City of Yes does not completely solve the ADU puzzle.
The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity would allow accessory dwelling units in the city’s zoning resolution, permitting 800-square-foot units on lots with single- and two-family buildings.
But more changes are needed to make it easier to create such apartments.
For one, state law still largely blocks basement and cellar apartments. A measure approved in the state budget this year authorized the city to create a pilot program that would allow basement and cellar apartments to be converted into legal units in 15 of the city’s 59 community districts. The City Council is now considering legislation that would establish such a program.
City of Yes addresses changes to the zoning resolution, but additions to the city’s building code are also needed to create these units. On Tuesday, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings considered a measure that lays out design requirements — ensuring adequate entrances, light and ventilation — for ADUs.
The measure includes rules for basement and cellar units, such as restricting them in flood-prone areas and requiring water sensors in each habitable room to warn residents about flooding. Eleven people died in six basement units during Tropical Storm Ida.
Legalizing ADUs has proven to be one of the most controversial aspects of City of Yes, so changes could be made before the text amendment goes to a full City Council vote next month. Still, City Planning estimates only 5 percent of single- and two-family homes eligible for ADUs are expected to actually add such units.
The City Council’s zoning subcommittee and land use committee will vote on City of Yes on Thursday.
What we’re thinking about: How are rental brokers preparing for the FARE Act? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Blackstone purchased a majority stake in sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal’s financial terms have not been released, but value the company at $8 billion.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Police have charged Ramon Rivera, 51, with three counts of first-degree murder in connection to the random stabbings of three people in Manhattan on Monday, the Associated Press reports. “No words exchanged. No property taken. Just attacked, viciously,” Joseph Kenny, the NYPD’s chief of detectives, told AP. “He just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives.”
— Gowanus Bay Terminal owner John Quadrozzi Jr. wants to transport the S.S. United States, a 990-foot oceanliner in Philadelphia, to the Red Hook waterfront, Gothamist reports. Quadrozzi wants to turn the ship into a “floating ecosystem,” that could include co-working and residential space. The chances of this happening seem pretty slim, however, because a federal judge in Philadelphia paved the way for the ship to be taken to Okaloosa County in Florida, to be sunk and turned into an artificial reef. A year ago, RXR’s Scott Rechler was trying to convert the ship to a hotel and bring it to Pier 76 in Manhattan.
— How much can be said in 20 seconds? That’s roughly how long Mayor Eric Adams spoke to President-elect Donald Trump at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, Politico New York reports. Adams says the two exchanged pleasantries and that Trump praised him, telling him “something to the tune of, you know, you are one of the greatest mayors the city has ever had.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $19.9 million for a 4,001-square-foot sponsor-sale condominium unit at 64 University Place in Greenwich Village.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $23.5 million for a 56,662-square-foot, 23-unit, mixed-use building at 142-28 38th Avenue in Flushing.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $20 million for a 4,520-square-foot condominium at 277 Fifth Avenue in Nomad. The Eklund | Gomes and the Julia Jiang and Charles Hawkins teams at Douglas Elliman have the listing.
— Matthew Elo