The Daily Dirt: A housing recap and look ahead 

A lot happened in the final days of 2023 … at least in terms of real estate policy.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that broadens the definition of fraud in rent overcharge cases and codifies rules for setting rents of so-called Frankenstein apartments. The measure will be changed through chapter amendments, though the extent of those changes is not yet clear. In any case, landlords regard the bill as a disaster. 

Hochul also vetoed a second measure that also related to rent histories, saying it would have created “new standards and consequences that would retroactively impact established legal rights and obligations.” 

She signed the LLC Transparency Act, after eliminating actual transparency from the measure. Instead of creating a publicly searchable database with basic ownership information for LLC, the measure will create a database accessible only to law enforcement. 

Meanwhile, the Adams administration launched the Mixed Income Market Initiative, or MIMI. 

This is sort of a trend with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The agency also has a senior housing program with the acronym SARA and one for extremely low and low income housing that goes by ELLA. 

Anyway, HPD is accepting expressions of interest from developers looking to benefit from the program, which requires 70 percent of a project’s apartments to be affordable, including at least 15 percent for formerly homeless New Yorkers. Given these requirements, it is not clear how much interest this program will attract. It will combine city subsidy with an Article XI tax exemption, though the amount of funding available is not clear.

I spoke to a few developers and real estate attorneys after MIMI was announced, and while they were generally happy that the city is thinking of new ways to finance housing construction, they also acknowledged that developers who would otherwise take advantage of 421a would not likely flock to MIMI.

On Tuesday, one day before the start of the state’s legislative session, Hochul told reporters that housing will be “an important part” of her State of the State speech slated for next week. She indicated, however, that the ball is still in the legislature’s court.

What we’re thinking about: What housing-related policies will be in the governor’s State of the State agenda? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com. 

A thing we’ve learned: Bobcat populations are on the rise in New Jersey, according to NorthJersey.com. 

Elsewhere in New York…

— ​​ A 1.7 magnitude earthquake occurred early Tuesday morning near Astoria, according to the United States Geological Survey. The Queens quake prompted reports of what some New Yorkers thought sounded like small explosions on Roosevelt Island, NBC New York reports. No injuries or damage have been reported.  

— More than a dozen buses from Texas and Louisiana arrived in New Jersey over the weekend in an effort to get around New York’s restrictions on buses transporting migrants, the New York Times reports. Last week Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order requiring charter bus companies to provide 32 hours’ advance notice of migrants’ arrival and limiting arrivals to certain locations between 8 a.m. and noon weekdays.

— Since its founding in 1985, MTA Arts & Design has commissioned more than 400 artists to bring art to the city’s transit system, Gothamist reports. In addition to local artists, some well-known names such as Yoko Ono, Chuck Close and Roy Lichtenstein have completed work through the MTA’s program.