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Hey there, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of policy and real estate:
- Manhattan’s borough president adds a director for tenant organizing to their office.
- ZD Jasper Realty is the first developer to leverage Albany’s new review reforms to speed up housing.
- The mayor’s worker heat order doesn’t actually create new protections.
In this edition we mention: Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Director for Tenant Organizing at the Manhattan BP’s office Alejandro Coriat, Small Property Owners of New York Board President Ann Korchak, ZD Jasper Realty President Jasper Wu, Director of the Department of City Planning Sideya Sherman and others.
We Heard
- Manhattan’s tenant czar: Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal is launching a director for tenant organizing post in his office, fulfilling a campaign promise as city elected officials increasingly devote public resources to tenant advocacy. Former Goddard Riverside Law Project tenant organizer Alejandro Coriat is stepping into the role of director for tenant organizing, where he’ll serve as the “eyes and ears of tenants across the borough,” Hoylman-Sigal told The Real Deal in an interview. “We pass laws at the city and state level to protect tenants, and I think it’s our obligation as an office in the public service to ensure that those laws are in effect,” said Hoylman-Sigal. The position will work alongside the borough president’s community affairs and constituent services units to educate tenants about their rights and help them organize around building conditions, particularly across properties owned by the same landlord. The office is not launching the position with a focus on any specific landlord portfolios or neighborhoods, said Hoylman-Sigal. Some landlord groups are not a fan. Small Property Owners of New York’s board president Ann Korchak described the new position as “a one-sided instrument for tenant activism.” The group instead called for the creation of an “affordable housing ombudsman” in the borough president’s office to assist both struggling tenants and financially distressed property owners. The new position comes as tenant organizing takes on a larger role in city government. Since taking office, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has aligned his administration with tenant advocacy, revamping the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and launching a series of “rental ripoff” hearings aimed at gathering feedback from renters to inform policy-making. The mayor’s housing plan doubles down on those efforts, directing city agencies to help tenants form associations and ramping up enforcement against landlords at buildings where residents have repeatedly organized over conditions.
- SEQRA shift: ZD Jasper Realty has become New York City’s first developer to take advantage of Albany’s new environmental review exemptions for housing. The Department of City Planning has certified the firm’s proposed 143-unit project at 44-17 Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, allowing it to move forward without additional environmental review under recent changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA. The Legislature approved the overhaul as part of this year’s state budget, carving out environmental review exemptions for certain housing developments. In the city, projects with up to 500 units qualify. “Thanks to these smart, targeted reforms, we will cut down costs and time for modest housing projects and get New Yorkers into homes faster,” city planning director Sideya Sherman said on the project at a recent City Planning Commission meeting. The certification kicks off the city’s land use review process, known as ULURP, as ZD Jasper Realty seeks a rezoning to unlock more residential density on the site. The Jasper Wu-led firm plans to build 143 apartments, including 40 income-restricted units, across 143,000 square feet. The development would replace the former Queens Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which occupied the property for more than 30 years. Plans also include nearly 13,000 square feet of retail space and a 5,000-square-foot community facility.
- Hot and bothered: The mayor on Monday signed an executive order directing city agencies to mull new heat-safety guidance for construction workers and other laborers — but the move stops short of imposing enforceable requirements on private employers. The order also doesn’t go as far as a City Council proposal that would mandate water, shade and, in the most extreme conditions, work stoppages at job sites during dangerously hot weather. As part of the directive, Mamdani ordered the Department of Buildings to review existing construction safety and training rules and recommend whether additional heat protections are needed. Those recommendations aren’t due until next March, however, meaning any new rules would be months away. The timing of the order coincided with the city’s health department releasing its 2026 heat-related mortality report, which found that extreme heat contributes to premature death for roughly 500 New Yorkers each year. The data, however, does not identify how many of those deaths are tied specifically to construction sites and other workplace exposure.
Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at caroline.spivack@therealdeal.com.
The Agenda
The City Planning Commission will host a public scoping meeting Thursday starting at 2 p.m. on Vornado Realty Trust and Stellar Management’s plans for a 976-unit expansion of Independence Plaza in Tribeca. More details on how to join here.
The Rent Guidelines Board will hold its final vote on annual lease adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments on Thursday at 7 p.m. More details on the location and the livestream here.
The Catch-Up
More tenants living in New York City’s least expensive housing units aren’t paying their rent — a trend that risks further destabilizing the city’s affordable housing market, reports Politico.
A mystery donor dropped $850,000 into a super PAC backing Jessica Ramos’ primary challenger, injecting a record-breaking cash surge into a Queens Senate race, New York Focus reports.
An unlicensed Queens broker allegedly pocketed thousands in illegal apartment deposits from renters for years — racking up complaints, lawsuits and a revoked license while somehow staying one step ahead of regulators and collection efforts, reports Gothamist.
The Kicker
“They basically got away with stealing my grandparents’ house,” said the stepdaughter of South Brooklyn Assembly member Jaime Williams over messy deed fraud allegations.
Read more
TRD PolicyPro: Brace for the Tenant Power Act
Where New York’s budget landed on real estate
PolicyPro: Council eyes heat protections for construction workers
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