Government briefs

Boroughs reject de Blasio’s zoning plan

Community boards across all five NYC boroughs largely rejected Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature proposal for affordable housing last month. The boards voted down the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan, which would require developers to set aside 25 percent of the floor area in a new residential development for affordable housing, and the Zoning for Quality Affordability proposal, which would allow taller building heights. The boards expressed concern that the housing wouldn’t be affordable enough and that it would increase the population without updating strained infrastructure, DNAinfo reported. However, the boards’ votes are only advisory and de Blasio noted that it’s ultimately up to the City Planning Commission and the City Council. The mayor said the Council has to “work with what we’ve got and the reality.” He added that he would continue to appeal directly to the public.

Federal transportation bill a boon for NYC

The first transportation bill passed by Congress in a decade has many “wins” for NYC, said Georgia Gann, de Blasio’s senior legislative adviser focusing on infrastructure, in a memo to Capitol Hill staffers. The $305 billion, five-year bill, which passed last month, increases funding for NYC by about $500 million, or $100 million a year, according to Gann, Capital New York reported. The bill also “rolls back threats to cut transit funding for New York subway and bus riders, instead increasing funding for core transit programs that benefit NYC,” the memo said. It also includes money for Amtrak, the Staten Island Ferry and the “Small Starts” program, which should give a boost to projects like the Woodhaven Boulevard bus rapid transit line in Queens. The city’s transit system had faced $80 million in cuts. What’s more, the bill encourages the construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River by reshuffling Amtrak funds.

Local groups sue Brooklyn developer

Two Brooklyn groups filed a second lawsuit in an attempt to save a city-protected view that they argue is being illegally blocked by Toll Brothers’ swanky hotel and condo development project along the waterfront. Save the View Now and the Brooklyn Heights Association say that the penthouse at the under-construction Pierhouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park is infringing on a legally protected view by 20 feet. They’ve sued Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Department of Buildings and Toll, asking for a stop-work order and that Toll be forced to demolish the portion of the building that it allegedly did not have the right to construct. The lawsuit came after the DOB said it wouldn’t take action against the developer, DNAinfo reported. Save the View Now filed a separate lawsuit earlier in 2015, arguing that the developer changed its plans for the site after the project was approved. In a statement, Brooklyn Bridge Park officials said: “As with all projects at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Pier 1 development will comply with the scenic view zoning requirements.” Toll Brothers declined to comment.

1,800+ NYC apartments to rent-stabilize

Eric Schneiderman

A two-year investigation by state and local authorities revealed that landlords of some 1,823 apartments citywide cheated the 421-a law by renting out rent-regulated apartments at market rates. According to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the landlords rented the apartments out at market rates despite the fact they had filed paperwork with the government indicating that the units would become condos, allowing them to avoid registering the apartments as rent-regulated. The findings will lead to more than 1,800 NYC apartments becoming rent-stabilized, Gothamist and DNAinfo reported. Of the 194 landlords under fire, 111 have agreed to resolve their violations and pay a total of $5 million in fines. More than 50 of the remaining landlords are still in violation after they failed to rent-stabilize more than 500 of their combined units. It’s unclear when the apartments would become rent-stabilized, although tenants have been notified of their rights to new leases.