New York’s next housing reform holy grail? Tackling the state’s environmental review requirements.
Voters in November will consider a number of changes aimed at speeding up housing construction and preventing Council members from repeatedly killing projects in their districts.
The proposals, authorized by the city’s Charter Revision Commission, address some big issues in the city’s land use review process, but do not combat every aspect that slows down housing construction.
In fact, the commission’s final report notes two big areas that the city’s charter cannot address outright. One is speeding up permits and inspections needed to begin and complete housing projects. The report notes that the Adams administration’s “Get Stuff Built” initiative has made some progress on this front, but that the city’s “permitting process remains dizzyingly complex, and bottlenecks across the dozens of involved agencies abound.”
The second issue flagged was the state’s environmental review process. A 2022 report by the Citizens Budget Commission found that the median project took nearly two years to complete environmental review and the rest of the pre-certification process before even entering the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or Ulurp.
Last year, the city was able to exempt some modest housing projects from environmental review as part of its “Green Fast Track” program. As of June (roughly the one-year mark for the program), only three projects avoided environmental review through the Green Fast Track.
The city had the authority to exempt projects if it could “establish that the action will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment,” based on an analysis of more than 1,000 environmental reviews conducted over the past decade. Further changes would likely require state intervention.
Lawmakers have proposed exempting larger affordable housing projects — similar to the changes California just approved.
The state Senate approved the New York bill, but it didn’t make it out of committee in the Assembly.
What we’re thinking about: Will Bally’s be able to move forward with its casino proposal? Will Mayor Eric Adams veto the City Council’s rejection of the zoning changes needed by the company? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: A recent report by New York University found that setting two-year time limits on federal rental assistance (as proposed by the Trump administration) would result in 1.4 million households losing their vouchers and public housing subsidies, as first reported by the Associated Press.
Elsewhere in New York…
— A Long Island man on Tuesday was indicted on charges that he placed homemade bombs throughout Manhattan, the New York Times reports. Officials say Michael Gann made the bombs using chemicals he bought on the internet and then planted them on residential building rooftops and on the subway tracks on the Williamsburg Bridge. No one was harmed by the bombs. Before he began making the explosive, Gann posted an incoherent message on social media addressed to President Donald Trump, expressing frustration with immigration to the city and asking, “would you just drop a bomb on this place while and because they seem to be coming and coming.”
— After exploring a run against Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Mike Lawler will instead run for reelection for his Hudson Valley Congressional seat, WABC reports. Republicans feared that losing Lawler would threaten their narrow control of the House.
— Assembly member Jessica González-Rojas plans to challenge Sen. Jessica Ramos for her seat representing the 13th state Senate District in Queens, City & State reports. She’s received early support from city Comptroller Brad Lander, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Assembly member Catalina Cruz. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also posted her support of González-Rojas on social media.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Wednesday was $10 million for a 2,537-square-foot, sponsor-sale condominium unit at 500 West 18th Street in Chelsea. Corcoran’s Deborah Kern and Steve Gold had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $30 million for a 74,400-square-foot storage facility at 495 Bergen Street in Prospect Heights. Storage Post purchased the property from seller Sofia Brothers.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $12 million for a 2,900-square-foot condo unit at One Central Park South. Douglas Elliman’s Michael Passaro has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 49,736-square-foot, 53-unit residential project at 2221 65 Street in Mapleton. Anthony Ng filed the permit on behalf of developer Ke An Chen.
— Matthew Elo
