Latest news with #CityofYes
New York Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
A Former Office Tower Goes Big for Residents
An office building in the Financial District has ditched cubicles and shed most of its original facade, making way for more than 1,000 new rental apartments and splashy amenities. The building at 25 Water Street, now known as SoMA for South Manhattan, previously housed JPMorganChase, the National Enquirer and the New York Daily News. Co-developed by GFP Real Estate and Metro Loft, SoMA is the country's largest residential building to be converted from offices to date, with 1,320 apartments. (Metro Loft and a partner are also converting the old Pfizer headquarters in Midtown, which will surpass SoMA with 1,602 apartments.) Nathan Berman, the founder of Metro Loft, said that converting buildings removes 'the millions of feet of space that are essentially obsolete.' 'They can't compete as office buildings anymore, and we're taking them, sort of, out of the race,' he said. As remote work ramped up during the coronavirus pandemic, many offices in busy areas like Manhattan were left empty, and developers increasingly saw vacant office buildings as opportunities to create housing. Iconic structures like the Flatiron Building are being converted to luxury condos, and the former headquarters of Goldman Sachs on Broad Street began leasing last year. More conversions are likely on the horizon. Last year, the city approved a sweeping housing plan, known as 'City of Yes,' with the goal of creating 80,000 new homes, which has made office-to-residential conversions easier. (SoMA was not a City of Yes project, but, according to a news release, it was the first to use the 467-m housing tax incentive, another initiative from Mayor Eric Adams's office designed to add new homes.) Conversions offer a significant challenge for developers, and with more than 50 units per floor, Mr. Berman compared SoMA to a puzzle. The original brick building resembled an IBM punch card, with windows scattered around the facade. The converted building has more windows and flourishes of the original brick along with a new 10-story addition on top, bringing it to 32 stories. 'It was almost like doing a new building inside an old building,' said John Cetra, the co-founder of CetraRuddy, an architecture and interior design firm. Studio apartments start at $4,000 per month, and three bedrooms start at $10,000. Two four-bedroom units on the higher floors will be released for leasing in the summer, according to the building's publicist. Some studios are spacious with separate home offices, as zoning regulations mean they are not legal bedrooms. Twenty-five percent of the apartments have been set aside as affordable, and the housing lottery is set to close May 5. Compass Development Marketing Group is handling the leasing. With around 100,000 square feet devoted to amenities, there are many perks. Residents can walk downstairs to a vast atrium, where there is a dedicated concierge service. Catch a whiff of something fresh? A scent called 'green bamboo' is pumped into the air. Residents looking to unwind can take advantage of the spa, equipped with a infrared dry sauna, salt room and a relaxation room with chaise longues. Those trying to stay active can grab a pickleball racket or a basketball to play on the courts, or head to the nearly 18,000-square-foot fitness center, which has a Pilates and yoga studio. There are also two pools — one inside and another on the 25th floor — and a social lounge with a two-lane bowling alley, virtual reality room and sports simulator. The first residents moved in February, and for some, like Vivian Ayala, those amenities were a draw. 'Being in New York and living in our tiny boxes, I think it's so important to have such incredible spaces outside of our apartments to be able to really enjoy the city for what it's for — for both social settings and just personal space,' said Ms. Ayala, 40. Newly single, Ms. Ayala wanted a change from Hudson Yards, where she had lived for five years. In SoMA, she signed a lease on a studio apartment with a home office, where she now lives with her Pomeranian, Leo. 'No one's lived here before since it was office space,' she said, 'so I love the idea of just everything — a complete blank slate and a new start.' The interviews below have been lightly edited for length and clarity. How would 'City of Yes' have changed this project? If City of Yes had existed, we would have been able to create more apartments here. A lot more apartments. The old regulations had issues around density. Because of that, we ended up having to produce fewer apartments on some floors as we went up. What made this project particularly complex? The challenge here in doing conversions is that this building is as close to an impossible conversion as you can get. Its floor plate is over 40,000 gross square feet with only two sides of legal light and air. Technically, to lay out this floor plate efficiently is a huge challenge. To overcome these shortcomings and create a product like this was amazing. What's the difference between designing a new building versus converting an old one? In a new building, you wouldn't see 52 different apartments on one floor. It would be much more standardized, so you have less creativity on the exterior, but what you have is an amazing amount of creativity on the interior. And also you've got things like higher ceilings, floor-to-ceiling heights — all of those elements that you just don't see in new construction. Is the Financial District becoming more residential? Absolutely. I think that part of the challenge is that it's named FiDi. When we were naming the building, the reason that we ended up naming it SoMA is because we wanted it to be bigger than just FiDi. It has a very European feel. There's great boutiques, great retail, great services, and I think people who live here have really come to appreciate it.
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Green-energy madness will turn NYC family homes into firetraps
You've got to be kidding me. A massive lithium-ion battery facility is being quietly pushed into the heart of Middle Village, Queens — right across the street from PS/IS 128, where hundreds of children go to school. And it doesn't stop there: It's also next door to an animal hospital, a day-care center and a children's fun house. This is not a joke. It's a fire hazard disguised as green infrastructure, as part of the City of Yes. And I'm here to say: Not in my neighborhood. Not next door to our kids. Not without a fight. NineDot Energy, the company behind this plan, is eyeing a residential lot smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood — a place where kids ride bikes, families walk their dogs and teachers relax on their lunch break. It's the last place a dangerous industrial-battery facility should ever be allowed. These lithium-ion battery systems, necessary to comply with the impossible clean-energy goals of Albany's 2019 Climate Act, are a disaster waiting to happen. Look no further than Moss Landing, Calif. — where a giant battery facility caught fire this year and burned for five days, releasing toxic smoke and forcing over 1,000 residents to evacuate. A month later, it caught fire again. In 2023 alone, lithium-ion battery fires in New York City killed 18 people and injured 150. And those were from smaller batteries — imagine what a 40-foot container full of high-capacity battery racks could do in the middle of a neighborhood if it explodes. Now imagine that happening across the street from a school with thousands of kids inside. This project is being allowed as-of-right — meaning no public hearing, no environmental review, no input from the community — as part of the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality, a citywide zoning amendment that I strongly opposed and voted against. And Middle Village isn't alone: Similar giant battery sites and proposals are popping up in residential areas all over the outer boroughs — Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, The Bronx. The communities most at risk are the ones with the least political clout, and the most working-class families. This is what happens when City Hall passes sweeping legislation without doing its homework — without understanding the consequences. They called it 'green,' wrapped it in nice language, and pushed it through without asking: What happens when we site hazardous battery facilities in the middle of residential communities? Moss Landing knows. This wasn't about climate. It wasn't about helping everyday New Yorkers. It was about helping developers and special interests. The same groups who pushed for this plan — who stood to benefit financially — were the ones who helped write the rules. And too many of my colleagues in the City Council did their bidding, whether as useful idiots or because they were in on it. That's why I've joined a lawsuit with the Common Sense Caucus to strike down the entire City of Yes zoning overhaul — because it's being used to fast-track projects like this one that put people at risk. And we're also exploring a separate legal action specifically targeting the carbon-neutrality piece of the zoning law that makes this battery facility possible. We're demanding accountability. And we're demanding a full stop to the reckless placements of these facilities. Let me be clear: I'm not against clean energy. I support renewable power, responsible planning and real solutions to our climate challenges. But that doesn't mean handing our neighborhoods over to developers and crossing our fingers that nobody gets hurt. We can build a sustainable city without turning schools into blast zones and blocks of family homes into firetraps. I'm calling for the city to place an immediate moratorium on all large-scale lithium-ion battery facilities in residential areas, until real safeguards are in place and real people have a say. That means public hearings, fire-safety reviews, community input and accountability — not just backroom deals and rubber stamps. Middle Village is not a testing ground. Our families will not become the green lobbyists' collateral damage. We've fought too hard to keep this community safe, and I'm not about to let it go up in flames — literally. This is about common sense. And I'll keep fighting until it prevails. City Council Member Robert Holden (D) represents District 30 in Queens.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Speaker Adrienne Adams raises $128,000 for NYC mayoral bid in 5 days
Speaker Adrienne Adams has raised over $128,000 for her mayoral bid, according to her campaign — but it's not enough to garner her matching funds. Nearly 1,130 donors, including 875 donors in New York City, gave to her campaign in just five days, according to the campaign. The speaker said at a press conference Wednesday that she didn't expect to meet the threshold for the city's 8-to-1 matching program, which requires candidates to reach $250,000 in matchable donations from 1,000 local donors. 'We have been aggressive fundraising for less than a week, so put that together as far as what we're doing on how we're working,' Adams said at a press conference. 'But we do expect to receive matching funds in time.' The next matching funds payout, though, is not until late May — a potential hurdle for her campaign as she vies against candidates who have been fundraising for months and have already qualified for the matching funds. The speaker, once considered an ally to Mayor Adams, launched her campaign against him earlier this month. She entered the race on the heels of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Adams filed paperwork to open a campaign account in late February, but that account couldn't accept donations until March 6, according to Lupe Todd-Media, her campaign spokesperson. The campaign is aiming to employ a 'rose garden strategy' — emphasizing her accomplishments as leader of the City Council — to boost her candidacy, according to a campaign memo shared with the Daily News. 'As Speaker, she will continue to deliver real results while others are stuck campaigning,' the campaign memo reads, listing off her opposition to budget cuts, support for 3-K and CityFHEPS vouchers and work passing 'City of Yes.'
Bloomberg
07-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
How NYC's Zoning Reform is Subtly Changing The City's Landscape
New York City's landmark zoning reform is already having an impact. In Manhattan's Sutton Place neighborhood, plans to convert the Archdiocese of New York building into apartments got a boost: After the passage of the "City of Yes" plan in December, the project can create 75 more apartments. In the Bronx, a planned affordable housing development can also build bigger. The changes to the city's landscape will be subtle — a few extra stories here, a granny flat there, apartments without the mandate to build a new parking lot. But despite being watered down by compromises, the reforms are projected to create 80,000 new units in the next 15 years — if construction costs don't get in the way. Read more about what the overhaul looks like from from Sarah Holder, Nacha Cattan, Marie Patino, and Fola Akinnibi, today on CityLab: Where New York City's Zoning Reform Will Add Housing
New York Times
03-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Cuomo's First Mayoral Campaign Promise: A Plan to Tackle Affordability
When former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo joined the New York City mayoral race over the weekend, he reintroduced himself to New Yorkers after years out of the public eye. On Monday, he will start to introduce his proposals to improve the city, starting with a detailed plan to make it more affordable. The plan includes plenty of ideas that could be popular with families: expanding free preschool for 3-year-olds to make it truly universal, creating free bus routes, building affordable housing and reducing taxes for some residents. 'With the right leadership, we will restore affordability and help ensure that New York remains a place where all have the opportunity to succeed and thrive,' Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. Affordability has become a major theme in the mayoral race, along with public safety and the impact of the Trump administration on the city. New York is facing a once-in-a-generation affordability crisis that has left roughly half of city households struggling to pay for basic necessities. Rents and other expenses have soared, pushing families out of the city. Polls have shown that voters are deeply concerned about the cost of living and creating more affordable housing. But Mr. Cuomo's critics have argued that he failed to address affordability in his decade as governor, and that he is aligned with wealthy New Yorkers rather than working-class residents. Mr. Cuomo has led in early mayoral polls ahead of Mayor Eric Adams, a fellow Democrat who is seeking a second term despite corruption allegations and record-low approval ratings. Seven other Democrats are running against them in the June primary. In recent months, Mr. Adams has prioritized affordability and pledged to make the city 'the best place to raise a family.' He fought for approval of a housing proposal known as City of Yes that could create 80,000 new homes, but he has received criticism over his budget cuts to libraries and free preschool. Mr. Cuomo's 20-plus-page plan aims to address five key issues: tax relief, affordable housing, transportation costs, child care and health care. It embraces ideas that have circulated among Democrats, including building affordable housing through tax incentives and on open space at public housing developments and expanding a popular half-priced MetroCard program for poor New Yorkers. His embrace of universal preschool for 3-year-olds reflects the popularity of the program, which was created by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, a nemesis of Mr. Cuomo. Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo warred over how to fund free preschool for 4-year-olds, and Mr. Cuomo opposed enacting a tax on the wealthy to pay for it. Mr. Cuomo said he would expand the 3-K program to the full pool of 60,000 children to make it fully universal for all families. Mr. Adams has criticized the program, and some neighborhoods do not have enough seats to meet the demand. Several other candidates have released proposals to make the city more affordable. Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman, wants to build city-owned grocery stores to lower food prices and to make all buses free. Zellnor Myrie, a state senator, wants to build or preserve one million homes. Brad Lander, the city comptroller, has focused on affordable housing and preschool. Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller, wants to extend the school day to reduce after-school costs. Mr. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after a series of sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. He has opposed new congestion pricing tolls for drivers in Manhattan, arguing that they could hurt the city's economic recovery, though he helped approve the plan in 2019. The progressive candidates in the race have criticized Mr. Cuomo as beholden to wealthy New Yorkers and say he governed like a Republican. 'Cuomo is lining up his base of billionaires, developers and lobbyists. We're staying focused on the working class,' Mr. Mamdani said after a major real estate group supported a super PAC to boost Mr. Cuomo's campaign. Mr. Cuomo's tax proposals appear to be geared toward both lower-income residents and wealthier ones. He said he would increase the threshold of the mansion tax — a tax paid by those who buy expensive homes — to $2.5 million from $1 million, and keep the cap on property taxes for single-family homes to offer relief to homeowners. He would also eliminate city income taxes on tips — a local version of an idea that President Trump has trumpeted nationally — and get rid of city income tax for many poor families. In Mr. Cuomo's launch video on Saturday, he signaled that he would also focus on public safety and homelessness — and would stand up to Mr. Trump when necessary. He painted a bleak picture of New York and argued that he would 'save our city.' 'You feel it when you walk down the street and try not to make eye contact with a mentally ill homeless person,' he said, 'or when the anxiety rises up in your chest as you're walking down into the subway.'
