Major Developments:
The Adams administration’s plan to rezone a 46-block area of the Bronx is moving forward, with a final City Council vote expected this summer. New York City Planning Commission signed off on the plan, which targets the areas surrounding the four new Metro-North Stations planned for Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest. The stations are expected to be built by 2027. The rezoning is expected to pave the way for 7,474 apartments, and add more than 300,000 gross square feet of retail space, 1.6 million square feet of life-science space and 1.2 million square feet of community facility space, per zoning documents.City Planning released a draft framework for the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan which could create as many as 14,000 new homes.
City and state officials have padlocked more than 400 unlicensed cannabis retailers since the beginning of May, a dramatic crackdown following the false start of threatened $10,000 fines, which landlords largely ignored.
MTA officials said that $16 billion worth of upgrades and maintenance work will be put on hold due to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to delay congestion pricing and is shelving plans to make 23 stations accessible to passengers with disabilities. The Second Avenue subway extension into East Harlem is also on hold.
The mayor and City Council Speaker announced the handshake agreement for the $112.4 billion spending plan.The agreement includes $1.3 billion in additional funding for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The remaining funds will go toward the New York City Housing Authority. $272 million will go toward constructing homes for low- and extremely low-income New Yorkers, and $479 million for affordable multifamily housing.
The lender on six sites in the project, formerly known as Atlantic Yards, has negotiated an agreement with a potential new developer to take over for Greenland USA. Platforms must still be built over train tracks on the sites to make way for more than 3,200 residential units. The Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, is expecting a proposal from the lender and possible developer.
U.S. Immigration Fund moved to foreclose on $350 million in loans tied to six development sites. Empire State and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority must sign off on the replacement developer.
Whoever takes over for Greenland will be staring down a 2025 deadline to build nearly 900 more affordable apartments or face millions of dollars in penalties.
Vornado sued two Gindi-affiliated LLCs and Raymond Gindi alleging they breached a deal to return Century 21, an anchor tenant to Vornado’s Rego Center mall. Vornado claims it funded part of the Gindi’s bid to buy the intellectual property rights of Century 21 so they could reopen their flagship store in Lower Manhattan. In exchange, the retailer was supposed to sign a lease at the Queens shopping center they exited during bankruptcy. The Gindis said Legends Hospitality runs and operates the flagship Century 21 store in Lower Manhattan.
Last year, the Adams administration launched “Get Sheds Down,” an initiative focused on the nearly 400 miles of construction sheds throughout the city. The Department of Buildings Commissioner has removed 240 long-standing sheds (the average duration of these structures citywide is 490 days) and issued 25 criminal summonses against owners.
The appraised value of 1407 Broadway dropped from $510 million in 2019 to $136.1 million this year. The special servicer on the building’s $350 million CMBS loan filed to foreclose on the debt, months after the owner stopped paying interest on it.
With $839 million in delinquencies, City Council considers reviving lien sales. Discounts abound across the national office market, and not even the most prominent landlords are spared. The City Council is considering a bill that would allow the Department of Finance to hold lien sales until December 31, 2028.
When New Yorkers fall behind on their property taxes, water and sewer bills, the city can sell the debt to an investment trust, which begins charging hefty interest. If the trust cannot collect the balance, it can move to take control of the property. The city began selling liens this way in 1996, rather than foreclosing on properties itself.
“Transformative” program will make some owners file corrective action plans. The Department of Buildings will create a program to find dangerous properties before disaster strikes and track owners’ progress in remedying hazards. The mayor will likely sign the bill into law.
