Rule number one: know your audience. Rule number two: Answer the question you want to answer, not necessarily the question asked.
At least that’s the playbook I assume the mayoral hopefuls followed as they made their case Wednesday morning to a large industry crowd at a forum held by Crain’s. Candidates adhered to the second rule to varying degrees, although the moderators did their best to keep them on track.
Each of the candidates took a turn on stage to talk about a range of topics, including property tax reform and housing policy. Because this was not a debate and the candidates were not asked the same questions, I will not compare the candidates’ performances.
Instead, here are superlatives for the real estate-related topics covered during the forum:
Landlords’ heads will probably explode: The “rent stabilized landlords make too much money” claim
Assembly member Zohran Mamdani said the Rent Guidelines Board’s own data on landlords’ profits should result in a rent freeze for stabilized tenants. Every year when this data comes out, landlord groups point out that the RGB income and expense report includes market-rate units and omits a host of other costs. In other words, the figure does not provide an accurate picture of how rent-stabilized owners are faring.
Not to mention that the RGB already recommends ranges based on its own data, and these ranges tend to leave both tenants and landlords dissatisfied.
It’s very likely that Yimbys will throw their copies of ‘On the Housing Crisis’ against the wall: Dodging the voting questions and low-density exceptions
None of the mayoral candidates praised these measures on Wednesday. In fact, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa strongly opposes it, referring to the proposals as the “City of Yes on steroids.”
Cuomo was not asked (but his representatives call the proposals a “no brains”), and Mamdani said he has not taken a position. This was after he said he was “baffled” by the idea that one of the biggest costs developers face comes from the passage of time and project dragging out. One of the biggest themes of these ballot measures is shortening approval times. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
At one point, Crain’s reporter Nick Garber asked Cuomo about a line in his housing plan that states low-density neighborhoods should be spared from rezoning, “with limited exceptions such as transit-oriented development,” until “the impact of recent rezoning efforts in these areas has been absorbed.”
Cuomo initially dismissed the idea, saying he said “you have to take into account the characteristics of a neighborhood.” He was then helpfully reminded of the above quotes in his housing plan and said: “I understand this political sensitivity, and I understand the city of Yes and what everyone has been through, but it’s going to be on a case by case basis, and it’s all going to be difficult anyway.” I repeat: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You’ll most likely earn points with real estate and other business leaders: The name Michael Bloomberg is dropped
If I had a nickel for every time a real estate source has spoken wistfully about the Bloomberg administration, I’d get… I don’t know, $7?
In any case, mentions of the former mayor fall under the aforementioned ‘know your audience’ rule. All three candidates mentioned an aspect of Bloomberg’s approach to mayor that they admire and/or want to replicate.
It will most likely make headlines because, holy cow, someone actually made news about this: The Rikers restart
There’s nothing like the excitement of an event where a speaker breaks news, until you realize that another publication got the news under embargo the day before. I’m not bitter.
Cuomo announced that as mayor he would abandon plans to close Rikers and build four city jails. Instead, he would rebuild Rikers and use the four sites for housing and commercial use.
The New York Times was the first to report the proposal.
Most likely to make TRD editors say, “Wait, what?”: The “concurrent” housing promise
Cuomo said his first major project as mayor would be building 500,000 homes in 300 locations “simultaneously.” That “at the same time” raises many questions, but above all: how?
Probably more difficult than it seems: Property tax reform
Call me pessimistic, but many mayors have promised to tackle this problem, and that hasn’t happened. The candidates did not provide details, although Cuomo said he believes the courts will have to force the city and state to the table. More about that here.
What we’re thinking about: How will the vision for the remaining locations change now that Pacific Park has a new development team? Who is going to pay for a platform above the railway yard? Send a message to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
Something we learned: Less than two months after Midtown South was rezoned, an office-to-home conversion is already in the works nearby. Sheridan Wall reports that Marty Burger and Andrew Heiberger paid $25 million for 29 West 35th Street with plans to convert it into 107 studio apartments.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Outdoor gear and clothing retailer REI will close its flagship store in Soho in 2026, Curbed reports. Stores in Paramus, N.J., and Boston, Mass., will also close next year.
— The NYPD’s top uniformed officer, Department Chief John Chell, is retiring after less than a year in the role. Gothamist reports. Chief Michael LiPetri will fill the position on an interim basis.
– Three state judges filed a lawsuit this week challenging New York’s mandatory retirement age for judges, reports the Times Union. The state constitution limits the age for judges to 70.
Closing time
Residential: The highest housing deal recorded on Wednesday was $7.3 million for an antebellum cooperative unit at 1100 Park Avenue in Carnegie Hill. Jane R. Andrews and John Cronin of Coldwell Banker Warburg had the mention.
Commercial: The best recorded commercial deal was $19.5 million for a 33,374 square meter mixed-use property at 6 Greene Street in Soho. It has six floors and 12 residential units.
New on the market: The highest price for a home that came on the market was $23 million for a 4,603-square-foot condominium unit at 555 West 22nd Street in Chelsea. Shaun Osher of CORE NYC has the entry.
Groundbreaking: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 133,619-square-foot, 160-unit residential project at 525 Wales Avenue in Mott Haven in the Bronx. Esther Dockery of NBO4 Architecture applied for the permit on behalf of John DiBattista.
— Matthew Elo
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