The Daily Dirt: City and state eye vacant sites, parking lots for housing

The city is gradually rolling out a list of properties it plans to turn into housing.

It has a snappy name for the initiative: 24 in 24, referring to the goal of creating or preserving (no word yet on how many of each) 24 housing projects on city-owned land in 2024. The effort is expected to total more than 12,000 units.

This week, the Adams administration announced that it expects to release a request for proposals mid-year for a parking lot at 4095 Ninth Avenue in Inwood. The city is seeking proposals from developers to build 570 affordable homes on the site.

It is worth noting that a 100 percent affordable project on a vacant lot or parking lot is not always a slam dunk in NYC. Consider another city-owned site at 388 Hudson Street, where the city wants to build 100 affordable units. That project has faced some pushback for its proposed height.

The Hochul administration is doing something similar: The governor announced a plan to build up to 15,000 housing units on state-owned sites, budgeting $500 million over the next two fiscal years. So far, those projects include:

• 105 affordable units at the former Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem
• 2,873 units at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center (which is also facing backlash from residents over height)

The state has also issued requests for proposals for the former Bayview Correctional Facility in Chelsea, the former Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, and a vacant property known as “site K” near the Javits Center.

The two initiatives would meet a small fraction of the city and state’s housing needs. The mayor has set a “moonshot” goal of building 500,000 housing units in the city over the next decade, and Hochul has a statewide target of 800,000.

What we’re thinking about: What will become of Worldwide Plaza? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: Both boards of the Community Housing Improvement Program and the Rent Stabilization Association have signed off on the merger of the two groups. The marriage next goes to the groups’ members for a vote and then to the state attorney general for approval.

Elsewhere in New York…

— The City Council on Tuesday voted to override Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes of the How Many Stops Act and a measure that limits solitary confinement, Gothamist reports. This marked the second and third time the body has voted to override an Adams veto, following its vote to uphold its expansion of city housing vouchers.

— Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the “Rape is Rape Act,” which expands the definition of rape under state criminal law, City & State reports. “Today we’re bringing the language of the law in line with what survivors have been forced to endure,” Hochul said. “We’re reassuring survivors: when they walk into a police station or approach the witness stand, the full weight of the law in the state of New York is behind them.”

— The Department of Justice will pay more than $10 million to law enforcement agencies in Rockland, Westchester and Orange counties, the Times-Union reports. The payments are related to local police departments aiding federal investigations into drug crimes.

Closing Time

Residential: The priciest residential closing Tuesday was $72.5 million for a home at 138-140 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $15 million for a six-story, seven-unit building at 241 West Broadway in Tribeca.

New to the Market: The priciest residence to hit the market Tuesday was a condo unit at 157 West 57th Street in Midtown asking $25 million. Corcoran Group has the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building filing of the day was for a 400-square-foot, two-car garage at 456 Underhill Avenue in the Bronx. Mar Architecture & Engineering filed the permit application. — Jay Young