While the industry continues to hold its breath for what new Mayor Zohran Mamdani will mean for development, it will face a familiar foe on one of City Council’s housing-related subcommittees.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin this week appointed Chris Marte to chair the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, Resiliency and Dispositions.
Marte has the infamous claim to being the only Manhattan City Council member to vote against City of Yes, which has helped to spur development around the city through rezoning certain neighborhoods, easing air rights transfers and expanding residential conversion opportunities.
While Marte’s role as a City Council member limited his influence on major housing changes like City of Yes, his role on the subcommittee will likely give him a more direct space to exert his worldview, which, put bluntly, has been anti-developer so far.
“City of Yes is a plan by the real estate industry, for the real estate industry,” he once said of the changes that some officials estimate will add 80,000 new housing units to the city in the next 15 years.
As committee chair, Marte will be responsible for reviewing landmark designations, as well as uses of city-owned land primed for development, like 100 Gold Street, where the city is partnering with GFP Real Estate to build 3,700 apartments.
Marte already agreed to support other planned rezonings, one of which was likely 100 Gold, in exchange for the city keeping the controversial Elizabeth Street Garden intact.
Marte’s role in reviewing historic district designations will be put to the test early as well.
The Real Deal previously reported YIMBY-aligned Open New York was pushing back on two historic district designations granted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The group argued those designations, which still have to be reviewed by City Planning and approved by City Council, unfairly exempted those areas from City of Yes.
For their part, Open New York executive director Annemarie Gray said in a statement that she is hopeful Marte “will rise to the moment” and ensure that “city-owned land can be used for affordable and mixed-income housing, that historic districts build housing like any other district, and that the historic designation process is not abused to block much-needed housing.”
A spokesperson for Marte did not respond to a request for comment.
What we’re thinking about: The world of residential real estate has been shaken up by the merger between the country’s two largest brokerages, Compass and Anywhere Real Estate. New York City has always felt a degree or two removed from the world of national brokerage, but I’m curious what it’s like on the ground for agents in the city working at the affected firms (or the remaining ones)? Email me at jacob.indursky@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: A recent audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli looked at a sample of three Mitchell-Lama developments overseen by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The results were…not great. All three buildings operated at a loss and neglected building repairs while giving out non-mandated bonuses.
Elsewhere…
— The Mamdani-Hochul lovefest has stopped short of the subways, Gothamist reported. During her “State of the State” speech, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wants to expand the state-run program that sends nurses and police officers into the subway to force homeless people into hospital care. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said in the past that he wants to reduce police presence in the subways and wants to end homeless encampment sweeps.
— The New York City Housing Authority is inching towards electrification, the New York Times reported. NYCHA will install induction stoves in 100 units as part of a pilot program. If successful, the agency only has 10,000 units to go. The agency said it expected the first 100 units stoves to be in place by early next year.
Closing time
Residential: The top residential deals recorded Friday were 1010 East Eighth Street in Ocean Parkway and 1289 Lexington Avenue, 19B in Carnegie Hill, both for $8 million. The Ocean Parkway single-family home is 2,600 square feet. The Carnegie Hill condo is 3,500 square feet of new construction. Brown Harris Stevens Jill Bernard has the listing for the condo.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $38.1 million for 26 Bleecker Street. The Manhattan Health Center in NoHo is seven stories and 43,365 square feet. Planned Parenthood sold the building to Izaki Group Investments, per property records.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $5.8 million for 15 Renwick Street, Unit TH3. The Hudson Square condo triplex is 3,500 square feet. Serhant has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 104,970-square-foot, 14-story, mixed-use development at 54 Sullivan Place in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Kao-Hwa Lee Architects is the applicant of record.
— Joseph Jungermann
