The Bronx turns
TOLLING THE TYCOONS — Albanese calls for 'politically popular' pied-à-terre tax, by POLITICO New York’s Conor Skelding:Foreign "oligarchs" who own real estate in New York but don't live in the city should have to pay two or three times what they pay now in property taxes, Democratic mayoral candidate Sal Albanese said Wednesday. The "politically popular" new tax's revenue, which Albanese said would amount to billions, could then be put toward the development of affordable housing. "Look, there's a lot of money across the world that people want to outsource," he said during a news conference outside the gates of City Hall. "There's a lot of money there, and we can use that to build real affordable housing." Mayor Bill de Blasio promised years ago to "take a look" at a pied-à-terre tax, but the proposal is opposed by many of the city's real estate interests. "They own Bill de Blasio, big real estate does," Albanese said at the event. More here.
IT’S WHO YOU KNOW— Emails show lobbying firm had wide reach during de Blasio's first term, by POLITICO New York’s Sally Goldenberg and Laura Nahmias:As Mayor Bill de Blasio’s staff first learned to navigate the city’s vast bureaucracy, they sought regular help from an eager lobbying firm that had much to gain in return. Commissioners and employees across city agencies solicited the advice of the firm Capalino + Company to shape policy, raise funds for events and answer technical questions on myriad aspects of municipal government, according to thousands of pages of emails reviewed by POLITICO New York. The emails, obtained through a records request, show Capalino's stable of lobbyists were so entrenched in the minutiae of de Blasio's first term, they formed an unofficial, additional layer of government — sometimes instructing staffers how to do their jobs — all while advancing the interests of their paying clients. More here.
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MESS TRANSIT — With cross-Hudson travel in 'crisis' mode, planners demand a fundamental 'reset,' by POLITICO New York’s Dana Rubinstein: In an effort to break the gridlock now paralyzing the New York metropolitan area’s political apparatus, the region’s preeminent planning organization on Wednesday proposed building a new bus terminal on Eleventh Avenue and extending a proposed rail tunnel from west of the Hudson River to the other side of the East River. We want to "reset the conversation,” Tom Wright, president of the Regional Plan Association, said in a conference call with reporters. More here.
GOOD THURSDAY MORNING.Welcome to POLITICO New York Real Estate. This roundup is for you, so please tell us how we can make it even better. Please send tips, ideas, calendar items, releases, promotions, criticisms and corrections to drubinstein@politico.com and cskelding@politico.com.
PROGRAMMING NOTE:Sally Goldenberg will be off for the next few weeks. During that time, Dana Rubinstein will be writing this newsletter with continued assistance from Conor Skelding. You may reach out to them with whatever you’d normally send my way at: drubinstein@politico.com and cskelding@politico.com.
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BRONX GENTRIFICATION BARRELS ALONG — “The Rebranding of the Bronx,” by The New York Times’ Ruth La Ferla: “‘[T]he South Bronx had the fastest rate of business growth in the borough from 2000 to 2011, according to the office of the state comptroller — a factor that has spurred locals to wrest back their community and reclaim it as a seat of urban cool.” More here.
— “Planning to develop in the Bronx? Better have these politicians on speed dial,” by The Real Deal’s Eddie Small:“The Real Deal has put together a primer of politicians in the borough who developers should be prepared to work with if they want their forays into the Bronx to go smoothly. As with many things in life, it’s not always what you know. It’s who you know.” More here.
NYC V. LANDLORDS V. AIRBNB — “How the city nails landlords for their tenants’ illegal Airbnb rentals,” by Commercial Observer’s Rebecca Baird-Remba:“Two weeks ago, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge handed down a decision designed to strike fear in the hearts of landlords. Justice James d’Auguste ordered that an independent receiver be appointed to manage two Midtown residential buildings where the landlords allegedly allowed illegal Airbnb rentals to occur.” More here.
— “The owner strikes back: Rent-regulation laws get used in the brawl with Airbnb,” by Commercial Observer’s Lauren Elkies Schram: “At the end of May, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York issued a precedent-setting decision, upholding the eviction of a 69-year-old sick woman who was running a short-term rental business out of her rent-stabilized Greenwich Village apartment. The 40-year resident was profiteering by subletting out her unit at 39 Fifth Avenue between West 10th and West 11th Streets to 93 different customers for 338 days over 18 months starting March 1, 2011, court documents indicate.” Read it here.
MEANWHILE, IN BROOKLYN AND THE BRONX — “NYC pols renew push to remove Confederate street names in Brooklyn,” by Curbed’s Amy Plitt:“Following this weekend’s marches, protests, and attacks at a ‘Unite the Right’ rally led by white nationalist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, New York City lawmakers have renewed their push to rename two streets in Bay Ridge that are currently named for Confederate generals Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson and Robert E. Lee.” More here.
(Later Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy echoing the point. “Symbols of slavery and racism have no place in New York,” Cuomo wrote.)
— “Confederate general busts at Bronx Community College will be removed” by Curbed’s Zoe Rosenberg:“Bronx Community College President Thomas Isekenegbe released a statement [Wednesday] evening announced that the school will remove the busts of Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson from the Hall of Fame For Great Americans on its campus.” More here.
GOLD-PLATED REAL ESTATE — “Trump’s business of corruption,” by The New Yorker’s Adam Davidson:“President Donald Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow recently told me that the investigation being led by Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed by the Justice Department, should focus on one question: whether there was ‘coördination between the Russian government and people on the Trump campaign.’ Sekulow went on, ‘I want to be really specific. A real-estate deal would be outside the scope of legitimate inquiry.’ If he senses ‘drift’ in Mueller’s investigation, he said, he will warn the special counsel’s office that it is exceeding its mandate.” More here.
(UN)AFFORDABLE HOUSING — “NYC Rents Rising Twice As Fast As Wages, Except for Wealthiest, Study Finds,” by DNAinfo’s Amy Zimmer: “Yes, New York City is way less affordable now than seven years ago. ... Compounding the city’s affordability crisis: rents in the city rose twice as fast as wages, according to the analysis, which compared the StreetEasy Rent Index with wage data from the city’s Department of Labor.” More here.
— “Icon Realty Management at center of tenant harassment probe,” by The Real Deal’s Mark Maurer and Will Parker: “Icon Realty Management is being investigated by a joint state-city task force focused on preventing tenant harassment, The Real Deal has learned. The task force has been looking into several complaints of tenant harassment while holding talks with the Noho-based real estate investment firm, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.” More here.
CROSSTOWN CANNIBALISM — “Midtown loses 5.1M s/f in office deals to Hudson Yards,” by Real Estate Weekly’s Holly Dutton:“More and more office tenants are heading west. In a just-released report on Manhattan construction, Colliers International found that since 2014, Midtown has lost 5.14 million s/f in tenant relocations greater than 50,000 s/f to the Hudson Yards/Manhattan West submarket.” More here.
SHORT READS:
— “Under Construction: Unfreezing the Long-Vacant Ruppert Ice House in the Bronx,” by Commercial Observer’s Liam La Guerre
— “The Manhattan Skyscraper Explorer is your building-by-building skyline map,” by 6sqft’s Michelle Cohen
— “CBRE takes over as top US I-sales brokerage for first time since 2013,” by The Real Deal’s Konrad Putzier
— “Stringer gets behind controversial construction safety bill,” by POLITICO New York’s Conor Skelding
— “Trinity buys Tishman Speyer’s 375 Hudson, lands $400M loan,” by The Real Deal’s Konrad Putzier
— “Efforts to landmark 114-year-old Nomad building scuttled by LPC,” by Curbed’s Tanay Warerkar
— “Kamber Management to Acquire UWS Riverside Garage Portfolio for $50M,” by Commercial Observer’s Lauren Elkies Schram
— “East Midtown rezoning may open market for hotel-to-office conversions,” by Real Estate Weekly’s Christian Brazil Bautista
— “Another Jehovah’s Witnesses property sells, this time for $18M,” by The Real Deal’s Eddie Small
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