Politicians
April 22, 2008
Are the DOB Commish's Days Numbered?
Outrage over Department of Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster's management of her agency is growing amidst revelations that the DOB approved plans for a glass tower on East 51st Street that flouted zoning regulations. Seven people died at the tower's construction site last month after a crane collapsed. According to an article in the Times, even Mayor Bloomberg is having a hard time defending the DOB nowadays. “I don’t think anybody should be fully satisfied with the Department of Buildings’ performance,” the mayor said yesterday. “Whether somebody could have done a better job — I’m trying to — whether they could have done a better job I just don’t know.” Indeed, it is a hard thing to "know," since the mayor's administration has been so staunchly pro-development that the DOB has clearly had a problem enforcing safety standards for all the building's it's approved. “You have a Buildings Department that seems more interested in preserving the rights of developers at the expense of citizens and the community,” said Bruce Silberblatt, a retired contractor. Thirteen people have died in construction-related accidents so far this year, one more fatality than in all of 2007. "If there's more construction, it makes common sense that you probably have more accidents or mistakes made," the mayor is quoted as saying in the Post. "But that's not an excuse. I'm looking at the Buildings Department the same ways I'm looking at every single other agency in this city." Lancaster says she's done a lot to reform the DOB since taking it over in 2002 and notes that she serves "at the pleasure of Mayor Bloomberg...I know we have much more to do to, and as long as I have the mayor's support, I will forge ahead and continue to strengthen the Buildings Department's oversight and regulation of the construction industry."
As Construction Deaths Rise, Buildings Chief Faces Scrutiny [NY Times]
Mayor Dissatisfied With Buildings Department [NY Sun]
Mike Rips Construx Agency [NY Post]
Photo from the Observer.
April 18, 2008
Bright Ideas, Big Cities
In the new issue of Metropolis, Karrie Jacobs pens an interesting piece about how big-city mayors in the U.S. "have emerged as a sort of government in exile, putting forth a remarkably progressive, and occasionally visionary, domestic agenda while the federal government has been AWOL." Here in New York we know all about having a mayor who thinks big, but Jacobs hardly mentions Bloomberg. She concentrates, instead, on Martin O’Malley, the former mayor of Baltimore, who spoke about how forming a response network to address emergencies like terrorist attacks or natural disasters was a job best handled close to home, since Washington "will be thirty to forty years catching up with this reality," and San Francisco's Gavin Newsom, who talks about green initiatives for his city and says, “When you’re going to get serious about addressing the issues of global climate change, it will be happening, by definition, in urban cores...We’re basically following these UN environmental accords and doing it in the absence of leadership from our states and respective federal governments.” As we look forward to a new administration, Jacobs concludes, our future president should take note that cities are no longer something to be fixed, but should be acknowledged as planning leaders, "not only to give them the succor they’ve been denied in the past eight years but also to learn from them how this country can once again move forward." Isn't it pretty to think so?
Like Urban Renewal, Only Backward [Metropolis]
Photo by Just-Us-3.
April 15, 2008
De Blasio Blasts Ratner on AY Obfuscation
Last night Councilman Bill de Blasio held a meet-up for Brooklyn bloggers at which he spoke for a couple of hours about development topics including Atlantic Yards, rezonings, affordable housing, and what he'd like to accomplish if he's elected borough president. Like Gowanus Lounge, we were most interested in what de Blasio had to say about Atlantic Yards: The councilman said he thinks there should be no more demolitions in the Atlantic Yards footprint until Forest City Ratner puts its current plans for the project into writing. De Blasio said he was "livid" about the interview Bruce Ratner gave to the New York Times last month since the likely stall "calls the entire Community Benefits Agreement into question." The Councilman also said that he thinks the entire development should be reviewed again by the state if Forest City Ratner is now conceiving of a vastly different project, particularly one that reneges on its promised affordable housing. "I held out hope for the project because of the amount of affordable housing it would create, as well as the number of jobs it would bring," he said. "But I have been constantly disappointed in the lack of community involvement...I've never seen anything that's been mismanaged so fundamentally in terms of community involvement." The councilman also talked about the possible Coney Island and Gowanus rezonings. While he's not thrilled with either the city or Joe Sitt's possibly competing visions for the area ("I'm not comfortable with the Manhattanization of Brooklyn" that both plans represent), he says that "by and large" he likes Planning's draft framework for rezoning Gowanus because "the best way to get the canal clean is to get residential development around it." As borough president, de Blasio said he'd like to be involved with "shaping more than just promoting Brooklyn." In keeping with one of his primary platforms, affordable housing, de Blasio said he'd use the office to "start addressing the have-nots."
De Blasio Calls for Moratorium on Atlantic Yards Demolition [GL]
April 11, 2008
He Built This City
AM New York's piece this morning assessing Mike Bloomberg's legacy is one of the first of many, many articles that are sure to come as the mayor enters the twilight of his term. The article positions Mayor Mike as a great post-9/11 rebuilder who's played a big role in luring tourists, spurring development and making formerly undesirable neighborhoods hot. "Places like Red Hook that were once a no-man's land are hipster havens, and Brooklyn is now a center for culture and art for the whole country," says Mitchell Moss, a professor of history at New York University and adviser to the mayor's first campaign. "Whoever thought people would want to live on the Gowanus." The article notes that the Bloomberg administration's aggressive rezoning agenda ("one out of every six square feet in the city" has been rezoned) and drive to incentivize development on NYC's waterfront has altered the lay of the land, and New York has much more of a "luxury" sheen than it did six years ago. The cost of all this is high, according to critics who say the city has become too expensive for the working- and middle-class and resulted in inorganic changes. "There has been a pinching of people's sense of place, and a destruction of community identity," says Brad Lander, director of the Pratt Center for Community Development. "They have accelerated the transformation of this place from a manufacturing city to a condo and office tower city, but a lot of people don't feel invested in that growth."
Bloomberg Reshapes City, Despite High-Profile Setbacks [AM New York]
Photo by CarbonNYC.
March 14, 2008
Paterson May be a Foe to Eminent Domain
According to an article in today's Sun, our new governor could end up opposing projects like Atlantic Yards that involve the use of eminent domain. As a state senator, David Paterson participated in a 2005 rally calling for a statewide moratorium on eminent domain. Councilmember Letitia James, who also took part in the rally, says she hopes Paterson's views on the subject haven't changed. "He stood with me and proposed some legislation and I am very hopeful that the lieutenant governor and soon-to-be governor will honor his commitment and will either issue a moratorium or review the abuse of eminent domain across New York City," says James. Steven Spinola, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, says it's "premature" to make predictions about where Paterson will stand on eminent domain, but that "It would clearly be a mistake for the state to give up one of its powers to get public improvement projects off the ground." Time will certainly tell.
Paterson Could Derail Development [NY Sun]
Photo by d-4ce.
March 11, 2008
Spitzer, We Hardly Knew Ye
Is there anything else to talk about today? If Spitzer leaves office, we're probably only going to be left with a lot of questions about how he might have triggered change for New York City in general and Brooklyn—and Brooklyn real estate—specifically. As Norman Oder notes on Atlantic Yards Report, Spitzer mostly kept mum on AY, thereby offering his tacit approval for the project. Oder writes that if Spitzer is replaced, his successor might affect changes in Phase 2 of the mega-development. In another big real estate-related topic, Spitzer long ago proposed raising the decontrol cap on rent-stabilized apartments, which would have had a huge impact on a wide cross-section Brooklyn tenants and landlords. (This push hadn't been discussed in many months, though it presumably would have been revived if Democrats gained control of the State Senate.) There's also the question of how Spitzer's resignation might affect congestion pricing, which he had reportedly been drafting a bill for. Any other ideas about the potential fallout for Brooklyn?
Spitzer Is Linked to a Sex Ring as Client [NY Times]
Photo by Lindsay Beyerstein.
February 8, 2008
Marty Talks Growth, New Projects
Marty Markowitz’s final state of the borough address in Red Hook last night was apparently chock full of the boosterism that everyone expects from Brooklyn’s cheerleader, but the borough president also mentioned a few interesting new initiatives he intends to push for during his last year in office. A video monitor projected images of the beep showering at Hotel Le Bleu (yum!), according to the Daily News, as Markowitz noted that tourism to the borough rose 10 percent in 2006 (there's some fresh data for you!) and is primed to rise more over the coming years. Marty said that he wants to establish a board of directors to take over the New York Aquarium in Coney Island (the facility is currently run by the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society); provide funding for a GLBT community center in Downtown; and push for the restoration of Coney Island’s parachute jump. Although the borough president received a standing ovation and a lot of support from the crowd, Atlantic Yards Report’s Norman Oder notes that Markowitz only mentioned the borough’s biggest development project twice over the course of his 70-minute speech, and it didn’t elicit applause either time.
Tourism, Growth a 'Brooklyn Story' Says Beep [NY Daily News]
City to do the Light Thing for Coney Landmark [NY Post]
AY Gets Mention But Not Applause [AY Report]
Photo from Borough President Office's website.
January 25, 2008
De Blasio, Yassky Replacements Start to Campaign
This morning the Brooklyn Paper has stories about the candidates who are looking to replace Councilmember Bill de Blasio (our next Borough President?) and Councilmember David Yassky (our next Comptroller?). Five hopefuls have already announced their intentions to vie for de Blasio's seat in the 39th District (which includes Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Street, some of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, and Boro Park), while only three candidates (so far) have said they're running to replace Yassky as the Council rep for the 33rd District (which covers Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint; parts of Williamsburg, some of Park Slope, and Boerum Hill). Here's a rundown of the candidates' bona fides and platforms:
39th District
Craig Hammerman: CB6 district manager; says he's pushing for “affordability, sustainability and livability.”
Brad Lander: Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development; focusing on affordable housing and urban planning.
Gary Reilly: Lawyer, member of CGNA, writes nabe blog; wants to focus on improving mass transit.
Josh Skaller: IT director, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats president; chief priority would be education.
Bob Zuckerman: Executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation, CB6 member; pushing government reform.
33rd District:
Steve Levin: Chief of staff to Assemblyman Vito Lopez; focused on affordable housing.
Jo Anne Simon: Democratic District Leader; broad platform includes education and land use.
Evan Thies: Nonprofit adviser, CB1 member; taking on district growth.
Let the races begin.
A Five-For-All to replace DeBlasio [Brooklyn Paper]
Three-Way for Yassky’s Seat in Heights, W’burg [Brooklyn Paper]
Q&A: Brad Lander On His Run for City Council [Brownstoner]
January 23, 2008
Yassky Floats Biodiesel Plan
Tomorrow the Environmental Protection Committee of the City Council will have a hearing on a bill introduced by Councilmember David Yassky that would gradually phase in the use of biodiesel in New York’s heating oil system. Yassky’s bill, the Bioheat Act, would require that heating oil retailers start selling oil that is 5 percent biodiesel by June 2011, 10 percent biodiesel by June 2013, and 20 percent biodiesel (or B20 biodiesel) thereafter. The use of a biodiesel blend would go a long way toward reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, and oil mixes containing up to 20 percent biodiesel don’t require users to change their oil or fuel systems. Sound like a plan?
Photo by lucky_dog.
How Will Spitzer’s Budget Affect Real Estate?
Yesterday Gov. Spitzer introduced his $124.3 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins in April, a plan that calls for a spending increase of 5 percent as well as various cost-cutting measures meant to address the state’s estimated $4.4 billion budget deficit. So what sort of impact will the governor’s plan have on real estate? For starters, one of the most significant aspects of the budget involves increasing the real estate transfer tax, which is paid on property purchases above $175,000. Spitzer is also proposing a freeze on spending for the $4.7 billion School Tax Relief program, which uses state money to lower property taxes by funding school districts and giving rebate checks to homeowners. At the same time, Spitzer is looking to increase spending on affordable housing via the new $400 million Housing Opportunity Fund, which will go to the creation and preservation of low-cost and supportive housing. Some independent budget analysts say Spitzer’s plan doesn’t go far enough in terms of curbing spending. Nevertheless, the uncertain economic climate was clearly weighing on the governor. “Like every other state in the nation, New York is feeling the effects of a serious economic downturn, requiring us to make tough decisions necessary to continue moving our state in the right direction,” Spitzer wrote in a statement accompanying the budget.
Spitzer Plans Cuts and Fees to Close Deficit of $4.4 Billion [NY Times]
Spitzer's Budget Triggers Backlash [NY Sun]
2008-2009 Executive Budget [NY State]
Photo from state.ny.us