City of Yes is looming over other City Council debates.
During a hearing on Monday, Council member Carmen De La Rosa, who chairs the Committee on Civil Service and Labor, was frustrated with the Adams administration.
Officials from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development testified that her bill, the Construction Justice Act, would drive up construction costs and drive down the city’s overall housing production.
The bill would establish a construction wage floor for certain housing projects that receive $1 million or more in city subsidies.
“Not to mix topics here, but the administration is asking the Council to also consider City of Yes as we look at this. And part of it is to be bold and look at the ways that we can change the framework of how we build housing,” she said.
She said she felt that the administration was “pitting the need for affordable housing against the need of the worker.”
“We can imagine a reality where we can build affordable housing and also pay workers a dignified wage,” she said. “So I’m asking us to be bold in that way as well, in the same way the administration is asking us to be bold and imagine basement dwellings and no parking and all of these other things.”
The Council member’s comments hammer home that the City Council controls the fate of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. I’m not saying that the Construction Justice Act will make or break the text amendment, but the Council member’s comments did come across as: If you want City of Yes to pass without being gutted, pick your battles.
As of Monday, the bill had 34 sponsors, a veto-proof majority.
Keep an eye out for more coverage on this wage bill.
What we’re thinking about: Douglas Elliman says that Scott Durkin, CEO of the firm’s brokerage business, left the company to “pursue new opportunities.” What are those opportunities? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Ebony spleenwort, a type of small fern, is found in abandoned towns throughout the Pine Barrens because of lime once used to construct buildings on the sites, according to John McPhee’s “The Pine Barrens.”
Elsewhere in New York…
— The City Council on Tuesday will hold a hearing on the leasing practices of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Investigators reportedly seized the phone of Jesse Hamilton, deputy commissioner of real estate services at DCAS, as part of a probe into possible bribery and money laundering.
— Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced that the city will reimburse non-union municipal employees up to $10,000 to cover the cost of adoption, surrogacy and egg and sperm donations, Gothamist reports. “To be the greatest city in the world, you have to attract and retain the greatest talent in the world, and that means making New York City the best city in the nation to build and raise a family,” Adams said in a statement. Roughly 5 percent of the city’s workforce will be eligible for the benefits because most municipal employees are unionized.
— Five candidates vying for Adams’ job attended a forum in the Bronx on Saturday, Politico New York reports. The candidates took turns criticizing the mayor, who did not participate.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $12.1 million for a penthouse condo at 39 West 23rd Street. The Flatiron condo is a 3,200 square-foot new construction unit. The Corcoran Group’s Leighton Candler, Jennifer Reardon and Rachel Brandeis have the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $15.7 million for an apartment building at 1541 Williamsbridge Road. The Bronx residential building is six stories and has 125 units.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was for a condo unit at 500 West 18th Street for $24.6 million. The Chelsea condo is a new construction unit totaling 5,200 square feet. Corcoran Sunshine Marketing’s Deborah Kern has the listing.
— Joseph Jungermann