Government Briefs

Hudson Yards development planning
The city plans this month to issue design guidelines and a request for proposals for the 26-acre Hudson Yards site on the Far West Side, the New York Sun reported. Redevelopment of the area, where the city wanted to build a stadium, could fall to a single developer who could build a 13-million-square-foot mega-project larger than Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards. The Related Companies, Brookfield Properties, Vornado Realty Trust, Tishman Speyer and the Durst Organization are in the process of preparing bids to develop the site, according to sources.

Law proposed to keep Starrett rents affordable
Senator Charles Schumer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are pushing a bill that would keep rents in Brooklyn’s Starrett City affordable regardless of whether it is sold, NY1 reported. The bill would require all the apartments to remain affordable through subsidizes from the Mitchell-Lama program. Clipper Equities, whose attempts to buy the complex were already rejected twice, says it supports the legislation.

Meatpacking gets historic nod
The entire Meatpacking District has been approved for listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places. The designation recognizes the area’s importance as a commercial hub in the city. Property owners who preserve their historic buildings will be entitled to tax breaks and grants.

UWS Historical Society plan may get OK
The Landmarks Preservation Commission said last month it would approve the New York Historical Society’s plans to renovate its landmarked building’s façde on Central Park West between 76th and 77th streets. The LPC had not yet voted on the matter, however, which would widen the building’s entrance. Critics of the Historical Society’s plans say the façde renovation is merely a front for the organization’s much more controversial proposal to build a 23-story residential tower on its property, the New York Sun reported.

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Boerum Hill jail plan’s mixed reviews
The Department of Corrections’ plans to reopen a jail on Atlantic Avenue shuttered in 2003 are being eyed warily by many Boerum Hill residents. Some nearby businesses, meanwhile, say the jail could increase their sales. Some area residents say the jail, which would house 1,400 inmates, will reverse the neighborhood’s recently accelerating gentrification and high-end residential development, while some local businesses believe it will increase foot traffic to their stores, the New York Times reported.

Law tightens oversight of dilapidated buildings
A bill introduced in the City Council last month will give the city the right to go into buildings with code violations, make repairs and then charge landlords for the cost of the repairs. The law seeks to bring the city’s stock of rundown housing up to code and to ensure that more habitable apartments are available for low-income tenants, the New York Times reported.

Legislature may battle over loft law
The state Legislature may have a battle brewing over loft laws that allow tenants to live in loft spaces that they illegally converted to residences without facing major rent increases. The law was set to expire at the end of April, and many Democrats want to renew or extend it, while many Republicans want to repeal the law altogether, according to the New York Post.

Bronx rezone gains momentum
The Department of City Planning proposed a rezoning of a 134-block area in the Wakefield and Eastchester sections of the Bronx that would limit most new development. The rezoning seeks to preserve the suburban character of the area following the recent construction of several large developments, the New York Daily News reported.

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