Queens Councilman Tony Avella is angling to curb eager developers with a bill that would put a short-term freeze on building permits for freshly rezoned areas.
Avella (D-Bayside), who heads the zoning committee on the New York City Council, says his proposed rule will discourage what he sees as unscrupulous development practices such as rushed construction, which could be hazardous to buyers and neighborhood residents alike. The bill largely would impact areas that are being downzoned, where development activity is being curtailed as a result of rezoning.
While city regulations are supposed to inhibit these sorts of problems, Avella and other backers of the bill say an approximately 45-day moratorium on issuing building permits to developers working in rezoned neighborhoods would effectively bring this to a halt. The 45-day proposed span is based on the time between a City Planning Commission approval of a rezoning and the council passage of the proposal into law. Avella’s bill is more narrowly tailored than an earlier bill sponsored by Councilman Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) which bases its proposed permit moratorium on the date an application for rezoning was certified by the Department of City Planning.
The April rezoning of a 380-block area of Bayside was designed to preserve low-density housing and curb over-development, most clearly shown in the proliferation of so-called McMansions. Councilman Avella said between 100 and 150 stop orders were issued by the Department of Buildings.
Avella said some of the stop orders were for individual homeowners working on their properties who were caught unawares by the zoning changes. Avella said he had 12 angry homeowners in his office following the rezoning. “That’s through no fault of their own,” he said.
But he maintained other stop orders were for unscrupulous developers who, for example, were hurriedly pouring their footings and foundations in the same day, creating potential safety hazards.
“In Bayside, community leaders went around inspecting sites and clearly developers were lying… showing documentation that foundations were completed one week ago when the pictures taken on the day of the vote showed otherwise,” Avella said, adding that his bill is not an unduly burdensome restriction on developers’ property rights
The 500-block Whitestone rezoning proposal is due shortly for consideration, and Avella said he’d like to avert similar complications. “We’re trying to learn from that example and eliminate future problems,” he said
Michael Slattery of the Real Estate Board of New York said he opposes the legislation because it could jeopardize development activity.
“We have a clear deadline and that provides due process and everyone knows what that is: one law replacing another. Pushing back a deadline,” said Slattery, “What does that do? The concerns that they have are still going to be present. Aren’t people still going to rush to meet the deadline?”
Perry Finkelman, a principal at American Development Group, said the moratorium would adversely affect his bottom line as it would undermine his ability to pool his purchase orders.
“Isn’t there a mechanism already in place to prevent this type of shoddy workmanship?” asked Finkelman, pointing to the role played by structural engineers and the Buildings Department.
But Avella claims that the law would help prevent unsound demolition practices and poorly laid foundations that some developers have employed in their race to beat the clock before a rezoning takes effect.
Mario Procida, president of Procida Realty and Construction Corp., said that developers and homeowners are still going to get caught unawares in the middle of the process.
“If someone is able to pour their foundations, in theory they have a building permit in their hands. Does that make someone unscrupulous?” Procida added. “No. You’re trying to beat the clock and that’s not atypical anywhere, no matter who the developer is. From big guys all the way down to the little guys. It will impact the development process which is a major economic engine in the city.”
Henry Justin, a principal of HJ Development Corp., said that further regulations are never welcome, but Avella’s bill might achieve the purpose for which it was drafted.
“No one loves restrictions, but to the extent that it’s designed to combat specific unscrupulous practices, it may be appropriate,” Justin said.
Likening the proposal to sometimes burdensome lease provisions, Justin said here, too, the ends might justify the means.
“They’re not designed to be onerous,” he said, “but at the same time you don’t want someone banging on the walls eight hours a day when the person next door is trying to conduct business.”
But Justin also said the proposed moratorium measure should be 30 days instead of 45.
Avella said he has spoken to REBNY about the legislation and is trying to win its support. “I’ve spoken to the board and I believe there’s room for some compromise,” he said.
Avella said he currently has 15 sponsors for the bill and is hoping to get the legislation on the agenda for a hearing in front of the housing and buildings committee in the fall.