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Hello, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of policy and real estate:
- As the Wednesday budget deadline looms, City Hall and the City Council remain locked in a fight over housing voucher funding.
- A 1,500-unit Downtown Brooklyn rezoning is heading into ULURP, setting up a high-stakes negotiation with the local Council member Crystal Hudson.
- New data highlights where affordable housing is getting built — and where it’s not.
In this edition we mention: Council Speaker Julie Menin, Council member Crystal Hudson, NBA player and GFB Development co-founder Taj Gibson, Council member Althea Stevens and others.
We Heard
- Voucher standoff: The biggest policy fight to watch this week: whether City Hall comes through with more funding for the city’s rental voucher program before the budget clock runs out. The City Council is mounting a full-court press to convince Mayor Zohran Mamdani to put more money into CityFHEPS, the rental assistance program that lets recipients pay 30 percent of their income toward rent while the city covers the balance. The program has become a lifeline for cash-strapped tenants — and a reliable revenue stream for landlords. The push has united an unusual coalition. Real estate trade groups, tenant advocates and homeless services organizations are all urging Mamdani to expand CityFHEPS. As a candidate, Mamdani backed the effort, but earlier this year his administration appealed a court ruling that would have forced the city to implement a 2023 law broadening eligibility. Budget talks stretched through the weekend, with City Hall and the Council still at odds over how much to spend on the program; limited progress was made Monday, according to Council sources. Still, a deal could land as soon as this evening, ahead of Tuesday’s City Council vote, which traditionally follows a ceremonial budget handshake between Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin. The city’s budget must be adopted by Wednesday, leaving little time to resolve the housing voucher impasse. The pressure campaign intensified over the weekend. After Menin led a Friday rally on the steps of City Hall, the Council’s 23-member Progressive Caucus launched a social media blitz Saturday calling for additional funds. “We urge the Speaker and Mayor to ensure that a balanced budget does not rest on the backs of New Yorkers grappling with an historic affordability crisis,” the caucus said in a statement. CityFHEPS has grown from roughly $26 million in 2019 to more than $1.8 billion this year. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development projects annual costs will exceed $3 billion by 2030, totaling a whopping $12.6 billion in city spending between 2026 and 2030.
- Rezoning rumble: A 1,500-unit Downtown Brooklyn megaproject is set to enter the city’s land use review process in July, teeing up what’s likely to be a politically charged approval process in Council member Crystal Hudson’s district. The proposal, dubbed 240 Nassau, comes from Alloy Development, NBA player Taj Gibson’s GFB Development and the NYC Educational Construction Fund, following three years of local engagement since they purchased the site in 2023. The joint venture would convert an entire city block with three mixed-use buildings — including two high-rises — featuring rental apartments, retail, a new public school, a community center, cultural space and publicly accessible open space. The development team is seeking to rezone the site through ULURP to maximize the amount of housing and other amenities. Of the 1,502 units, the developers plan for 302 to be permanently income restricted, and roughly 100 would be set aside for seniors. Affordable housing is likely to be a key sticking point in the negotiations. As the local Council member, Hudson has significant sway over the project, though her influence is somewhat diminished by the creation of the new three-member appeals board under charter reforms that can overturn City Council rejections of projects that include affordable housing. A spokesperson for Hudson’s office, Elika Ruintan, said the Council member plans to evaluate the final proposal once it makes it to the Council. “This project has involved significant community engagement, and CM Hudson has consistently communicated her community’s priorities through her first-of-its-kind land use framework,” said Ruintan. “We are hopeful the final proposal will meaningfully address many of those needs.” If approved the project is expected to break ground in 2027.
- Bronx boom: New York City produced nearly 30,000 affordable homes in 2025 through new construction and preservation, a 1 percent increase from the prior year and 12 percent above the five-year average, according to a new analysis by the New York Housing Conference. Of those, 13,605 units came from new construction. Council member Althea Stevens’ west Bronx district led the city with 1,915 newly built income-restricted units — more than the combined total of the bottom 32 Council districts. The bulk of the district’s production came from four projects with more than 250 units each: River Commons, a 328-unit project with supportive and affordable housing by Type A Projects, L+M Development Partners and the non-profit BronxWorks; 1185 River Avenue, a 292 unit affordable project by Community Access and Blue Sky Bronx; 280 East 161st Street, a 266-unit supportive housing project by the Gilbane Development Company and Institute for Community Living; and 1111 Webster Ave, a 265-unit affordable project by Mega Development Group and BronxWorks. Council member Sandy Nurse’s North Brooklyn district ranked second with 939 newly built income-restricted units. On the other end of the spectrum, Council members Gale Brewer’s Upper West Side district and Susan Zhuang’s south Brooklyn district added no new units of affordable housing last year. The figures predate recent housing reforms, including City of Yes, charter changes and planned neighborhood rezonings, which are expected to spur development in districts that have historically added little housing in the years to come.
Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at caroline.spivack@therealdeal.com.
The Agenda
The City Council is set to vote on a final city budget Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Council’s chambers at City Hall. The city’s budget deadline is Wednesday. More details here.
The City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on multiple proposed developments on Wednesday at 10 a.m. More here on how to join.
The Catch-Up
A New York landlord targeted by Mayor Mamdani is facing tens of millions of dollars in foreclosure cases, reports The Real Deal’s Lilah Burke.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to send a major housing bill to President Donald Trump’s desk Monday, starting a 10-day window during which he will have to decide either to sign or veto it. If Trump takes no action the bill will automatically become law, reports the Washington Post.
Tenants are coming back to Manhattan offices — but Wall Street investors are still waiting for their payday, reports Crain’s New York Business.
The Kicker
“New York already has the highest transaction costs in the country. Why are we even trying?” said Frances Katzen, a luxury real estate broker with Douglas Elliman on a state proposal that would tax home flippers.
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