Districts Face Accelerated Affordable Housing Development

Districts had their chance to boost affordable housing. Now it’s being thrusted upon them.

This week, the Zohran Mamdani administration unveiled a list of community board districts placed on a so-called fast-track review process for certain developments. The list came about from last year’s charter revision ballot questions.

Affordable projects in the chosen community districts would undergo a 90-day review, not the traditional Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which typically takes around 7 months to complete.

The process starts with the local community board and borough president, then goes to the City Planning Commission for final approval, skipping the typical City Council hearings and vote that anchor the ULURP process.

So where are these districts? The neighborhoods include:

The Upper East Side, the Upper West Side and Roosevelt Island in Manhattan
Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, Kensington, Canarsie and Flatlands in Brooklyn
Corona, Elmhurst, Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Auburndale, Bayside, Douglaston, Queens Village, Bellerose and Rosedale in Queens
The Mid-Island and South Shore communities of Staten Island

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The list is based on data that found the 12 lowest-producing areas for affordable housing in the past five years, which together produced just 1.1 percent of the city’s new affordable homes during that period, averaging 12 homes per year.

“New York’s housing crisis is not going to be solved by asking the same neighborhoods to do all the building,” Mamdani said in a statement.

That’s hard to dispute. While the administration is getting buy-in from some lawmakers, others are not ready to give up the fight yet, particularly when it comes to owning the decision-making mechanism in their districts.

“I think that the mayor has done his best to try and hobble the City Council as much as he can, and he has been successful thus far,” Councilmember Joann Ariola of Queens said.

Like many initiatives and policies, the good faith of the latest effort to alleviate the housing crisis in New York won’t mean much until homes and apartments are actually built.

October means pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider donuts. It also means the fourth quarter of the year is underway. To be as clutch as Jalen Brunson, it helps to know what’s going on in the industry this week:

Stern loses Brooklyn Tower arbitration, ordered to pay Silverstein $47M

An arbitrator issued a $46.9 million award against Michael Stern and JDS for diverting insurance proceeds and failing to account to lender Silverstein Capital Partners for loan advances related to the Brooklyn Tower project.

The arbitrator found that Stern concealed a $35.4 million insurance payout from a 2022 burst pipe and failed to show that $13.1 million in vendor loan advances were used properly.

The arbitrator rejected Stern’s arguments that he was entitled to keep proceeds for soft costs or that the lender underfunded the project, noting the lender held a security interest in the proceeds.

Judge dethrones Mark Harounian’s “king” defense, awards family companies $16.5M

A New York judge ordered Mark Harounian to pay $16.5 million in damages and $5.28 million in unpaid distributions following an 11-year legal battle with his sister.

The judge criticized Harounian for improperly diverting family real estate funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle.

Harounian’s attorneys plan to appeal the ruling, while his sister’s legal team celebrated the decision as a key victory.

Lawsuit reveals texts between Mamdani administration, rental board

Discovery in a landlords’ lawsuit revealed text messages and emails between the Rent Guidelines Board and the Mamdani administration.

While an attorney for the landlords called the coordination “shocking,” the exchanges primarily concerned meeting logistics and draft statements without mentioning a rent freeze.

The disclosure follows reports that the landlords’ attorney previously contacted the board chair under Mayor Adams to advocate for lower rent increases.

Lender wins foreclosure sale for Mike Kohan’s Garment District office building

The Davis Companies acquired an equity stake in Mike Kohan’s 345 Seventh Avenue via a credit bid at a UCC foreclosure auction after a temporary restraining order was denied.

Seventeen Great Neck investors sued to halt the sale, alleging Kohan defrauded them out of more than $80 million by promising property ownership interests through fraudulent operating agreements.

The foreclosure follows Kohan’s removal as CEO of Kohan Properties Ltd. over unauthorized loans and personal withdrawals tied to Israeli bond market funds.

Pacific Oak REIT eyes $400M for FiDi office tower amid fire-sale liquidation

And finally, Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT is putting the nearly 1-million-square-foot office tower at 110 William Street up for sale with an expected price tag of around $400 million.

Although the building is 93 percent leased primarily to New York City government agencies, the REIT is facing maturity defaults on its $305.3 million senior and $24 million mezzanine loans.

Following leadership changes and debt restructuring with Israeli bondholders, restructuring specialist Bradley Scher was appointed to oversee the REIT’s wind-down and liquidation plan.