What's happening
This bill requires all sales or transfers of NYCHA land or buildings to follow New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
Why it matters
Increases local oversight and transparency. By requiring NYCHA land/building sales or transfers to go through New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the bill ensures that local community boards, the City Council, and the public have a formal say in these significant decisions.
Limits NYCHA's unilateral authority. The legislation reduces NYCHA’s ability to independently dispose of its real estate assets, potentially slowing down or altering plans that may not align with community interests or priorities.
Could impact timelines for redevelopment or privatization. Subjecting NYCHA deals to ULURP may lengthen the process for any proposed conversions, sales, or redevelopment of public housing properties, affecting both residents' futures and citywide housing policy.
Aligns NYCHA with broader city land use policies. The bill integrates NYCHA property decisions into the same legal framework used for other major land use changes in NYC, potentially increasing consistency and accountability in how public land is managed.
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
Review NYCHA Land Sales
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.134
- Referred to cities
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.260
- 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.
Public Review for NYCHA 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
26
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, RIVERA, SERRANO -- 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.
LBD04152-01-9
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 addi- tion to the provisions of section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.
Read the full memo (660 words)
Justification
The "NYCHA Real Property Public Review Act" requires that any disposi- tion 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 rede- veloping 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 desir- able 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 author- izes 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 determi- nations.
There is a clear need for legislative action. According to an August 2008 report by former Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer enti- tled "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 stake- holders for full transparency and accountability, NYCHA's initial plans for engaging public input on infill development were woefully inade- quate. 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 incom- plete 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.0095 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Cities A.5556 of 2017-2018 (Cymbrowitz): Died in Housing 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.