Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he wants to take buildings out of the hands of “bad” landlords and put them in the hands of good stewards.
But in the nearly 11 months he’s been in office, he doesn’t have too much to show for that plan.
The high-profile cases where the administration has attempted to intervene have not gone their way.
First was the Pinnacle saga. Just days after being inaugurated Mamdani decided to try to stop the bankruptcy sale of 5,000 mostly rent-stabilized apartments from affiliates of Pinnacle Group. Eric Adams’ housing arm had similarly tried to buy time for a “preservation”-focused buyer to come forward, according to court records. But Mamdani made the effort into an all-out fight.
It was a pie-in-the-sky push, and the administration must have known that. But it largely didn’t succeed. The buildings were sold to an affiliate of Summit Properties.
Then there was the Emerald Equities portfolio. The Mamdani administration backed an effort by Spatial Equity Co. to buy the 38 buildings from the lender who had foreclosed on them. But Spatial Equity got rebuffed. The buildings hit the auction block earlier this week, with a portion up for sale next week.
In that case the admin kept its efforts under wraps. City Hall did not confirm Spatial Equity’s bid to The Real Deal.
Then in September, Mamdani put out a press release “celebrating” the sale of three neglected Crown Heights buildings. After a complicated legal saga, New Jersey investor Mark Schwartz bought the buildings. Schwartz had an agreement with the tenant union in the buildings, so perhaps the Mamdani administration figured that was good enough to count as a win.
However, on Thursday, an article from the City Reporter drew attention to Schwartz’s questionable track record as a landlord and investor, pointing to disrepair at some of his buildings.
City Hall didn’t have anything to do with the sale of the buildings to Schwartz. So why did the administration decide to put out a press release cheering the transfer, especially when details about Schwartz seemed to be unclear?
Possibly because there haven’t been any other wins in this arena worth touting.
In response to the City Reporter story, Cea Weaver, who leads tenant protection efforts for the city, said in a written statement that standing by tenants organizing is a key part of the mayor’s housing plan, that tenants have an agreement with Schwartz and the administration will continue to enforce the housing code.
Zooming out, if the mayor’s office has made a difference so far in transferring buildings to nonprofits and preferred stewards, it’s been keeping quiet.
What we’re thinking about: Why have these efforts not really worked out? I can think of a few reasons but interested to hear from you. Send thoughts to lilah.burke@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: A new City Council bill would require the city’s housing department to “conduct an analysis of the city’s stock of vacant rent-stabilized units and develop a plan to ensure those units return to the rental market,” according to a council release. Read more in TRD’s Policy Pro.
Elsewhere…
—There are 50 newcomers to the New York State Senate and Assembly. Among them are a slew of climate-focused progressives, New York Focus reports. One of the most unifying themes on the campaign trail was data centers.
—The redevelopment of the Fulton-Elliot-Chelsea NYCHA complex has become a flashpoint inside the Democratic Socialists of America and the Mamdani administration, Gothamist reports.
— Two children are among the eight killed in the Flatbush building that collapsed Wednesday, CNN reports.
Closing time
Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Thursday was $12.6 million for a 2,995-square-foot condominium at 275 West 10th Street in the West Village.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction recorded was $52 million for a 95-unit apartment building at 100 Lenox Road in Flatbush. Doron Greenberg purchased the 89,622-square-foot property from Binyamin Beitel of Beitel Group.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market is $10.45 million for a 6,414-square-foot townhouse at 64 West 87th Street on the Upper West Side. Richard Pretsfelder and Morgan Garofalo with Leslie J. Garfield have the listing. The house last sold for $10.3 million in August 2023.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 23,836-square-foot, 30-unit project at 3009 Barker Avenue in the Bronxwood neighborhood of the Bronx. Gerald Caliendo filed the permit on behalf of Alex Stanaj.
— Matthew Elo
