Council Member Antonio Reynoso. Image credit: William Alatriste, New York City Council

Council backs not-for-profit sector with new legislation. On March 29, 2020, Local Law 42 of 2020 was adopted by the City without the Mayor signing it following unanimous City Council approval.  Local Law 42 was originally introduced as Int. No 245-of 2018 by Council Member Antonio Reynoso and was later amended twice. The new law creates an exemption for City tax lien sales of properties owned by not-for-profit organizations. The law also creates a not-for-profit ombudsperson within the City’s Department of Finance.

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Council Speaker Corey Johnson Image Credit: New York City Council

Follow CityLand on twitter if you cannot watch City Council’s first ever virtual Stated meeting. On April 15, 2020, the New York City Council announced that it will be holding a Stated meeting on Wednesday April 22, 2020 at 1:30 PM. The meeting will be held remotely, a first for the New York City Council. The Stated meeting will be the first since February 27, 2020. The subsequently scheduled meetings were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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90 Sands Street Building/Image Credit: Breaking Ground/CPC

The building conversion will bring 508 supportive and affordable residential units to DUMBO. On March 13, 2020, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved an application to facilitate the conversion of a 29-story former hotel building at 90 Sands Street. The building would be converted into a mixed-use residential use and community facility building with a future possibility for commercial use. To facilitate the conversion, the applicant, Breaking Ground, is proposing to rezone Brooklyn Block 87, which comprises of 90 Sands Street and 175 Pearl Street, from a manufacturing zoning district to a special mixed-use district that allows residential use and to designate the block as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area. Brooklyn Block 87 is bounded by High Street to the north, Sands Street to the south, Jay Street to the east, and Pearl Street to the west. For CityLand’s prior coverage on the application, click here.

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Rendering of the new eight-story building on 52nd Street./Image Credit: Albo Liberis and CPC

The new development would be located near the 7 line and many bus stops. On March 13, 2020, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved an application to rezone part of 52nd Street in Sunnyside, Queens. The rezoning will affect the east side of 52nd Street, bounded by Roosevelt Avenue to the north and Queens Boulevard to the south. The street would be rezoned from a low-density residential zoning district that allows three-story buildings to a medium-density residential zoning district that allows eight-story buildings. The rezoning would facilitate the construction of a new eight-story mixed-use building located mid-block between 43-09 and 43-25 52nd Street. On February 19, 2020, City Planning voted to approve the application. For CityLand’s prior coverage on the application, click here.

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Image Rendering of proposed building at 816 Herkimer Street, Cluster 2 Image Credit: City Planning

HPD’s Open Door Program a key facet of Rochester Suydam application. On February 26, 2020, the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions heard the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and BJF Development’s application for the disposition of City owned property, the designation of an Urban Development Action Area and the approval of a property tax exemption under Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law. The approval would facilitate the development of seven new buildings and 78 affordable homeownership units in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The application was approved by the City Planning Commission on February 19, 2020. To read CityLand’s prior coverage of the Rochester Suydam project click here.

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