NY Dirt: Council pushes back on appeals board nominee
Mamdani’s nominee for a key housing role is getting City Council pushback for his pro-development stance and work on ballot measures to expedite affordable projects.
At a recent Democratic conference meeting, lawmakers were reportedly skeptical of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s nominee to lead the Board of Standards and Appeals, John Mangin, the current Department of City Planning housing director. “On the face of it, a majority of members would be uncomfortable voting for him as it stands now,” one lawmaker told Politico.
Mangin played a key role as policy director of an Adams-era charter revision commission that landed pro-housing measures on the ballot last November, which voters approved to fast-track affordable development citywide. The City Council, however, broadly opposed the charter revisions that they claimed disempowered the legislative body and community voice in the land use and development process.
“That is exactly the kind of leader we need at the Board of Standards and Appeals – someone who understands government’s responsibility to dramatically increase our housing stock and to do so more equitably across the city,” Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said on X. “Our administration has been working closely with our partners in the City Council to ensure they understand Mangin’s record and the importance of this appointment in building a more affordable New York.”
Council members including the Bronx’s Kevin Riley, chair of the land use committee, and Deputy Council Speaker Nantasha Williams of Queens have reportedly taken exception to Mangin’s public statements taking aim at exclusionary zoning. Mangin wrote a 2014 article in the Stanford Law and Policy Review, calling out “wealthy homeowner cartels” who block denser development in their neighborhoods, which raised lawmaker concerns along with his negative take on community benefit agreements.
The Board of Standards and Appeals may sound obscure. Its primary purpose has historically been to rule on applications. But the leadership role now wields newfound power to approve new housing under the recent charter amendments’ expedited processes. For projects seeking to build 100 percent affordable units, the BSA can grant certain zoning waivers and based on its findings related to neighborhood character and programmatic necessity. Fast-tracked projects require the BSA to hold hearings on applications within three months of the filing date, which halves the typical length of the ULURP process. The BSA chair also presides over disputes, interceding when developers, community members or city agencies are at odds over permits or zoning issues.
Council member Williams pushed back against critics on social media, including Annemarie Gray, executive director of the abundance group Open New York, lobbing the NIMBY critique against her. Williams touted more than 170 housing applications approving more than 88,000 new homes, along with lawmakers’ work advancing the Adams-era City of Yes legislation and five other rezonings across the finish line.
Lawmakers looking to walk a tightrope between appeasing homeowners and tackling a housing shortage may ultimately need to play ball with a new BSA chair, rather than stonewalling a nomination.
What we’re thinking about: Is Mangin the right pick for the BSA chair role? Do you see this as a YIMBY vs. NIMBY debate, or a case of political score-settling over last year’s ballot measures? Let me know at ben.miller@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Have you been seeing more ads on the subway lately? Probably! Though the subway has had ads since its inception in 1904, the practice of placing advertisements on and around the subway has since exploded. The MTA brought in around $180 million in ad revenue in 2025, and that number will soon grow as the agency implements even more subway ads, MTA Director of Commercial Ventures Mary John told Gothamist.
— Spencer Davis
Elsewhere…
— Mayor Zohran Mamdani is asking a former executive for UBS Group AG, the former global head of investment banking at Lazard, and Bank of America’s New York City president to join his advisory council, Bloomberg reports. Mamdani earlier this week disbanded a separate advisory board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, a group of business and civic leaders leading a multimillion-dollar fund that funnels private donations into city initiatives, in favor of forming a new board of directors.
— The City Council plans to hold an oversight hearing on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial rollout of the pied-à-terre tax, The City Reporter writes. The hearing, which will be jointly held by the Finance and Governmental Operations committees on Aug. 18, will feature testimony from some of the roughly 17,000 homeowners who received the Department of Finance’s letter threatening the surcharge. The hearing comes after three homeowners sued the administration seeking to postpone the implementation of the tax.
— The Mamdani administration will offer grants between $1,000 and $10,000 to home-based childcare providers who face unexpected emergencies, Gothamist reports. The microgrants are part of a $3 million program to provide funding to the more than 6,000 childcare providers in New York City who serve over 100,000 children and earn a median wage of just $6 per hour.
— Spencer Davis
Closing time
Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Friday was $22 million for 432 Park Avenue, 94A. The Midtown East condo is 4,000 square feet. Serhant’s Marc Riedel and Jordyn Nusynowitz have the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $86.9 million for 43-10 23rd Street. The office building in Long Island City is seven stories and 151,000 square feet of gross floor area.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $5 million for 15 Hudson Yards, Unit 27H. The Hudson Yards condo is 2,200 square feet. Compass’ Eni Maj and Marie-Claire Martineau have the listing.
— Joseph Jungermann
