Go Yimby or go home?
During her speech closing out the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to end America’s housing shortage. A campaign ad released Friday touted her plan to “build more homes to lower prices.”
Her housing plan, which calls for building 3 million homes by the end of her first term if she’s elected, will ultimately require buy-in from Congress, and includes things such as expanding the Low Income Housing Tax credit, something the Biden administration has already been trying to do. Getting these policies passed will almost certainly be an uphill battle.
But if nothing else, a presidential candidate repeatedly saying that the way out of the housing crisis is to build more housing represents a significant shift.
Armand Domalewski, a California-based data analyst, started “Yimbys for Harris” this month. Domalewski first got involved with pro-housing advocates after hearing Sonya Trauss (now executive director of Yimby Law, who played a significant part in building momentum for the pro-housing movement in California) speak at a public meeting in San Francisco in 2015.
After Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Domalewski started a WhatsApp group called “Yimbys for Harris,” which he said quickly “blew up.” The group now has a website and is hosting an online fundraiser for Harris next week.
“My goal with this is to demonstrate to the Democratic Party that Yimbys are a big, important constituency,” he said. “We’re a voice that matters.”
Open New York’s Annemarie Gray told The Real Deal Friday that the commitment to building more housing shows an “undeniable consensus that the root of our housing crisis is a housing shortage.”
“The question for New York Democrats is no longer should we build housing, but how and where,” she said.
“You can’t call yourself a good Democrat and block new housing,” she added.
Whether a critical mass of state and local Democrats got this memo remains to be seen, though a major test is on the horizon in the form of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment. There is also Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Housing Compact. Bringing that back from the dead will require a Yimby awakening across the state.
What we’re thinking about: Did Beyoncé skip the Democratic National Convention on Thursday because she was too busy writing a letter in support of building affordable housing at the Elizabeth Street Garden site? Should I start that rumor? Send a note (unless it is to yell at me) to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The illustration of a common loon on the back of the Canadian dollar — called loonies — was actually a last-minute replacement for another image that went missing before the coins were mass produced, according to Mental Floss.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Mayor Eric Adams is looking to cut down on how much office space city agencies are leasing, Politico New York reports. A significant cut to municipal leases would be a blow to office landlords. Last month, three of the 10 largest leases involved city agencies.
— As early as October, 30,000 migrants could be kicked out of city shelters, Gothamist reports. The state has signed off on the Department of Homeless Services issuing 60-day eviction notices to any family not receiving public assistance, according to the City.
— Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi blamed the gubernatorial race, and seemingly Gov. Kathy Hochul, for New York losing four House seats to Republicans in 2022, Spectrum News reports. She said she’s optimistic about November. “We’ll message progressive, bold, but non-menacing, unifying to the country,” she said at the DNC. “And we will have the money — the three M’s: mobilization, message, money.”
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Friday was $17 million for a co-op unit at 920 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side. Meredith Verona and Caroline Greiner of The Corcoran Group had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was a pair of apartment buildings for a combined $15.3 million. 222 East 85th Street and 220 East 85th Street in Yorkville have a combined 18,470 square feet and 28 units.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $6.9 million for a 4,018-square-foot condo unit at 1200 Fifth Avenue in Upper Carnegie Hill. Whitney Didier, Eliette Bentolila, Chelsea Bleistern, Christian Caropolo of Douglas Elliman have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 256,992-square-foot, 18-story, mixed-use building at 337 Beach 52nd Street in Arvene. Ariel Aufgang filed the permits on behalf of Tishman Speyer. — Matthew Elo