The City Council has four months left with its current body, and progressive members are zeroing in on boosting nonprofit landlords as well as clawing back Local Law 97 relief.
The COPA bill, which would give nonprofits and community land trusts the first crack at buying residential buildings with three or more units, was introduced in 2020. It has had at least three hearings, including one this year as part of a broader package of “social housing” bills. The measure hasn’t made it to a vote and just lost its prime sponsor, Council member Carlina Rivera, who left the Council to head the New York State Association for Affordable Housing.
In her new role, Rivera will be representing the interests of affordable housing developers (the organization’s board and executive committee is largely made up of for-profit affordable housing developers and lenders). In fact, NYSAFAH publicly opposed COPA, objecting to the implication that “nonprofit entities are, simply by nature of 501(c)3 status, inherently better stewards of affordable housing or better operators of residential buildings.”
But the bill has a new champion. Council member Sandy Nurse has taken it up as part of one of five bills that make up the “Livable Future Package.” Alongside youth organizers, Council members Nurse, Shahana Hanif, Crystal Hudson, Carmen De La Rosa, Chi Ossé and Keith Powers, as well as city Comptroller Brad Lander and Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, announced the package as a priority for the final months of the City Council’s session.
Another real estate-related measure would cap the renewable energy credits property owners can use to offset their annual building emissions under Local Law 97. The measure, sponsored by Council member Carmen De La Rosa, would limit the offset to 10 percent of the emission volume above a building’s cap. The idea of a cap was a point of contention when the Department of Buildings approved rules for using such credits. Against the wishes of environmental groups, the agency opted not to cap credits but specified that they could only be used to deduct emissions generated by electricity, meaning that emissions from fossil fuels burned for heat and hot water in residential buildings are not eligible.
The other bills take aim at city agencies’ collaboration with Federal Immigration & Customs Enforcement agencies and seek to ramp up protections for incarcerated transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary and/or intersex people.
Even if this bill package does not pass before the end of the year, the Council members are signaling their priorities for the future mayor and City Council speaker. The chances of these bills progressing are likely better if Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor and, say, one of the bills’ sponsors — Hudson and De La Rosa are reportedly campaigning for the job — becomes the next speaker.
What we’re thinking about: The plot thickens! The Trump administration reportedly floated the possibility of hiring Mayor Eric Adams to help make the mayoral race a bit more competitive and decrease the chances of a Zohran Mamdani victory. Will Adams quit? Will Republican Curtis Sliwa stay in the race? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Queens Council member Julie Won is not yet sold on the Long Island City rezoning. The City Planning Commission on Wednesday signed off on the plan, which is expected to pave the way for 14,700 new homes. In a statement, Won said she welcomed the vote but added that “OneLIC cannot advance without meeting community-driven priorities.”
She noted that the rezoning must include “permanently affordable, family-sized housing across public and private sites,” public space beneath the Queensboro bridge, new schools, investments in sewer infrastructure and a “community-driven process” for planning development of a Department of Education site.
“Without these commitments, this rezoning will not have my support,” she said.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Bronx Democrats are backing Zohran Mamdani’s bid for mayor. Borough President Vanessa Gibson, the Bronx Democratic Party, Bronx Democratic Party Chair, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey City Council Member Oswald Feliz and others endorsed Mamdani this week, City & State reports.
— ICYMI, attorney Jim Walden, who was running as an independent, dropped out of the mayoral race on Tuesday. “The math is the math,” Walden told the New York Times on Tuesday. “And it doesn’t make sense for me to continue to push to surge, only to take votes away from another candidate or other candidates who are going to need it.”
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Wednesday was $15 million for a 2,980-square-foot, sponsored-sale condominium unit at 20 East 76th Street in Lenox Hill. Lauren Muss and Michelle Griffith with Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $5.6 million for a 3,750-square-foot, four-family walkup at 138 Noble Street in Greenpoint.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $22.5 million for a 3,242-square-foot condo unit at 70 Vestry Street in Tribeca. Cortnee B. Glasser with Sotheby’s and Jared Schwadron with Compass have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 171,907-square-foot, 187-unit residential project at 819 Grand Street in East Williamsburg. Curtis + Ginsberg Architects filed the permit on behalf of St. Nicks Alliance.
— Matthew Elo
