Bring us your vacant, oddly shaped and underdeveloped city-owned sites.
One of the hottest trends in housing policy is to look at the land you already have and do something with it.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have said they want to do this with federal property to see what housing opportunities exist. After her Housing Compact stalled out, Gov. Kathy Hochul turned her attention to state-owned sites. On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order forming a task force to figure out what city-owned land can be turned into affordable housing.
The task force, made up of various city agencies, will review all city-owned sites and determine whether affordable units can be built there. The city controls roughly 15,000 properties, of which more than 2,000 are vacant, according to city data.
Vacant does not necessarily mean shovel-ready. And seemingly bold announcements by politicians often amount to nothing.
The de Blasio administration held a competition in 2019 seeking ideas for city-owned lots that were too small or weirdly shaped for traditional housing. It does not appear that any of the finalists progressed beyond the design phase.
Last year, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine released a report identifying 173 vacant sites, gas stations and parking lots that could hold up to 73,000 housing units. Adams also launched a “24-in-24” plan this year, with the goal of advancing 24 affordable housing projects on public land in 2024.
Shortly after the mayor announced his executive order, the Legal Aid Society released a statement urging Adams to “go further and commit to ensuring that these potential developments are truly affordable for low-income New Yorkers.”
A City Hall spokesperson said planning for these sites is still in the “very early” stages but affordability is the administration’s priority. The executive order instructs the task force to consult with the city’s libraries, along with other entities. Libraries may be of particular interest given the recent completion of the Eliza, a 174-unit, 100 percent affordable housing project anchored by the Inwood Library.
The new task force is expected to begin reviewing city sites early next year.
What we’re thinking about: What does Rockrose plan for this Long Island College Hospital site? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Developers who fill out a letter of intent to receive an extension to the construction deadline for the 421a property tax break need not worry about locking themselves into an affordability option. The letter is not binding. Developers who buy one of these sites also need not worry about any letter of intent submitted previously with a different name — they just need to get the seller’s receipt from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development proving that the letter was submitted on time. The letter is due Sept. 12.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Eighty-nine percent of the MTA workers who responded to a recent survey indicated that they were assaulted or harassed on the job during the pandemic, Gothamist reports. The Journal of Urban Health’s survey was taken by 1,297 transit workers who were members of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 between 2020 and 2023.
— Gov. Kathy Hochul will unveil a new congestion pricing plan no later than early next year, Politico New York reports. “We will be announcing this by the end of the year because the Legislature has to act on it,” she told the publication from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. “It’s more likely it will be announced by the end of the year, early next year as we get the Legislature on board.” Translation: after the November election.
— The state’s highest court on Wednesday upheld New York’s vote-by-mail law, the Associated Press reports. Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who led her party’s lawsuit challenging the law, called the 6-1 decision “corrupt and disgraceful.” The ruling means New Yorkers will have the option to cast their ballots by mail for the Nov. 5 election.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Wednesday was for $11.3 million for a 6,500-square-foot townhouse at 336 Degraw Street in Cobble Hill. The Scott / Robles Team at Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was for $320.2 million for a 519,783-square-foot office building at 250 Park Avenue in Midtown East.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $14 million for a 3,840-square-foot townhouse at 160 East 63rd Street in Lenox Hill. Patricia Vance and Sandra Ripert of Douglas Elliman have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 202,790-square-foot, 18-story, mixed-use building at 3728 Park Avenue in Claremont. The permits for the affordable housing project were filed by Brian Loughlin of Magnusson Architecture & Planning. — Matthew Elo