Rule number one: Know your audience. Rule number two: Answer the question you want to answer, not necessarily the question asked.
At least that is the playbook I assume mayoral hopefuls were following as they made their case to an industry-heavy crowd on Wednesday morning at a forum held by Crain’s. Candidates abided by the second rule to varying degrees, though the moderators did their best to keep them on track.
Each of the candidates took turns on the stage to talk about a range of topics, including property tax reform and housing policy. Because this wasn’t a debate and the candidates weren’t presented with the same questions, I’m not going to compare the candidates’ performances.
Instead, here are superlatives for the real estate-related topics covered during the forum:
Most likely to make landlords’ heads explode: The “rent-stabilized landlords make too much money” claim
Assembly member Zohran Mamdani said the Rent Guidelines Board’s own data on landlord profits should result in a rent freeze for stabilized tenants. Every year when this data comes out, landlord groups point out that the RGB’s Income and Expense report includes market-rate units and leaves out a slew of other costs. In other words, the number is not an accurate picture of how rent-stabilized owners are faring.
Not to mention, the RGB already recommends ranges based on its own data, and these ranges tend to make both tenants and landlords unhappy.
Most likely to make Yimbys throw their copies of “On the Housing Crisis” against the wall: The ballot questions dodge and low-density exceptions
None of the mayoral candidates gave a glowing endorsement of these measures on Wednesday. In fact, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa vehemently opposes them, referring to the proposals as “City of Yes on steroids.”
Cuomo wasn’t asked (but his reps have called the proposals a “no brainer”), and Mamdani said he hasn’t taken a position. This was after he said he was “taken aback” by the idea that one of the biggest costs developers face is caused by time passing, projects dragging. One of the biggest themes of those ballot measures is cutting approval timelines. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
At one point, Crain’s reporter Nick Garber asked Cuomo about a line in his housing plan that states that low-density neighborhoods should be spared from rezonings, “with limited exceptions such as transit-oriented development,” until “the impact of recent rezoning efforts are absorbed in these areas.”
Initially, Cuomo rejected the idea, saying that what he has said is “you have to take the characteristics of a neighborhood into consideration.” Then, he was helpfully reminded of the above quotes in his housing plan and said, “I get this political sensitivity, and I get the City of Yes and what everybody went through, but it’s going to be on a case-by-case basis, and all of it is going to be hard, by the way.” I reiterate: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Most likely to earn points with real estate and other business leaders: The Michael Bloomberg name drop
If I had a nickel for every time a real estate source has spoken wistfully of the Bloomberg administration, I would have…I don’t know, $7?
In any case, mentions of the former mayor fall into the previously mentioned “know your audience” rule. All three candidates mentioned an aspect of Bloomberg’s approach to being mayor that they admire and/or want to replicate.
Most likely to grab headlines because, holy cow, someone actually made news at this thing: The Rikers reboot
There’s nothing like the excitement of an event where a speaker breaks news, until you realize that another publication was given the news the day before under embargo. I’m not bitter.
Cuomo announced that as mayor, he would abandon plans to close Rikers and build four borough-based jails. Instead, he would rebuild Rikers and use the four sites for housing and commercial use.
The New York Times was first to report the proposal.
Most likely to make TRD editors say “Wait, what?”: The “simultaneous” housing pledge
Cuomo said his first big project as mayor would be to build 500,000 housing units across 300 sites “simultaneously.” That “simultaneously” raises a lot of questions, but most critically: How?
Most likely to be harder than it looks: Property tax reform
Call me pessimistic, but a lot of mayors have promised to tackle this issue, and it hasn’t happened. The candidates didn’t offer up specifics, though Cuomo said he believes the courts will have to force the city and state to the table. More on that here.
What we’re thinking about: Now that Pacific Park has a new development team, how will the vision for the remaining sites change? Who will pay for a platform over the rail yard? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Less than two months after the Midtown South rezoning, an office-to-residential conversion in the neighborhood is already in the works. Sheridan Wall reports that Marty Burger and Andrew Heiberger paid $25 million for 29 West 35th Street with plans to convert it into 107 studio apartments.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Outdoor gear and clothing store REI is closing its Soho flagship store in 2026, Curbed reports. Stores in Paramus, N.J., and Boston, Mass., are also closing next year.
— The NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, Chief of Department John Chell, is retiring after less than a year in the role, Gothamist reports. Chief Michael LiPetri will assume the position on an interim basis.
—Three state judges filed a lawsuit this week challenging New York’s mandatory retirement age for judges, the Times Union reports. The state constitution caps the age for judges at 70.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Wednesday was $7.3 million for a pre-war cooperative unit at 1100 Park Avenue in Carnegie Hill. Jane R. Andrews and John Cronin of Coldwell Banker Warburg had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $19.5 million for a 33,374-square-foot, mixed-use property at 6 Greene Street in Soho. It has six stories and 12 residential units.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $23 million for a 4,603-square-foot condominium unit at 555 West 22nd Street in Chelsea. Shaun Osher with CORE NYC has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 133,619-square-foot, 160-unit residential project at 525 Wales Avenue in Mott Haven in the Bronx. Esther Dockery of NBO4 Architecture filed the permit on behalf of John DiBattista.
— Matthew Elo
