Yay Yimby, nay bad landlords.
On Tuesday, back-to-back announcements delivered those two messages. The Mamdani administration released the dates for the five “rental ripoff” hearings, and then appeared at a rally to celebrate Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “Let Them Build” agenda, to support her proposal to reform the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA.
During the press conference, Mamdani lamented the years that environmental review can tack onto a project’s timeline.
“Two years just to get through the environmental review on the project,” Mamdani said. “After that, you don’t even get to start building. That’s just when the actual approval process can begin.”
He went on to say that the governor’s proposal — which would exempt certain housing projects of up to 500 units from environmental review — will allow the city to build more housing, which will drive down rents.
While this was a welcome message for housing developers, property owners were reeling from another from the mayor.
Just before this press conference, the mayor posted a flyer on X that some have compared to a boxing match poster because of its declaration of the main attraction of the “rental ripoff” hearings: “New Yorkers vs. Bad Landlords!”
New York Apartment Association’s Kenny Burgos, who complimented the mayor’s comments about housing development, said the hearings will be “all show and no substance.”
“I think we are all exhausted of elected officials that are more focused on splashy events instead of actually making people’s lives better,” he said in a statement.
The dual announcements encapsulate the convergence of pro-housing development and pro-tenant policies.
In general, Yimby groups have increasingly incorporated more pro-tenant policies into their legislative priorities. (Open New York supported 485x but also good cause eviction, for instance, in 2024.)
Doing so has perhaps helped make messaging around housing reform more palatable to those on the left. Over the last few years we’ve seen progressive New York electeds support ramping up housing construction as the solution to the city’s shortage, embracing a pro-development message without coming across as pro-developer, per se. Tuesday’s rally showed that the trend has reached new heights. A Democratic Socialist provided full-throated support for a proposal aimed at quashing a key weapon against housing development in New York: Lawsuits seeking to undo rezonings or nullify project approvals based on allegations that the accompanying environmental review was illegitimate.
Wednesday’s rally also showed the growing influence of pro-development groups like Open New York. Executive Director Annemarie Gray, who was the only speaker aside from Mamdani and Hochul, said SEQRA has been weaponized by wealthy Nimbys.
Real estate often gets lumped into one big-bad villain, sometimes taking down with it policies that would benefit the greater pro-housing movement. The fact that SEQRA has such momentum signals a shift in that thinking when it comes to housing development. For property managers and owners, the conversation isn’t centered on making their jobs easier, but cracking down on bad actors in their midst.
What we’re thinking about: Wednesday was “tin cup” day in Albany. During an hours-long back and forth with state lawmakers, Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave two anecdotes about speaking to a millionaire New Yorker and meeting with a real estate leader. In the first, he said he spoke to a millionaire who claimed he would leave NYC if his taxes were raised. Mamdani said that when he told this person that the tax hike he is seeking is 2 percent — $20,000 for someone earning $1 million a year — the high-earner acknowledged that he would not leave.
Mamdani also said he met with a real estate leader who told him that much of the value of his company hinges on the work of City Hall. Who was the mystery millionaire and real estate leader? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Jonathan Miller, an appraiser reporters have on speed dial, will no longer author reports for Douglas Elliman after 32 years. He announced Wednesday that he and the brokerage are parting ways.
Elsewhere in New York….
— During a joint legislative budget hearing on Wednesday, Sherif Soliman, director of the mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, indicated that the administration is working on a bill to present to the state to reform the city’s property tax system. Soliman said the proposal would build on the recommendations laid out in the 2021 report by the city’s Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform, on which he served as executive director. One such recommendation would be to eliminate assessed value growth caps. Last year, Mayor Eric Adams similarly told lawmakers that the city was working on a proposal to reform the city’s property tax system.
— Mamdani also provided an updated estimate of the city’s budget deficit for the next two years. It’s $7 billion instead of the initially announced $12 billion. The mayor said the projection adjustment was made after taking into account Wall Street bonuses and income tax revenues. The change, however, did not change the mayor’s mind about raising taxes on the city’s wealthiest and on corporations.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Wednesday was $24.8 million for a 3,364-square-foot condominium unit at 15 Central Park West on the Upper West Side. Cathy Franklin, Alexis Bodenheimer and Shannon Suydam with Corcoran had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $24.1 million for a 30,000-square-foot, 30- unit apartment building at 335 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens. Mack Real Estate sold the property to GDC Properties.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $25 million for a 2,156-square-foot, single-family house at 18 East 62nd Street in Lenox Hill. Abraham Sarway with Douglas Elliman has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 43,085-square-foot, nine-story, 56-unit residential project at 11 Cornelia Street in Bushwick. Nikolai Katz filed the permit on behalf of Shimon Greenfeld of SCG Capital.
— Matthew Elo