The Daily Dirt: Hochul signs housing bills but controversial measures still up in air

The governor signed a trio of housing bills, leaving out a pair of particularly controversial ones.

As expected, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill replacing the expired J-51 program and another that expands the city housing agency’s loan authority. She also approved a measure that increases the Housing Development Corporation’s bonding capacity to $19 billion.

The new J-51 is now an abatement only that lasts for up to 20 years (the old program was also an exemption). For rental buildings to qualify, at least half of the units must be affordable, part of the state’s Mitchell-Lama program or receive “substantial government assistance.” Condos and co-ops with an assessed valuation below $45,000 per unit are also eligible.

Landlords were not impressed about the changes to the program, some saying the obstacles to eligibility were likely not worth the trouble of qualifying.

The landlord group Community Housing Improvement Program, however, praised the signing of the Housing Affordability, Resiliency, and Energy Efficiency Investment Act. That measure lifts a cap on loans the Department of Housing Preservation and Development can issue for building repairs (previously $35,000 per unit for moderate rehabs, and $60,000 per unit for one- to four- unit homes). It also allows HPD to issue loans with 40-year terms, up from 30.

Notably absent from the bill signing, which the governor touted as allowing “for the construction and preservation of more affordable, sustainable, and sorely needed housing in New York City,” were two bills that affect rent overcharge cases and the combining of vacant, rent-stabilized apartments. Those measures, which landlords believe will further devastate rent-stabilized housing portfolios, have not been delivered to the governor’s desk.

That those measures were not signed alongside the other housing bills could be seen as an encouraging sign for landlords.

What we’re thinking about: What do you think of REBNY’s changes to buyer’s agent commission rules? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: My kingdom for some drip coffee! That was my daily thought while on vacation in the U.K., where early on I made the ugly American mistake of asking if a shop had “regular coffee.” Apparently filtered coffee is not especially popular across the pond.

Elsewhere in New York…

— Former fixer Michael Cohen testified against former President Trump on Tuesday, saying his former boss directed him to fudge financial documents to alter Trump’s net worth, Politico New York reports. “I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected,” Cohen said, “and my responsibility, along with [former Trump Organization CFO] Allen Weisselberg, predominantly, was to reverse-engineer the various different asset classes, increase those assets in order to achieve the number that Mr. Trump had tasked us.”

— The state on Tuesday tentatively approved three new wind farms off NYC’s shores, Gothamist reports. NYS Energy Research & Development Authority must still negotiate with the owners of the projects to finalize a contract.

— HPD is seeking an administrator to oversee an expanded version of its HomeFix program, which provides low- or no-interest loans of up to $60,000 per unit to fund repairs and upgrades to one- to four-family homes. The broadened program would allow loans for climate-related improvements, such as flood protection, and seeks to serve 150 homeowners per year, rather than the current 100.

Closing Time

Residential: The priciest residential closing Tuesday was $3.8 million for a condo at 215 East 19th Street in Gramercy Park.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $6 million for a six-unit row house at 260 President Street in Carroll Gardens.

New to the Market: The priciest residence to hit the market Tuesday was a condo at 108 Leonard Street in Tribeca asking $10.5 million. Douglas Elliman has the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building filing of the day was for a 2,300 square-foot, two-family house at 339 Beach 65 Street, in the Arverne neighborhood of Queens. CL Engineering filed the permit application. — Jay Young