In the final months of the year, will the City Council overhaul rental broker fees and the city’s zoning?
Even if there weren’t a presidential election and various investigations swirling around the Adams’ administration, the next few weeks and months would be quite busy.
City Council member Chi Ossé’s FARE Act, a bill that would require whoever hires a rental broker to pay said broker’s commission, may be headed for a vote. The measure was on the Council’s Democratic conference agenda on Tuesday, Crain’s reports. That suggests the bill has momentum, though it’s unclear whether City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams will put the measure up for a vote. The Real Estate Board of New York opposes the bill and fought back previous attempts to spare tenants from paying broker fees.
Next week, the City Planning Commission will vote on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, sending the text amendment to the City Council. A big question is how much the Council will water down the proposal by, say, maintaining parking requirements in some areas, axing the accessory dwelling unit component or limiting the upzoning for transit-oriented development.
Both of these measures have major implications for the real estate industry.
On the other hand, I have yet to hear of any movement on the revival of J-51. The Council held a hearing in May on a measure (with only six sponsors) to bring back the tax break, but has not taken action.
It’s been more than a year since the state legislature paved the way for the City to implement a revised version of the tax break. The state’s action only covers renovation work completed after June 29, 2022, and before June 30, 2026, so the Council’s time to act — and the window for property owners to move forward with work while knowing that the abatement is available — is limited.
What we’re thinking about: Will former Gov. Andrew Cuomo run for mayor of NYC? If Eric Adams does not run, will real estate professionals back Cuomo? Or is the sting from his signing the 2019 rent law still too fresh? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: All gargoyles are grotesques, but not all grotesques are gargoyles. The key difference is that gargoyles serve a function: They have a downspout to move water from a building’s roof. Grotesques are just decorative. The Washington National Cathedral has a grotesque of Darth Vader, according to NBC.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Dr. Jay Varma, who was City Hall’s senior public health adviser under Mayor Bill de Blasio, attended sex parties and other festivities during the pandemic, the New York Times reports. Varma acknowledged to the newspaper that he attended three gatherings between August 2020 and June 2021, during which time he was encouraging New Yorkers to stay home, avoid large gatherings and wear masks.
— An attorney for Derell Mickles, who was shot by police after he allegedly skipped paying the subway fare and threatened officers with a knife, says his client now cannot walk, Gothamist reports. Mickles pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and fare evasion. His attorney indicated it is not clear if the effects of the shooting are permanent, but said Mickles was in “very bad shape.” Relatives of Gregory Delpeche, a bystander who was shot during the incident, have been calling on the NYPD to release body-cam footage of the incident.
— Federal investigators are seeking information about financial or business dealings between Mayor Eric Adams’ former chief of staff Frank Carone and Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, NBC New York reports. The Brooklyn Diocese received a subpoena requesting information about dealings between the two.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Friday was $15 million for 52 East 82nd Street, an Upper East Side townhouse of approximately 3,400 square feet. The dwelling last sold in 2012 for $6.3 million, according to property records.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was for $12.5 million at 833-847 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. The retail property’s tenants include 7-Eleven, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Blink Fitness and others across 30,000 square feet of space. The sale is a far cry from the $22 million Harbor Group International spent to buy it in 2015.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $28 million for a new construction condo at 20 East 76th Street. The unit is 5,400 square feet and located at Lenox Hill’s The Surrey. Douglas Elliman’s Michelle Griffith has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for 28,855 square feet at 44 West 8th Street. The proposal is for six stories of mixed-use space. Idan Naor of Inworkshop Architecture is the applicant on file. — Joseph Jungermann