A group of New York real estate executives met with Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday to hash out the future of the 421a tax abatement program.
“Conversations are ongoing,” REBNY spokesperson Jamie McShane told Politico, confirming the meeting. It wasn’t clear what exactly the attendees talked about. Rob Speyer [TRDataCustom], Douglas Durst, Gary Barnett, REBNY executives and Cuomo’s secretary and 421a point man Bill Mulrow were at the meeting.
The 421a program, which offers tax abatements to residential developers in return for affordability concessions, expired in January after labor and industry groups failed to agree on whether a new program should include a prevailing wage requirement.
Last month, Cuomo tried to solve the impasse by proposing a state-sponsored wage subsidy for 421a projects in Brooklyn and Queens. The proposal received a cautiously positive response from several industry leaders. Some observers have blamed the feud between Mayor Bill de de Blasio and Cuomo for the program’s uncertain future. [Politico] — Konrad Putzier