HUD to examine affordable housing plans
Federal scrutiny of the mayor’s housing plans could bring efforts to expand affordable housing to a standstill. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is reviewing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plans to determine whether the plans violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars developments receiving federal funds from discrimination based on race or national origin. In question is the city’s “community preference” provision, which allocates up to half of lottery-based openings in new residential developments with below-market rents to neighborhood residents, the Wall Street Journal reported. The primary issue is whether giving more spots to area residents skews the pool so that it does not reflect the city’s overall demographics. A New York University study, for instance, found that East New York’s population is 80 percent black and Latino, while these groups make up roughly half the city’s total population. Despite concerns about gentrification, some housing advocates maintain that the community preference reinforces patterns of segregation.
Modular housing plan may help developers
A proposal from the mayor’s office may help developers looking to build modular structures, Crain’s reported. The plan would change zoning height restrictions to allow for taller modular projects in certain mid- and high-density areas. Because modular units are built off site and then stacked on top of each other on location, the floors are much thicker and buildings rise taller than traditionally constructed buildings with the same square footage. The reforms would allow modular developments to be slightly higher than current code, which would also allow higher ceiling heights. The proposal must go through a public-review process.
Rulings let bankrupt tenants keep below-market-rate apartments
Tenants who file for bankruptcy will not lose their below-market-rate apartments when they’re current with the rent, thanks to recent opinions from the New York State Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan. Bloomberg News reported the rulings ensure that individuals can no longer be evicted from their rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments if they file for bankruptcy but are still able to pay rent. The issue centered on whether a lease could be considered property in the bankruptcy case. The state court ruled in November that rent-stabilization rights are exempt because they are a form of public assistance, which a bankruptcy trustee can’t sell. The federal court likewise found that a below-market lease cannot be claimed by creditors.
Mayor, City Council relations cool
Relations between the mayor and the City Council are stormy, particularly on issues of affordable housing, Crain’s reported. Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito still has not signed off on the mayor’s affordable housing proposal to bring 7,250 new units to East New York, and some speculate that she may not have taken a stance. In addition, de Blasio and the Council disagree on how the expansion of affordable units should proceed. For instance, Council member Jimmy Van Bramer continues to oppose the Sunnyside project in Queens, where de Blasio wants to build up to 11,250 new affordable units. The Council has also opposed the mayor’s plans to shut down the city’s horse-carriage industry. Disagreements about the Brooklyn Marine Terminal project similarly strained the mayor’s relationships with certain council members.