Last week, hotel operators reached an agreement on a controversial hotel licensing bill. Not everyone is on board.
Council member Julie Menin, the Hotel Association of New York City and the New York Hotel & Gaming Trades Council announced that they had found common ground to pass the Safe Hotels Act. A hearing is slated for Wednesday, and more changes could be made, but because HANYC has dropped its opposition and the bill has 36 sponsors in the 51-member Council, it is all but certain to pass.
The union and the HANYC negotiated this deal, to the chagrin of other hotel groups who claim the bill is a not-so-subtle gift to union hotels. Most of HANYC’s members are operators of unionized hotels, and other groups feel like they were squeezed out of discussions about the bill. But they shouldn’t, according to the main owners’ group.
“HANYC always has — and will continue to — advocate on behalf of the hotel industry and for the best interests of our wider tourism economy, which is critical to New York City’s economic growth and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of New Yorkers,” HANYC president and CEO Vijay Dandapani said in a statement.
The newest version of the bill, like the previous one, requires hotels to directly employ all of their core staff — a major point of contention among nonunion hotel operators. The revised bill does make exceptions for engineers and others with “highly technical skills,” including employees focused on security, laundry, valet parking, making reservations and other tasks.
The requirements for getting a license could be a heavier lift for nonunion hotels. Collective bargaining agreements, which union hotels already have, satisfy the requirements of getting a license for at least 10 years or the duration of the agreement, whichever is longer.
Members of a national group that represents hotels, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, do not believe the changes to the bill go far enough. The NYC Minority Hotel Association said HANYC “has sold us and New York City out,” criticizing the group for endorsing changes to the bill that were suggested by the union.
The groups argue that the measure would devastate minority-owned hotels in the outer boroughs in favor of unionized hotels in Manhattan.
“There should’ve been a conversation with people like us to understand the impact of this bill,” said Jagruti Panwala, a member of NYCMHA and an individual representative on AHLA’s board.
She noted that while the groups object to the idea that licensing is even necessary, they had pushed the City Council member to change the renewal period from two years to at least five.
The shorter timeframe could make it difficult for hotel owners to secure financing, Panwala said.
What we’re thinking about: What will happen to the Chrysler Building? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Nikolai Gogol’s horror novella “Viy” has inspired at least nine films and animated shorts. Mario Bava’s “Black Sunday/The Mask of Satan” is loosely based on the story.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Philip Banks, deputy mayor for public safety, has resigned, the New York Times reports. His departure follows that of his brother, David Banks, who has announced that he will step down as schools chancellor next week, and of Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor and the schools chancellor’s wife. Banks is the sixth senior official to leave the administration in the past month, and comes after federal investigators seized his phone and the phones of his chancellor brother and Wright.
— Two more of the mayor’s aides left the administration Monday, Crain’s reports. Winnie Greco, a fundraiser for the mayor and his director of Asian affairs, has resigned. A source told the publication that Rana Abbasova, Adams’ director of protocol in City Hall, was fired.
— Two employees of the New York City Housing Authority were arrested Monday for allegedly assaulting former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson over the weekend, Gothamist reports. Police say a group attacked Paterson and his stepson while they were out on a walk. Diamond Minter, 34, and Travor Nurse, 40, face gang assault charges related to the incident, as to two boys, ages 12 and 13.
Closing Time
10/7/24
Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $18.2 million for an apartment at 217 West 57th Street. The Central Park Tower condo unit was sold at a 25 percent discount from its original listing price of $23.4 million.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $27 million in an off-loading of properties from Kushner Companies’ East Village portfolio. The sale included commercial and apartment buildings at 329-335 East Ninth Street, continuing the developer’s pattern of sell-offs in the area.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $29 million for a condo unit at 551 West 21st Street. The Chelsea pad is 6,300 square feet of new construction. Douglas Elliman’s Frances Katzen has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 29,806-square-foot, four-story residential building at 616 Hartman Lane in Queens. The applicant on file is Angelo Costa of Costa Architecture & Engineering. — Joseph Jungermann