NEW YORK CITY—The city has put forth a plan for mandatory inclusionary housing, with the promise that new rules would be on the books—pending the public approvals process—in about six months; or sometime in early 2016. The first MIH area being targeted by the program is East New York but, as Carl Weisbrod has stated in other forums, several other parts of the city are being targeted.
Put forth by the Dept. of City Planning, the newly proposed system would make the creation of affordable housing units a requirement for developers when creating residential buildings in areas zoned for MIH, and that requirement would be permanent. Further, both the City Planning Commission and City Council would require developers building multifamily properties in every MIH area to make 25% or 30% of their projects into affordable units; the exact amount would be determined by those city government entities.”
And the plan isn't done there. On top of that requirement, DCP says, “the City Council and the City Planning Commission could decide to apply an additional, limited workforce option for markets where moderate- or middle-income development is marginally financially feasible without subsidy.” For more on the detailed framework that's been proposed, click here.
Given that the plan was put forth this week, REBNY president John Banks says only, “We will review the details of the mandatory inclusionary program to assess whether or not it will result in new affordable housing production.”
But attorney David Karnovsky, partner in Fried Frank's real estate department—and the former general counsel to DCP—says the plan appears well thought-out and fair to all parties concerned.
“It is a very carefully organized framework that reflects a lot of thought on how to do this in a consistent way,” he says. “It's designed to block ad hoc approaches and instead establish clear ground rules going forward.”
Further, notes Karnovsky, “It does attempt to address a variety of issues for all parties.” Everything isn't entirely clear, he admits, but on the fairness front, he says, “the intent is there.”
Several situations do need to be ironed out, he asserts. “One has to do with what happens when a rezoning isn't sponsored by the city itself but a private party. For instance, what happens when a developer has rezoned their property and seeks a modest increase in FAR?”
Also, Karnovsky notes, “An area that will be of some interest is the idea that the program will be applied not just to rezoning but to special permits such as a land use action that could result in change to allowable uses on a site. This creates some uncertainty.”
Overall, he states, “There will be parties who'll be unhappy with the standardization and will want customization for their projects, especially on the affordability percentages. But the framework is designed to promote transparency and predictability.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
