T
hree years ago, the City Council approved rezoning Soho and Noho, with the administration promising to prioritize affordable housing on two city-owned sites outside the rezoned area: 388 Hudson Street and 324 East Fifth Street. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development has begun community engagement for the East Fifth Street site, which is currently a NYPD parking lot. This project is part of the "24 in 24" pledge to advance 24 affordable housing projects on public land by 2024.

    The city has already completed community visioning for the Hudson Street property and plans to release a request for proposals soon. The East Fifth Street site's progress brings the total number of advanced projects closer to the administration's goal. However, it remains unclear how much the recent passage of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity will motivate private developers to build housing.

    A report by Piper Sandler cast doubt on whether City of Yes alone would spur ground-up residential development, citing office-to-residential conversions as a more attractive option due to fewer affordability and construction wage requirements. The 485x property tax break requires at least 20% of apartments to be below market rate, while construction wage requirements kick in for projects with 100 or more units.

    The city is also working on other affordable housing projects, including the "24 in 24" initiative. Officials are asking anyone with information about the alleged sex trafficking activities of the Alexander brothers to contact the FBI. The Department of Finance has proposed a rule change that could make it harder for taxpayers to challenge clerical errors on property tax bills.

    In other news, the Adams administration is pushing back against a City Council bill requiring electric bikes and scooters to be licensed and registered with the city. Since Mayor Eric Adams took office, the city's Department of Sanitation and NYPD have removed 73,000 "ghost cars" and illegal motorized vehicles from city streets. Anthony Weiner has filed paperwork to potentially run for City Council despite his past convictions.

    Residential sales included a $6.2 million condominium unit at 108 Leonard Street in Tribeca, while the largest commercial sale was $34 million for a retail property at 690 Madison Avenue in Lenox Hill. The highest-priced new listing is an $11.3 million house on Staten Island's Todt Hill.