Four years later, the lien sale is back.
Nearly one year ago, with very little fanfare, the City Council reauthorized the controversial program through 2028.
The next one is slated for May 20, the first since December 2021.*
For the uninitiated: Properties end up in the lien sale when they have long-overdue property taxes and/or water and sewer bills. This debt is sold to a private trust, and then the trust can move to foreclose if the owner is not ultimately able to pay up.
When the Council reauthorized the sale, it also made several changes to it, including creating the “Easy Exit” program, which allows certain one- to three-unit and condo building owners to have their property removed from the lien sale up to three times within 36 months. Owners can also opt for foreclosure and have their property transferred to an approved nonprofit. In those cases, the owner is guaranteed a 99-year affordable lease in the building.
The City Council is still trying to figure out how to revive another controversial but defunct program: Third Party Transfer. TPT hands over delinquent and distressed properties to a temporary owner who prepares them for sale, at which point they are converted to affordable housing.
During a budget hearing on Tuesday, Bronx Council member Pierina Ana Sanchez stressed the importance of reviving the program.
Sanchez proposed a bill to reform the program last year, but the Council and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development are still negotiating what the new version of TPT will look like.
*H/t to Brick Underground for first spotting the date for the next lien sale.
What we’re thinking about: Are you working on or considering any Universal Affordability Preference projects? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: We knew this was coming, but the City Council’s conservative Common Sense Caucus and other groups are filing a lawsuit challenging the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, alleging the text amendment violates city and state environmental review laws.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Council member Justin Brannan, who is running for City Comptroller, wants the city to divest from Tesla Holdings, Gothamist reports. The investment is worth an estimated $1.2 billion. “Elon Musk is coming for us,” Brannan told Gothamist. “Why should we be investing retirees’ hard-earned pension funds in a guy who’s already shown that he’s got New York City in the crosshairs?”
— The city’s Administration for Children’s Services says it needs $1 billion in state funding to keep a program running that provides free or discounted childcare for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, the New York Times reports. The state budget is due April 1, and the city agency says that an extended delay in its passing could result in vouchers going unfunded. The agency currently subsidizes more than 60,000 vouchers using state funding.
— A former senior prosecutor says that Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who asked a federal judge to dismiss charges against Mayor Eric Adams, told another prosecutor to shred notes taken during a meeting about the possibility of dropping charges against the mayor, Reuters reports. Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, who resigned rather than seek a dismissal of Adams’ case, emailed herself a draft letter to Bove that detailed her reasons for resigning and mentioned his shredding directive. The email became public in court filings on Tuesday. Bove denied that he had instructed any materials to be shredded.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $37 million for a roughly 7,000-square-foot co-op unit at 4 East 66th Street in Lenox Hill.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $13.4 million for a 133,765-square-foot, 145-unit residential apartment building at 9704 Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $19 million for a 5,000-square-foot townhouse at 246 West 12th Street in the West Village. Christopher Riccio and Elana Zinoman of Douglas Elliman have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 40,260-square-foot, nine-story, 51-unit residential building at 449 Jackson Avenue in North New York. Nikolai Katz filed the permit on behalf of Hershy Silberstein of Blue Shine Builders.
— Matthew Elo
