The mayor got a trial date, and the City Council laid out its own housing priorities.
The timing was coincidental, but underscores the mayor’s weakened negotiating position as the Council considers the fate of his City of Yes for Housing Opportunity.
On Friday morning, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced the City for All, which calls for a larger capital budget for the city’s housing department and more funds to address flooding and other issues.
The plan covers a lot of ground. If the Council demands every aspect of it be funded in exchange for passing City of Yes, I think the mayor’s proposal would be toast. But, the Council’s plan addresses two things that came up repeatedly during the City of Yes hearings last month: more affordability requirements and concerns about how local sewers will handle additional housing.
The plan does not mention two other controversial elements of City of Yes: the elimination of parking mandates and the enabling of accessory dwelling units. That doesn’t mean Council members won’t fight to remove these provisions from City of Yes.
In fact, the Council’s housing plan largely makes official what we already knew: The Council is going to fight for capital commitments and affordability requirements as part of City of Yes. We’re still waiting to find out how much money City Hall will commit and what affordability restrictions will be added to the text amendment.
Also this week, City Planning announced that Midtown South will be the first area to benefit from the lifting of the city’s residential floor area ratio cap. Allowing FARs of 15 or 18 will, however, require approval of City of Yes.
The Council has until mid November to review the text amendment. The mayor’s criminal trial starts April 21, two months before the primary election.
What we’re thinking about: Is Amazon considering any other office space in NYC besides 452 Fifth Avenue? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: People in the U.S. consume an average of 67 grams of added sugars per day, although federal health officials recommend no more than 50 grams, according to the New York Times. I’m pretty sure eating your leftover Halloween candy does not count.
Elsewhere in New York…
— A state judge tossed a lawsuit by state Attorney General Letitia James alleging that PepsiCo was responsible for most of the plastic on the banks of the Buffalo River, Gothamist reports. “Plastic packaging is used by more than just Pepsi and Frito Lay. Yet, the attorney general pursued only these defendants,” the judge wrote. “Either this is a pervasive problem and all offenders have contributed to this ‘public nuisance’ or else it is nothing more than selective prosecution based on a naïve theory.”
— The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which is investigating government responses to the pandemic, sent a criminal referral of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the U.S. Department of Justice, Politico New York reports. The referral stems from allegations that Cuomo made false statements to the panel about his role in editing or reviewing a controversial July 2020 report on Covid deaths of nursing home residents. A spokesperson for Cuomo called the panel a “taxpayer-funded farce.”
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Friday was $17 million for a single-family condo unit at 685 Fifth Avenue, the Mandarin Oriental building. It was listed by Douglas Elliman’s Jade Chan.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $18 million for an apartment building at 40-40 79th Street in Queens. The Alameda is six stories and 192 units.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $20.5 million for a West Village townhouse at 763 Greenwich Street. The 5,500 square-foot home was relisted for $5 million less than its initial price, but still 15.5 percent more than its last sale price, in 2015. Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing. — Joseph Jungermann