What's happening
This bill requires New York City to create a searchable database recording details of all air rights transactions, including parties, addresses, and terms.
Why it matters
Increases transparency in real estate development. by making detailed information about air rights transactions—often used in high-rise construction—publicly accessible, helping the public, press, and policymakers monitor how and where NYC’s skyline is changing.
May deter speculative or opaque deals. by requiring disclosure of parties, prices, and terms, potentially curbing opportunities for corruption, money laundering, or tax avoidance through hidden property transfers.
Empowers communities and advocates. with data on who is consolidating development rights and where, which can inform local planning debates, impact assessments, and efforts to ensure that growth aligns with neighborhood needs and citywide priorities.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Create NYC Air Rights Database
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to cities
- Referred to cities
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3825
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to recording interests in air rights
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 11-203.1 to read as follows:
§ 11-203.1 Maps and records; air rights. a. As used in this section "air rights" means the unused development rights above the surface of the earth, permitted to a lot, parcel, or area of land under a zoning ordinance, remaining when an actual floor area is less than the maximum amount of floor area permissible on such lot.
b. No later than January first, two thousand eighteen, the commissioner of the department of finance, in collaboration with the chair of the department of city planning, shall develop or update a single, searchable database that includes:
(1) the date of the transaction or transfer of air rights;
(2) the square footage of air rights transferred;
(3) any consideration exchanged for the air rights;
(4) the physical address of the property where the air rights originated and the physical address of the property where the air rights are being transferred;
(5) any other assets of values included in the transaction;
(6) the identities of the buyer and seller; and
(7) the disclosure of the buyer's and seller's legal address and other relevant contact information.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07428-03-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.