The Daily Dirt: Lesser-known housing bills to watch

Good cause eviction and 421a are taking up a lot of the oxygen in this year’s housing debate. But some other measures are worth keeping an eye on.

One is the very easy-to-remember “Local Regulated Housing Restoration Adjustment,” sponsored by Sen. Leroy Comrie and Assembly member Kenny Burgos. Introduced last year, it is a big priority for the Community Housing Improvement Program, which initially framed the bill as a rent reset for vacant, rent-stabilized apartments.

That is indeed what the measure would allow, but the details are important. A new rent could only be set when an apartment continuously occupied for 10 or more years becomes vacant. Owners must show that they have renovated the apartment and made it lead-free and code compliant. After the new rent is set, the apartment remains in rent stabilization.

CHIP is also pushing for an eviction mediation program.

Another bill, the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act, is aimed at making it easier for faith-based organizations to build affordable housing on their property. In New York City, such projects would have to meet or exceed the affordability thresholds of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program.

Sen. Rachel May has a number of housing bills of interest, including one to exempt or limit environmental review on affordable housing projects. Last month, the Adams administration unveiled rule changes that exempt small housing projects.

May also sponsors a measure that would create a pilot program to test the idea of land value taxes, where vacant land is taxed at a higher rate to encourage development.

She also has a builder’s remedy bill, but it has little hope of moving forward, especially in an election year for state legislators.

Many of these measures were introduced last year, and it is not clear how they will fare this year. Lawmakers figure to try again to hash out a deal that potentially includes 421a, good cause eviction and an incentive for office conversions. 

What we’re thinking about: Why did Brookfield give up on protesting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s selection of Related Fund Management as the winner of an auction for Signature Bank’s rent stabilized loans? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: The New York City District Council of Carpenters is planning to protest outside Lendlease’s Manhattan office Wednesday against the construction giant’s hiring of nonunion labor at a Brooklyn rental project. The two-tower project at 1 Java Street is the borough’s third largest building under construction.

Elsewhere in New York…

— Micah Lasher is leaving his post as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s top political adviser amid speculation that he will run for Assembly on the Upper West Side, Politico New York reports. Lasher has been eyeing the seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Danny O’Donnell.

— A secret tunnel was discovered under the Crown Heights headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement at 770 Eastern Parkway. Attempts to fill in the tunnel with cement this week led to a confrontation with police that resulted in the arrest of nine people, the New York Times reports.

— Mayor Eric Adams is restoring $37 million in cuts to the NYPD and FDNY, citing better than expected revenues and adjusted cost estimates related to response to the migrant crisis,  Gothamist reports. The decision infuriated some Council members.

Closing Time

Residential: The priciest residential closing Wednesday was $12 million for a condo at 555 West 22nd Street in West Chelsea.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $6 million for apartment buildings at 565-571 West 175th Street in Washington Heights.

New to the Market: The priciest residence to hit the market Wednesday was a condo at 120 East 87th Street in Carnegie Hill asking $12 million, Corcoran Group has the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building filing of the day was for a 390,000-square-foot, multifamily, mixed-use building at 1 Division Street in Brooklyn. Cookfox Architects filed the permit application for Naftali Group. — Jay Young