“What’s a Ulurp?” And other questions voters may have ahead of November.
The Charter Revision Commission on Monday approved four land use-related questions for voters to consider on the November ballot. A fifth question raises the possibility of moving local elections to even years.
The land use proposals boil down to this:
- Allow housing projects in the 12 community districts that have approved the least amount of housing to bypass City Council review. Affordable housing projects that are publicly financed (though Housing Development Fund Companies) can go through a separate process with the Board of Standards and Appeals, rather than the city’s months’ long land use review process.
- Eliminate the mayoral veto for affordable housing projects that only affect one borough. Instead, an appeals board (consisting of the mayor, City Council Speaker and applicable borough president) can reverse City Council decisions on such applications.
- Create a simplified review for “modest” housing and “minor” infrastructure projects.
- Create a singular, digital city map that somehow does not already exist.
To understand why these changes could make a dent in the city’s housing production requires understanding how the city’s land use process works. How can voters decide to create Elurp if they’ve never encountered Ulurp?
Alec Schierenbeck, executive director of the Charter Revision Commission, confirmed Friday that commission staff will launch a public education campaign featuring more digestible explanations of the proposed changes (hopefully something more accessible than its 134-page report laying out the proposals).
The ins and outs of land use policy are one thing, de-politicizing these questions is another. Three of the four proposals would reduce the City Council’s leverage over land use decisions, something that Council members aren’t likely to be crazy about. Not to mention, last year’s ballot questions were largely viewed as a power grab by Mayor Eric Adams and as part of the larger tug of war between the mayor and the City Council.
The mayor himself will be on the ballot this year, so separating the ballot measures from his administration will be even more of a challenge.
In a statement released Monday, City Council leadership made clear that they do not support the proposals. The statement, released on behalf of City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, Majority Leader Amanda Farías, Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers, as well as Council members Justin Brannan, Keith Powers, Carlina Rivera, Rafael Salamanca Jr. and Sandra Ung, pointed to the more than 120,000 housing units approved by the Council since 2022. The statement underscored the importance of the City Council in getting this housing approved.
“Mayor Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission conveniently ignored these facts to advance a self-serving narrative in support of expanded mayoral power, even as his administration hypocritically overturned housing at the Elizabeth Street garden that was approved years ago by the Council,” the statement reads. “This commission’s misguided proposals would undermine the ability to deliver more affordable housing, homeownership opportunities, good-paying union jobs, and neighborhood investments for New Yorkers across the five boroughs.”
The City Council speaker has previously referred to the Charter Revision Commission as the “height of hypocrisy and a sham for ignoring the role mayoral administrations play in obstructing new housing for New Yorkers.” She also — seemingly in the name of member deference — voted in favor of rejecting a rezoning sought by Bally’s that the company needed to move forward with its casino application.
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, as part of a Q&A querying all the Democratic mayoral hopefuls, has said that the city should take steps to weaken the Council tradition of member deference. In that same survey by Crain’s, Adrienne Adams indicated that she had already changed the City Council’s culture to prioritize housing.
The next few months should be interesting!
What we’re thinking about: What do you think of the land use ballot proposals? Do you think all of them will pass? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The last song on Kate Bush’s 1982 album, “The Dreaming,” was inspired by Stephen King’s “The Shining,” according to the Guardian.
Elsewhere in New York…
— New York, 19 other states and Washington, D.C., on Monday sued the Trump administration over its denying undocumented immigrants access to federally funded safety-net services, Gothamist reports. The lawsuit accuses the administration of wrongfully bypassing the usual rulemaking processes when it required states to check aid recipients’ immigration status before providing services.
— A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the conviction and ordered a new trial for Pedro Hernandez, who confessed to the killing and kidnapping of Etan Patz in 1979, the Associated Press reports. The appeals court found that a trial court judge during Hernandez’s 2017 trial gave a “clearly wrong” and “manifestly prejudicial” response to a jury note.
— State employees were paid $1.3 billion for 24.5 million hours of overtime last year, representing a 10 percent year-over-year increase, the Times Union reports. A new report by the state comptroller found that the most hours were worked by employees of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Mental Health.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Monday was $19 million for a condominium unit at 111 West 57th Street. The Midtown Central condo is 4,500 square feet and selling at a discount from its listing price of $20.5 million. Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was 1011 First Avenue for $103 million. The 20-story building is over 300,000 square feet with Vanbarton Group investment listed as the buyer.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $23 million for 334 West 20th Street. The Chelsea townhouse is 7,000 square feet. Compass’ Jim St. André, Trevor Stephens and Michael Maniawski.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 61,153-square-foot, eight-story residential building at 299 East Burnside Avenue in the Bronx. Fernando Geremia of Fred Germia Architects and Planners is the applicant of record.
— Joseph Jungermann
