The Daily Dirt: Affordable housing developers may get new density bump

This program will provide developers a 20 percent density bump — as long as that extra space is affordable.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to previous affordable housing initiatives, including a defunct senior housing program that provided a 20 percent floor area bonus to developers who built affordable senior housing. The city’s voluntary and mandatory inclusionary housing programs also award extra density for affordable housing.

The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity moves away from acronyms that end in IH. Instead it has the Universal Affordability Preference, or UAP. The program would function like the city’s voluntary inclusionary housing program, but will be available in more residential districts. Also, income levels of eligible residents will be calculated differently. The affordable apartments must also be on-site.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine held a rally last week for the program, saying UAP could lead to the construction of tens of thousands of housing units. A previous projection by the Department of City Planning found that had the policy been in place starting in 2014, roughly 20,000 additional affordable housing units would exist today. That, of course, assumes the presence of 421a, which expired in June 2022.

Without knowing UAP’s income requirements, it is hard to say how much housing it could create. Still, developers probably will not be clamoring to participate.

Kramer Levin’s Patrick Sullivan said that on its own, the program will likely not generate a significant amount of affordable housing and would likely require a 421a replacement. The density bump, however, may make sense for publicly subsidized housing projects that were already going to be 100 percent affordable, or projects that are mostly condos.

What we’re thinking about: How does developing in New Jersey and Connecticut compare with building in New York? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: Sandhogs Local 147 has a chaplain who recently descended 55 feet beneath Grand Central Station to say a prayer for the safe completion of a $115 million tunnel, Gothamist reports.

Elsewhere in New York…

— The 2026 World Cup final will be held in New Jersey, despite FIFA’s insistence that it is happening in a mythical place called New York New Jersey. The soccer championship’s final game will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

—  Dwayne Montgomery, a retired NYPD inspector accused of orchestrating an illegal straw donor scheme to raise money for Mayor Eric Adams in 2021, pleaded guilty to one count of fifth-degree conspiracy, Gothamist reports. Montgomery is barred from soliciting campaign funds or organizing a campaign fundraiser for at least one year.

— New York’s rollout of its cannabis market can move forward … for now. A federal judge declined to issue an injunction halting the licensing process, Politico New York reports.

Closing Time

Residential: The priciest residential closing Monday was $61 million for a condo at 730 Fifth Avenue in Midtown.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $17.6 million for the vacant lot at 11-14 35th Avenue, Queens.

New to the Market: The priciest residence to hit the market Monday was a co-op at 211 Central Park West on the Upper West Side asking $19.8 million. Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building filing of the day was for a 12,000-square-foot, four-story, eight-family, mixed-use building at 101-04 115th Street in Jamaica. Pirooz Engineering filed the permit application. — Jay Young