NYC budget gridlock, landlords push faster evictions

This story gives you a peek at the content coming to our new platform, TRD Policy Pro. Sign up to get early access here.

Hello, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of policy and real estate:

• Mayor Mamdani will unveil his executive budget Tuesday — even as we await revenue and funding details from the state. 
• Queens landlords are keeping alive their push for faster eviction proceedings, taking their fight for a more efficient system to the city’s appeals court.
• A bill passed the State Senate that would effectively streamline rent hikes for New York City landlords of rent-controlled apartments.
• NYCHA is advancing its latest PACT deal in the Bronx.

In this edition we mention: Landlord attorney Nativ Winiarsky, State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, and others.

We Heard

• Budget drama: Mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to release his executive budget Tuesday, but Albany’s now 40-day-late state budget is scrambling the city’s math. On April 28, Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin pushed the city’s executive budget rollout to May 12 in hopes the state would finalize its spending plan first, giving City Hall clarity on how much Albany would contribute toward closing the city’s $5.4 billion gap. That still hasn’t happened. Property owners are watching closely for signs Mamdani could revive threats to hike property taxes if expected state revenue falls short. Gov. Kathy Hochul last week touted a “general agreement” on the state budget, but lawmakers are still haggling over key details and introduced an 11th budget extender Monday, pushing the deadline to at least May 14. One major unresolved piece: the structure of a pied-à-terre tax in New York City, which Hochul says could raise $500 million annually for the boroughs. City Comptroller Mark Levine estimates the haul could be closer to $340 million, depending on how it’s designed. It’s also unclear whether the tax could be stood up for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. The uncertainty leaves Mamdani largely where he was two weeks ago — building a city budget without knowing how much state money he can count on. As a result, Tuesday’s executive budget is expected to rely on placeholder estimates for some revenue and funding, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Once released, the executive budget will kick off the final round of negotiations between City Hall and the Council ahead of the June 30 deadline for a balanced municipal budget.
• Housing court limbo: A coalition of Queens landlords frustrated with drawn-out eviction cases is taking its fight back to the appeals court. In 2024, Argentine Leasing Limited Partnership and 15 other property owners sued the Office of Court Administration and New York City Civil Court, arguing housing courts are legally required to move cases faster amid chronic delays driven by backlogs, staffing shortages and procedural hurdles. A state judge tossed the case in 2025, finding housing courts control their own calendars. But the landlords’ attorney Nativ Winiarsky of Kucker Marino Winiarsky & Bittens appealed and argued the case last week before the Appellate Division, Second Department. “We all have to understand that this is hurting everyone,” Winiarsky said, pointing to mounting arrears that strain both landlords and tenants, and called for more court resources and staffing. The four-judge panel acknowledged the dysfunction in housing court, but questioned whether the judiciary is the right venue for reform. “You’re looking at policy, you’re looking at how many judges should be in a courthouse,” said Justice Phillip Hom. “Those are not things that you ask the judiciary for, those are things that you ask the executive and the legislature.” A decision is not expected for several months. We’ll keep you posted.
• Bill movement: A technical bill passed the State Senate that would streamline rent hikes for New York City landlords of rent-controlled apartments. Current law ties allowable increases to the average of the last five one-year renewal increases approved by the Rent Guidelines Board, replacing an older formula based on owner-submitted operating and maintenance costs to the state. The bill, from State Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, seeks to eliminate two provisions from city law that still require landlords to file operating and maintenance expense reports with DHCR every two years to qualify for increases. The Assembly version remains in committee, though it’s expected to move quickly with Rosenthal chairing the housing committee.
• Financing deal: NYCHA is advancing its latest PACT deal: a $349 million overhaul of 684 apartments across four buildings at the Moore Houses and East 152nd Street-Courtlandt Avenue complex in the Melrose area of the Bronx. The agency converted the properties from Section 9 to Project-Based Section 8, allowing a private development team led by Mega Group Development and Brisa Builders Development to finance renovations against the future revenue stream. The project will fund apartment and infrastructure upgrades and marks the first PACT development to fully electrify heating, cooling, cooking and hot water systems. The team was selected alongside resident leadership after years of community meetings and planning. Completion is slated for 2029. The PACT program has emerged as a rare bright spot for NYCHA as the agency searches for creative ways to chip away at its roughly $80 billion capital repair backlog.

Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at caroline.spivack@therealdeal.com. 

Bill Tracker

On The Agenda

The City Planning Commission will vote on a rezoning for the Gotham Organization’s Monitor Point project in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, among other items, during a Wednesday public hearing beginning at 10 a.m. Watch the live stream or join in person at 120 Broadway in the CPC Hearing Room.

The City Council will host a Subcommittee on Landmarks meeting on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Tune in to the live stream or join in person at 250 Broadway in Hearing Room 3, eighth floor.

The State Assembly will host a Committee on Housing on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Tune into the live stream or join in person at 198 State Street, room 942.

The Catch-Up

ICYMI: COPA’s return is imminent — and this time it is sure to pass, writes The Real Deal columnist Erik Engquist.

Gov. Kathy Hochul didn’t fully understand how difficult the pied-à-terre tax would be to implement when she announced it in April, reports Bloomberg. TRD dug into some of the key challenges earlier this month.

Airbnb has been iced out of the city’s lucrative short-term rental market. But with tourists expected to flood the region for the World Cup tournament this summer, Airbnb has rekindled its fight to gain a foothold in the city, The New York Times reports.

NYCHA residents will get a chance to air their grievances about mold, pests, busted elevators and other issues directly to top city officials at a series of forums beginning later this month, writes Gothamist.

A city-funded study seeks to shed light on the climate impact of skyscrapers, scrutinizing everything from the steel beams that form their skeletons, to the concrete that binds them and the glass panels that become their walls and windows, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The Kicker

“I’m not going down that rabbit hole at all because I have a strong, strong relationship with both leaders [in the Legislature],” Hochul told reporters Monday, defending the state budget process even as New York’s annual spending plan is more than a month late. Some frustrated state lawmakers accuse the governor of a pattern of stalling the budget for her own policy priorities.

Read more

Mamdani pitches property tax hikes if Albany doesn’t fix $5.4B budget gap  

The Daily Dirt: Obstacles for Mamdani housing, tax plans

For co-ops, pied-à-terre tax leaves more questions than answers