The developer and MTA have come to agreement on the platform needed for three towers, but Greenland USA won’t proceed without a key tax break. As Empire State Development floats proposals, watchdogs warn of delays.
After dropping the year before, affordable housing production was up again during the 12-month span that ended June 30, officials said Thursday—what advocates say is a welcomed boost but still a far cry from what’s needed as the city struggles to address record-high levels of homelessness.
“421-a or any alternative’s inclusion in our toolbox to tackle the housing crisis is by no means a silver bullet, but its absence has already and will continue to hamstring our ability to respond. We cannot accept this if we want to solve our housing crisis.”
“Gowanus is a critical example, but there are other mixed-income projects with much needed affordable housing comprising thousands more apartments across the city—many in high opportunity communities, and all of which were duly approved through the city’s land-use process—that need the deadline extended in order to happen.”
“A detriment to building sufficient affordable housing is the long and laborious path projects must go through to reach completion.”
“We think we’ve identified over 1,500 421-a buildings that are out of compliance with the rent stabilization laws,” said Aaron Carr, executive director at watchdog group Housing Rights Initiative. “Whether you’re a tenant or a taxpayer you should be up in arms about this.”
The Senate and Assembly on Tuesday released their annual budget resolutions, responding to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $227 billion spending proposal unveiled last month. They rejected the bulk of Hochul’s strategy to increase housing production statewide, while entertaining eviction protections the governor has ducked.
The owners of three buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens are accused in the suit of falsely registering initial rents with the state Division of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) in order to charge tenants more money than legally permitted at renewal or on new leases.
“The governor and New York State Legislature should begin a process of discarding all property tax abatements that primarily serve the interests of landlords and developers (not tenants), and end the patchwork of other taxes required to make up the subsequent lost revenue from them.”
What exactly did state lawmakers do before starting their nearly seven-month break? Here’s a rundown.
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