To cap off a weird week in the mayoral race, let’s talk… zoning?
We’re entering a new chapter in the mayoral race: Mayor Eric Adams, having finally shed federal corruption charges, is readying to run as an independent in the November election, bypassing the crowded Democratic primary.
On Friday, the mayor accompanied U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on a tour of the subway and stood by while Duffy railed against congestion pricing. MTA Chair Janno Lieber tried but failed to join the tour, according to Gothamist.
All this to say: We’re 11 weeks away from the June primary and, with this latest development, potentially looking at a five-way general election in November, as Politico pointed out.
With the primary inching closer, candidates are doing their best to stand out.
Sen. Zellnor Myrie closed out the week by diving deeper into his housing plan, which calls for the construction of 1 million homes over the next 10 years. Myrie held a press conference in Midtown to highlight “Mega Midtown,” which builds on the Adams administration’s plan to upzone Midtown South. Adams’ plan calls for rezoning 42 blocks in Midtown, which could net an estimated 9,700 units.
Myrie wants to rezone the rest of Midtown too, taking advantage of the state’s decision to lift New York City’s floor area ratio cap on residential space. He projects that some 33,000 units could be built in a five-block area around Grand Central Terminal and that his plan could net up to 85,000 apartments in the neighborhood.
It’s worth keeping in mind that developers have argued that the most stringent wage requirements under 485x, which would apply to projects with 150 or more units in Midtown, will lead to buildings with fewer units to avoid those rules.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that he would work with the state to increase the number of units built using 485x, though he hasn’t specified how.
Whitney Tilson’s housing platform also calls for changes to the tax break.
The fact that housing plans with any level of specificity are being talked about — let alone in detail, as some candidates are — is a major departure from previous elections, when housing platforms were relegated to a few lines on a campaign website, amounting to little more than “Yes, I too care about housing.”
What we’re thinking about: Crain’s reports that the city has agreed to postpone a vote on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment. What do you think the final plan will look like? Which stakeholders will be the most influential in shaping the plan? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Hospitality mogul Sam Nazarian spoke at TRD’s salon series on Thursday. His new luxury hotel brand, the Estate, is focused on preventative medicine. It was a really interesting talk. I am admittedly not the intended audience for this kind of experience, but I have to think that some billionaires would not want to find out scary medical information while on vacation? Or be told that if they want to live forever, they better lay off the cognac and take an ice bath instead?
Elsewhere in New York…
— FDNY officials say scaffolding collapsed outside 501 Ninth Avenue on Friday afternoon when a so-called spider crane was lifting another crane onto the roof of the building, WABC reports. Both cranes fell onto the scaffolding, causing it to collapse onto the sidewalk. No injuries have been reported.
— Gov. Kathy Hochul won’t weigh in on Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to run as an independent in November, City & State reports. “People do what they need to do,” she said. “I will always run as a Democrat if anybody’s wondering.”
— NYC schools could lose more than $2 billion in federal funding if they do not prove to the U.S. Department of Education that they are eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, Chalkbeat reports. The Department of Education has given schools 10 days to certify that they are doing away with DEI efforts. A spokesperson for the state Education Department indicated that it was reviewing the request. “The Board of Regents and State Education Department continue to work with New York’s schools to increase equity, access, and opportunities in education for all New York State students,” the spokesperson told Chalkbeat.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Friday was for a condo unit at 7 Bond Street for $8.6 million. The Noho condo is 3,100 square feet and was listed by Compass’s Marta Maletz and Carl Gambino.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $175 million for a development site at 576 Fifth Avenue. Extell’s Gary Barnett was the buyer, securing another piece of his portfolio between West 46th and West 47th Street with plans to build a 33-story office tower, per reports.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $15 million for a townhouse at 54 East 80th Street. The Upper East Side home is 5,600 square feet. Compass’ Heather Domi, Ian Wolf and Mareli Maemets have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 115,941-square-foot residential building at 915 Erskine Street, Brooklyn. Daniel Heuberger of Dattner Architects is the applicant of record. — Joseph Jungermann
