Latest news with #BradLander
Time Out
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
Office-to-apartment conversions could mean 17,000 new housing units in NYC, says new report
New York City's newest real estate trend isn't a shiny glass tower—it's rethinking the ones we already have. According to a new report from City Comptroller Brad Lander, more than 15 million square feet of aging office space across the city could be flipped into nearly 17,400 apartments, marking a pivotal shift in New York's fight against the housing crisis. That's right: The old Pfizer headquarters? Becoming 1,500 apartments. Downtown's former JPMorgan Chase HQ at 25 Water Street? Already mid-conversion into 1,300 units. Even the onetime home of Goldman Sachs, at 55 Broad Street, has traded its trading desks for 571 new rental units. In total, the report counts 44 conversion projects either completed, underway, or proposed that have gained momentum since the pandemic upended both where New Yorkers live and where they work. With hybrid and remote work emptying out Midtown cubicles and dragging down office values, developers are seizing the opportunity to turn ghosts of commerce past into badly needed homes. A generous new tax break called 467-m is greasing the wheels of the project. Enacted in 2024, it gives developers up to 90-percent off their property tax bill for up to 35 years, as long as 25-percent of the new apartments are affordable. Critics argue that the program is overly generous in some cases: the Comptroller estimates it could cost the city $5.1 billion in lost tax revenue over the next few decades. Most of that cost is tied to Lower Manhattan buildings that might've been converted anyway, tax break or not. Still, the upside is real. Conversions could soak up one-third of the city's pandemic-era office vacancy losses and kickstart vibrant, mixed-use neighborhoods in places once dominated by 9-to-5 crowds. And the pipeline's only growing. Since May, developers have unveiled major new projects, including a plan to convert 5 Times Square into 1,250 apartments and a 72-story skyscraper in Downtown Brooklyn that would replace a much-maligned Verizon call center with 1,263 mixed-income homes.
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
'A trap' — Asylum seekers arrested after attending U.S. court hearings
In gloomy corridors outside a Manhattan courtroom, masked agents target and arrest migrants attending mandatory hearings — part of U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport many migrants, has encouraged authorities to be more aggressive as he seeks to hit his widely reported target of 1 million deportations annually. Since Trump's return to the White House, Homeland Security agents have adopted the tactic of waiting outside immigration courts nationwide and arresting migrants as they leave at the end of asylum hearings. Missing an immigration court hearing is a crime in some cases and can itself make migrants liable to be deported, leaving many with little choice but to attend and face arrest. Armed agents with shields from different federal agencies loitered outside the court hearings in a tower block in central New York, holding paperwork with photographs of migrants to be targeted, an AFP correspondent saw this week. The agents arrested almost a dozen migrants from different countries in just a few hours on the 12th floor of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building. Brad Lander, a city official who was briefly detained last month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as he attempted to accompany a migrant targeted for removal, called the hearings "a trap." "It has the trappings of a judicial hearing, but it's just a trap to have made them come in the first place," he said Wednesday outside the building. Federal immigration officers take the elevator at U.S. immigration court in Manhattan, in New York City, on Thursday. | REUTERS Lander recounted several asylum seekers being arrested by immigration officers including Carlos, a Paraguayan man who Lander said had an application pending for asylum under the Convention Against Torture — as well as a future court date. "The judge carefully instructed him on how to prepare to bring his case to provide additional information about his interactions with the Paraguayan police and make his case under the global convention against torture for why he is entitled to asylum," Lander said. After his hearing, agents "without any identifying information or badges or warrants grabbed Carlos and then quickly moved him toward the back stairwell," he said. Lander, a Democrat, said the agents were threatening and that they pushed to the ground Carlos' sister, who had accompanied him to the hearing. The White House said recently that "the brave men and women of ICE are under siege by deranged Democrats — but undeterred in their mission." "Every day, these heroes put their own lives on the line to get the worst of the worst ... off our streets and out of our neighborhoods." Back at the building in lower Manhattan, Lander said that "anyone who comes down here to observe could see ... the rule of law is being eroded."
France 24
6 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
'A trap' - Asylum seekers arrested after attending US courts
Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport many migrants, has encouraged authorities to be more aggressive as he seeks to hit his widely-reported target of one million deportations annually. Since Trump's return to the White House, Homeland Security agents have adopted the tactic of waiting outside immigration courts nationwide and arresting migrants as they leave at the end of asylum hearings. Missing an immigration court hearing is a crime in some cases and can itself make migrants liable to be deported, leaving many with little choice but to attend and face arrest. Armed agents with shields from different federal agencies loitered outside the court hearings in a tower block in central New York, holding paperwork with photographs of migrants to be targeted, an AFP correspondent saw this week. The agents arrested almost a dozen migrants from different countries in just a few hours on the 12th floor of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building. Brad Lander, a city official who was briefly detained last month by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents as he attempted to accompany a migrant targeted for removal, called the hearings "a trap." "It has the trappings of a judicial hearing, but it's just a trap to have made them come in the first place," he said Wednesday outside the building. White House defends agents Lander recounted several asylum seekers being arrested by immigration officers including Carlos, a Paraguayan man who Lander said had an application pending for asylum under the Convention Against Torture -- as well as a future court date. "The judge carefully instructed him on how to prepare to bring his case to provide additional information about his interactions with the Paraguayan police and make his case under the global convention against torture for why he is entitled to asylum," Lander said. After his hearing, agents "without any identifying information or badges or warrants grabbed Carlos, and then quickly moved him toward the back stairwell," he said. Lander, a Democrat, claimed the agents were threatening and that they pushed to the ground Carlos's sister who had accompanied him to the hearing. The White House said recently that "the brave men and women of ICE are under siege by deranged Democrats -- but undeterred in their mission." "Every day, these heroes put their own lives on the line to get the worst of the worst... off our streets and out of our neighborhoods." Back at the building in lower Manhattan, Lander said that "anyone who comes down here to observe could see... the rule of law is being eroded."
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
'A trap' - Asylum seekers arrested after attending US courts
In gloomy corridors outside a Manhattan courtroom, masked agents target and arrest migrants attending mandatory hearings -- part of US President Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport many migrants, has encouraged authorities to be more aggressive as he seeks to hit his widely-reported target of one million deportations annually. Since Trump's return to the White House, Homeland Security agents have adopted the tactic of waiting outside immigration courts nationwide and arresting migrants as they leave at the end of asylum hearings. Missing an immigration court hearing is a crime in some cases and can itself make migrants liable to be deported, leaving many with little choice but to attend and face arrest. Armed agents with shields from different federal agencies loitered outside the court hearings in a tower block in central New York, holding paperwork with photographs of migrants to be targeted, an AFP correspondent saw this week. The agents arrested almost a dozen migrants from different countries in just a few hours on the 12th floor of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building. Brad Lander, a city official who was briefly detained last month by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents as he attempted to accompany a migrant targeted for removal, called the hearings "a trap." "It has the trappings of a judicial hearing, but it's just a trap to have made them come in the first place," he said Wednesday outside the building. - White House defends agents - Lander recounted several asylum seekers being arrested by immigration officers including Carlos, a Paraguayan man who Lander said had an application pending for asylum under the Convention Against Torture -- as well as a future court date. "The judge carefully instructed him on how to prepare to bring his case to provide additional information about his interactions with the Paraguayan police and make his case under the global convention against torture for why he is entitled to asylum," Lander said. After his hearing, agents "without any identifying information or badges or warrants grabbed Carlos, and then quickly moved him toward the back stairwell," he said. Lander, a Democrat, claimed the agents were threatening and that they pushed to the ground Carlos's sister who had accompanied him to the hearing. The White House said recently that "the brave men and women of ICE are under siege by deranged Democrats -- but undeterred in their mission." "Every day, these heroes put their own lives on the line to get the worst of the worst... off our streets and out of our neighborhoods." Back at the building in lower Manhattan, Lander said that "anyone who comes down here to observe could see... the rule of law is being eroded."
Arab News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
‘A trap' — Asylum seekers arrested after attending US courts
NEW YORK: In gloomy corridors outside a Manhattan courtroom, masked agents target and arrest migrants attending mandatory hearings — part of US President Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport many migrants, has encouraged authorities to be more aggressive as he seeks to hit his widely-reported target of one million deportations annually. Since Trump's return to the White House, Homeland Security agents have adopted the tactic of waiting outside immigration courts nationwide and arresting migrants as they leave at the end of asylum hearings. Missing an immigration court hearing is a crime in some cases and can itself make migrants liable to be deported, leaving many with little choice but to attend and face arrest. Armed agents with shields from different federal agencies loitered outside the court hearings in a tower block in central New York, holding paperwork with photographs of migrants to be targeted, an AFP correspondent saw this week. The agents arrested almost a dozen migrants from different countries in just a few hours on the 12th floor of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building. Brad Lander, a city official who was briefly detained last month by ICE agents as he attempted to accompany a migrant targeted for removal, called the hearings 'a trap.' 'It has the trappings of a judicial hearing, but it's just a trap to have made them come in the first place,' he said Wednesday outside the building. Lander recounted several asylum seekers being arrested by immigration officers including Carlos, a Paraguayan man who Lander said had an application pending for asylum under the Convention Against Torture — as well as a future court date. 'The judge carefully instructed him on how to prepare to bring his case to provide additional information about his interactions with the Paraguayan police and make his case under the global convention against torture for why he is entitled to asylum,' Lander said. After his hearing, agents 'without any identifying information or badges or warrants grabbed Carlos, and then quickly moved him toward the back stairwell,' he said. Lander, a Democrat, claimed the agents were threatening and that they pushed to the ground Carlos's sister who had accompanied him to the hearing. The White House said recently that 'the brave men and women of ICE are under siege by deranged Democrats — but undeterred in their mission.' 'Every day, these heroes put their own lives on the line to get the worst of the worst... off our streets and out of our neighborhoods.' Back at the building in lower Manhattan, Lander said that 'anyone who comes down here to observe could see... the rule of law is being eroded.'
