Borough presidents once again have more sway over the city’s land use process.
The borough president races went pretty much as expected last week: The incumbents won in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal won his bid for Manhattan Borough President, replacing Mark Levine, who will be the city’s next comptroller.
But Election Day also granted these five officials more authority over certain housing projects in their boroughs.
One of the ballot questions approved by voters creates a three-person appeals board that, as part of the land use review process, can reverse City Council rejections of housing projects that would result in affordable housing in one borough. The board’s members include the mayor, City Council speaker and respective borough president.
Ken Fisher, a land-use attorney with Cozen O’Connor, told me last week that he views the borough president as the appeals board’s swing vote. If a rezoning was approved by the City Planning Commission, presumably it has the mayor’s support. The City Council speaker will likely be reluctant to go against the Council, leaving the borough president to decide the project’s fate (two out of three of the board’s members must vote to reverse a decision).
Borough presidents have an advisory role in the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. It wasn’t always this way. Borough presidents sat on the Board of Estimate, which originally had the final vote at the end of Ulurp. That changed in 1989, when the Board of Estimate was deemed unconstitutional and the City Council was, effectively, given final word over land use actions.
Of course, the extent to which borough presidents are elevated depends on how often the appeals board is called to action. Local Council members and developers may want to avoid a project getting to that point.
Still, even just early support from a borough president could help steer negotiations or embolden a developer to move forward with a project they may have otherwise abandoned, fearing that the local Council member would kill it. Of course, the same could be said if a borough president makes clear upfront that they will not support a project or will not support it unless certain conditions are met.
Just like the local City Council member, the borough president could draw a line in the sand over affordability levels in a project. In fact, Hoylman-Signal criticized the Soho/Noho rezoning in 2021 for not guaranteeing more affordable housing and, more recently, pushed for 100 percent affordable housing on city- and state-owned sites.
What we’re thinking about: Do you have a project that could benefit from any of the housing ballot measures? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Members of the Carpenters’ Company, a trade guild founded in 1724, built Independence Hall and Christ Church in Philadelphia. Despite its name, the group’s members were not carpenters but architects, engineers and contractors.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Monday tapped Dean Fuleihan, who served as first deputy mayor and budget director under Mayor Bill de Blasio, as his first deputy mayor. He also announced that Elle Bisgaard-Church, his campaign manager, will serve as his chief of staff.
— City officials on Monday announced new ferry routes will open between the Bronx and Rockaways, as well as Brooklyn and Staten Island, Gothamist reports. The routes will take effect Dec. 8.
— In the coming weeks, Council member Chi Ossé is expected to announce his plan to challenge Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader of the House, in June, the New York Times reports. The mayor-elect has reportedly discouraged Ossé from running.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Monday was $14.2 million for a condominium unit at 250 West Street. The Tribeca condo unit is 4,100 square feet and was listed by The Corcoran Group’s Richard Ziegelasch.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $18.9 million for 63-60 98th Street. The Rego Park rental has 129 units and is 125,600 square feet.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $128 million for a condo unit at 217 West 57th Street. The Central Park Tower condo is 11,500 square feet. Compass’s Carl Gambino has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 263,775-square-foot, 13-story, mixed-use building at 15 Oak Street in Brooklyn. Robert Laudenschlager of SLCE Architects is the applicant of record.
— Joseph Jungermann