City Council President Julie Menin this week appointed Chris Marte as chair of the Monuments, Public Sites, Resilience and Dispositions Subcommittee.
Marte famously claims to be the only Manhattan city council member to vote against City of Yes, which has helped spur development in the city by rezoning certain neighborhoods, easing air rights transfers, and expanding residential conversion options.
While Marte’s role as a city councilor 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 exercise his worldview, which, to put it bluntly, has thus far been anti-developer.
“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 say will add 80,000 new homes to the city over the next fifteen years.
As chairman of the commission, Marte will be responsible for reviewing landmark designations, as well as the use of city-owned land ready for development, such as 100 Gold Street, where the city is partnering with GFP Real Estate to build 3,700 apartments.
Marte has already agreed to support other planned repurposings, one of which was likely worth 100 gold, in exchange for the city keeping the controversial Elizabeth Street Garden intact.
Marte’s role in reviewing historic district designations will also be tested early.
The real deal previously reported that the YIMBY-focused Open New York pushed back on two historic district designations granted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The group argued that these designations, which must still be reviewed by the city planning department and approved by the City Council, improperly exempted these areas from the city of Yes.
For her part, Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York, said in a statement that she is hopeful that Marte will “seize the moment” and ensure that “city-owned land can be used for affordable and mixed-income housing, that historic districts will 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 think about: The world of residential real estate has been rocked by the merger between the country’s two largest real estate agents, Compass and Anywhere Real Estate. New York City has always felt a degree or two removed from the world of national real estate, but I’m curious what it’s like on the ground for agents in the city who work at the affected companies (or the rest of them)? Email me at jacob.indursky@therealdeal.com.
Something we learned: A recent one audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli previewed 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 handing out non-mandatory bonuses.
Elsewhere…
— The Mamdani-Hochul love fest has stopped near the subway, Gothamist reported. During her “State of the State” address, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wants to expand the state-run program, which sends nurses and police officers into the subway to push homeless people into hospital care. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said in the past that he wants to reduce police presence in the metro and put an end to clearing homeless encampments.
– The New York City Housing Authority is heading towards electrification, according to the New York Times reported. NYCHA will install induction cooktops in 100 units as part of a pilot program. If this is successful, the agency will only have 10,000 units left to go. The agency said it expected the first 100 heaters to be installed early next year.
Closing time
Residential: The highest residential deals recorded on Friday were 1010 East Eighth Street at 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 apartment is 3,500 square feet of new construction. Brown Harris Stevens Jill Bernard has the listing for the apartment.
Commercial: The best recorded commercial deal was $38.1 million for 26 Bleeckerstraat. The Manhattan Health Center in NoHo is seven floors and 43,365 square meters. Planned Parenthood sold the building to Izaki Group Investments, per property records.
New on the market: The highest price for a property to come onto 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 entry.
Groundbreaking: The largest new building permit submitted was for a proposed 14,970-square-foot, 14-story, mixed-use development at 54 Sullivan Place in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Kao-Hwa Lee Architects is the registered applicant.
— Joseph Jungerman
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