The Daily Dirt: End-of-session real estate fights

The state legislative session ends this week. Here’s what real estate is watching.

Obviously, the big industry issues were settled in the state budget. Those included an extension of the 421a construction deadline, a replacement for 421a, good cause eviction, an office-to-residential tax incentive, the lifting of the city’s residential floor-area ratio cap and a pilot program for basement apartments.

But industry folks are eyeing a handful of other bills in the final days of session, including:  

• A measure that would cap rent increases on ground lease cooperatives and help ensure those leases are renewed.

• The Faith-based Affordable Housing Act, which would make it easier for religious organizations to build affordable housing on their property. The bill, a priority for Open New York, has faced backlash from Village Preservation.

• A measure that adds four community districts to the basement apartment pilot program, which included 15 districts. The bill would add Community District 5 in Brooklyn and Community Districts 1, 3 and 4 in Queens.

• A bill that would require developers to obtain a permit to demolish a rent-stabilized building and approval for the project they plan to build before denying a lease renewal to a stabilized tenant. The measure was inspired by Gary Barnett’s fight to remove a tenant at 1651 First Avenue.  

What we’re thinking about: What real estate-related bills will pass before the end of the legislative session? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: The first recorded sighting of a house finch on the East Coast was on Long Island in 1941, according to Audubon Magazine. The birds had been illegally shipped from California to be sold in pet shops. Shop owners, learning that federal authorities were about to crack down on sale of the birds, released them. The species have since thrived here (and really seem to like my backyard). 

Elsewhere in New York…

— President Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order that allows federal authorities to turn away asylum seekers when the seven-day average of daily illegal border crossings reaches 2,500 or more, Gothamist reports. The order is likely to decrease the number of migrants who arrive in New York City. “Whatever we can do to slow the flow and finance and allow people to work, I’m all for it,” Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.

— The mayor on Tuesday announced that he would restore more than $100 million in funding to popular education programs in the city’s budget, Politico New York reports. The funds include $20 million for extended hours under Summer Rising, a summer learning  and enrichment program.

— A soon-to-be introduced City Council bill would bar city jails from recording phone calls made by inmates, as well as the collection of voice recognition and location data, the City reports. “This system exists with no oversight and largely without the knowledge — let alone the consent — of those being surveilled, including people who are not incarcerated,” Council member Gale Brewer, chair of the Committee on Oversight and Investigations, told the news site.  

Closing Time

Residential: The priciest residential sale on Tuesday was for $32.5 million at 293 Lafayette Street. The 6,000-square-foot Soho penthouse unit at Kushner’s Puck Building sold.

Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was for $66.5 million at 175 Pearl Street. The eight-story building in Dumbo is 185,00 square feet and will reportedly be converted into apartments.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $19.8 million at Trump International’s 1 Central Park West. The condo unit is 3,600 square feet. Coldwell Banker Warburg’s Bonnie Chajet and Adjina Dekidjiev have the listing. — Joseph Jungermann