Mary Ann Tighe and Stephen Siegel of CBRE and 1 WTC

The New York Police Department has issued a secret request for proposals to environmental consulting firms to look at the effects of proposed security measures at the rebuilt World Trade Center. According to the Post, those involved with the project are worried that prospective tenants will be scared away, rather than comforted, by the move. Meanwhile, Larry Silverstein has reportedly tapped a CB Richard Ellis team led by Mary Ann Tighe and Stephen Siegel to market the already-rising 4 World Trade Center and the planned 3 World Trade Center and will announce the start of their leasing efforts next year. [more]

Silver is duking it out with Lower Manhattan’s pest problem

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver introduced a set of
guidelines for reducing the number of rats at Lower Manhattan
construction sites today, in response to a reported rise in resident
complaints. “This is a public health issue,” Silver said. “In certain
areas, particularly near Fulton Street, the streets have been literally
overrun with rats since construction and repair projects began earlier
this year.” Among the suggested rat-control guidelines is an uptick in
construction zone oversight, a reduction in the number of hours garbage
is allowed to sit curbside and an increase in rodent bait at building
sites. TRD

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The New York State Assembly has voted to extend New York’s rent stabilization and rent control laws in their current form through June 15, 2018, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Housing Committee Chair Vito Lopez announced today. The bill, said Lopez, is “a step towards creating certainty for the thousands of tenants of rent-stabilized apartments.” Rent regulations are intended to address vacancy rates of lower than 5 percent, below which point housing is legally considered to be in a state of emergency. New York City’s residential vacancy rate has been recently reported at less than 3 percent. “Affordable housing is a necessity, not a luxury,” Silver said. “We must continue addressing the needs of middle-income families during this economic crisis.” TRD

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The New York State Assembly has voted to extend New York’s rent stabilization and rent control laws in their current form through June 15, 2018, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Housing Committee Chair Vito Lopez announced today. The bill, said Lopez, is “a step towards creating certainty for the thousands of tenants of rent-stabilized apartments.” Rent regulations are intended to address vacancy rates of lower than 5 percent, below which point housing is legally considered to be in a state of emergency. New York City’s residential vacancy rate has been recently reported at less than 3 percent. “Affordable housing is a necessity, not a luxury,” Silver said. “We must continue addressing the needs of middle-income families during this economic crisis.” TRD

[more]

Battery Park City condominium owners and buyers may soon find it easier to obtain government financing for their purchases in the area. Fannie Mae had, in recent months, taken issue with Battery Park City’s ground leases, which vary widely from condo to condo and have an additional layer of complexity that comes from the Battery Park City Authority holding a master lease for the entire area. As Fannie Mae became more cautious, its mountain of paperwork grew and those complex ground leases got more difficult to sift through. But the government-sponsored mortgage giant has now hired an outside law firm to help it tackle the Battery Park City logjam, which, sources told the Broadsheet Daily, will make the process move much more quickly. State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is also said to have reached out to Fannie Mae officials to discuss financing difficulties in Battery Park City. In a letter to the Battery Park City Authority dated April 5, a Fannie Mae executive wrote, “Fannie Mae is ready and willing to purchase eligible loans secured by condominiums in Battery Park City,” though he did not reveal which condos would be eligible. [The Broadsheet Daily]

Lower Manhattan will get four more years of its commercial rent tax abatement after the state legislature voted to extend a set of incentives from 2005 intended to aid the downtown recovery. The subsidies, originally slated to expire tomorrow, will cost the city an estimated $12 million per year in uncollected taxes, according to the state’s Department of Budget. The new end-date for the program is in 2014; the state budget will not be affected by the tax abatement. Officials who backed the extension, along with the Downtown Alliance, which also pushed for the plan, argued that the slower-than-expected pace of the World Trade Center’s redevelopment, coupled with the sluggish economy, made the tax abatements necessary. “These incentives mean jobs and continued economic development throughout Lower Manhattan and will spur more businesses to relocate, renovate, and expand throughout the area,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Last year, the state extended a different set of incentives for Lower Manhattan, which cost the city and state roughly $200 million in taxes. [NYO]