What's happening
This bill requires that any sale or transfer of NYCHA land or buildings must follow New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
Why it matters
Increases Local Oversight. By requiring NYCHA land or building sales to go through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the bill ensures local government, community boards, and the public have a formal role in reviewing and influencing these decisions—potentially leading to greater transparency and accountability.
Limits Unilateral Action. The legislation prevents NYCHA from making major real estate decisions about public housing properties without city-level scrutiny, reducing the risk of controversial or unpopular transfers being approved without local input.
Enhances Protection for Public Housing Residents. Because ULURP includes opportunities for public hearings and input, residents and advocates may have more power to raise concerns about displacement, privatization, or changes to affordable housing stock before deals are finalized.
Aligns NYCHA with Broader City Planning. By tying NYCHA property actions to ULURP, these decisions become integrated with broader urban planning and land use goals, potentially improving coordination with citywide housing, zoning, and community development strategies.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Public Review for NYCHA Sales
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to cities
- Referred to cities
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Review NYCHA Land Sales
In Assembly Committee · Housing · Sponsor Steven Cymbrowitz
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
95
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, AVELLA, KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, PERKINS, RIVERA, SERRANO, SQUADRON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to require that any disposition of land or buildings by the New York City Housing Authority be subject to and comply with the provisions of New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "NYCHA real property public review act".
§ 2. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any disposition of land or buildings by the New York City Housing Authority shall be subject to and shall comply with the provisions of New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure in addition to the provisions of section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05309-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to require that any disposition of land or buildings by the New York City Housing Authority be subject to and comply with the provisions of New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure
Summary of provisions
Section One of the bill creates the short title the "NYCHA real property public review act."
Section Two states that notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any disposition of land or buildings by the New York City Housing Authority shall be subject to and shall comply with the provisions of New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure in addition to the provisions of section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.
Read the full memo (649 words)
Justification
The "NYCHA Real Property Public Review Act" requires that any disposition of land or buildings by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) be subject to New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the same review process that all city agencies must adhere to when redeveloping public land. This legislation will help to ensure that public housing residents and the broader communities of which they are a part can help shape the future of their neighborhoods through a fair and transparent process. It will also enable public housing residents to avail themselves of the same community planning infrastructure resources that residents of private housing use to evaluate and weigh in on major land use actions.
Currently, disposition of New York City-owned land--whether through sale, lease or exchange--is subject to ULURP; however, NYCHA is exempt from this rule Instead, the public review process for disposition of this Authority's land--including infill development--is governed by Section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, which was generically designed to apply to public housing communities throughout the nation and does not take into account additional considerations that are desirable in New York City's dense urban environment. ULURP is a far more rigorous process, as befits a city with such high density. Crucially, it requires applicants to prepare environmental impact studies and authorizes Community Boards and Borough Presidents to hold public hearings and make non-binding recommendations. Finally, applications are subject to binding approval by the City Planning Commission and the City Council, both of which hold their own public hearings before issuing determinations.
There is a clear need for legislative action. According to an August 2008 report by former Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer entitled "Land Rich, Pocket Poor," there are 30.5 million square feet of unused development rights in NYCHA developments throughout Manhattan alone. In early 2013, NYCHA announced it was targeting fourteen sites in eight Manhattan public housing developments with such air rights for infill development to raise revenue and help close gaps in its capital budget.
Despite calls by residents, elected officials and other community stakeholders for full transparency and accountability, NYCHA's initial plans for engaging public input on infill development were woefully inadequate. Indeed, the only engagement slated to be complete before NYCHA's issuance of Requests for Proposals was through so-called resident engagement meetings conducted in cramped community rooms and without the benefit of a formal process for input. Moreover, the public engagement process suffered from poor public outreach about the meetings and incomplete information about NYCHA's proposals.
Privatizing publicly-owned land in principle requires robust public deliberation and consultation, which is why the disposition of property by every other New York City agency is subject to ULURP. The "NYCHA Real Property Public Review Act" would bring NYCHA in line with these other agencies and ensure that residents and other community stakeholders have meaningful opportunities to provide input and recommendations.
Legislative history
S.496 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Cities A.1758 of 2015-2016 (Wright): Advanced to Third Reading Calendar S.4641 of 2013-2014 (Hoylman): Died in Cities A.6964 of 2013-2014 (Wright): Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications
Minimal
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.