Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Getty/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)
The state has tweaked its proposal for the conversion of offices and hotels to housing, limiting which buildings would be eligible. But some feel that the measure still doesn’t go far enough in creating new affordable housing.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s initial budget bill offered a temporary window for owners to override local zoning rules to turn vacant and struggling office properties into housing. Now, a series of amendments provides that only certain old office buildings and new ones in financial distress could be converted.
Specifically, the measure applies to office properties that either had a certificate of occupancy as of Jan. 1, 1980, or had one as of Dec. 31, 2020, and are also bankrupt or under receivership.
The Download: A new survey conducted by the Community Housing Improvement Program measuring the rent crisis caused by the pandemic found that New York City apartment tenants are more than $1 billion in debt from missed rent payments. This staggering figure indicates that federal stimulus packages and unemployment benefits inadequately cover the growing financial burden of unpaid rent bills across thousands of households. The Covid-19 relief package, passed in December by Congress, allocated $1.3 billion in rental assistance for New York State, though the amount reserved for New York City remains unclear.
In the coming weeks, state and city housing agencies are expected to roll out their distribution plans for assistance. In response, tenant and landlord advocacy groups have lobbied for more governmental help amid a second wave of Covid-19.
Housing Fights to Be Heard in the Mayoral Race
A coalition of housing groups releases a blueprint that includes rezoning affluent neighborhoods, legalizing basement apartments and turning hotels into affordable housing.
The New York mayoral race may pivot on how well the candidates address a long list of housing policy proposals put forth by a wide-ranging coalition. Credit.Katherine Marks for The New York Times
Dec. 10, 2020
In a New York mayoral race already transformed by the pandemic and mounting racial justice issues, a coalition of more than 80 wide-ranging organizations has released a report to remind the crowded field: Don’t forget about housing.
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Kathryn Garcia is getting in to the mayor’s race, and she’s not mincing words about the mess she’ll face if elected: “The next mayor is going to inherit a shitshow a deficit that is in the multiple billions of dollars, worse than the 1970s,” she said.