Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, my friends, and welcome to the LIFT bus here in the beautiful Bronx. My name is Zohran, and I'll be your mayor today. First things first, let's go over a few housekeeping items. I want to acknowledge leaders both within our city government and outside of it. We have our Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg here with us; our HPD Commissioner Dina Levy, who is here with us; our City Planning Chair Sadeya Sherman and Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen, as well as our EDC Interim President Jeanny Pak, who is here with us; representatives from NYCHA and the New York Public Library President Tony Marx, who is here with us as well. And we've also just been joined here, to get us to start our tour, by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. We appreciate that.
Now let us go over some of the basics. Contrary to what you may have drawn from context clues, today we are not announcing a new fleet of double-decker buses here in the Bronx. Today, however, is all about housing and how City Hall is building a historic number of affordable homes at the scale and the urgency that our housing crisis requires.
So, why are we here on a very tall bus? I'm glad that you asked. On day one of our administration, I signed an executive order alongside our deputy mayor for housing and planning, Deputy Mayor Bozorg, that created the LIFT Task Force, our team that has now scoured the city to identify sites where we can build the affordable housing that New Yorkers so desperately need. As of today, they have identified more than 100 city-owned properties where we will build upwards of 50,000 high-quality affordable homes, and they will continue to identify more sites in the months to come.
Today, I am proud to announce the release of the LIFT Tracker, a comprehensive and interactive database of those sites across the five boroughs. This tracker is available at nyc.gov/lift for any New Yorker to study and to scroll. And today, our lifted double-decker bus will bring us to three of the most exciting sites here in the Bronx. At Sol on Park, you will see how we are delivering on a promise of our housing plan, Block by Block, and rebooting NYCHA as a public developer. At Claremont House, you will see how we're bringing affordable home ownership opportunities to working families here in the Bronx with 40 new homes that will not only be affordable enough to rent, but affordable enough to buy. And at the Grand Concourse Library, you will see what happens when city agencies, public developers, and our friends at the New York Public Library work together to build 113 affordable homes on top of a brand new 17,500 square foot library. It is a fantastic example of one of the co-located housing and library projects currently in the works across our city.
I understand that some of you may feel compelled to stand in joy and awe as we approach each site. For your safety, however, I would ask that everyone remain seated while the vehicle is in motion. And if you choose to stand once we have come to a complete stop, please use the handrail for support. And if you do disembark, I urge you to stay with the group and do not wander off. Now, without further ado, I would like to introduce our guide for the day, Deputy Mayor of Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg.
Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning: Thank you, mayor. As the mayor mentioned, my name is Leila Bozorg. I'm the deputy mayor for housing and planning, and I'm happy to be your tour guide today. We've got a busy morning of sites to visit, so we'll get into it quickly.
As the mayor shared, though, on his first day in office, he signed three executive orders taking on the biggest expense that New York families face: housing. Those three executive orders show exactly the range of work that we are undertaking in the city. We've revitalized the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants. We launched the SPEED Task Force, which is committed to procedural changes to help get affordable housing built more quickly and move New Yorkers into that housing more quickly. And today, we're sharing the work of that third executive order, LIFT, finding opportunities to build housing on city-owned land all across the city. We know we need to build much more housing, especially affordable housing, if we're going to build a more affordable city. And while a lot of the land that the city owns has already been developed, there are still plenty of opportunities on our own land to create housing opportunities.
This work is not as simple as it might seem. Much of the City's land is already in use for important services or is already being used for housing. Still, we know there is land we can use for affordable housing. The LIFT team surveyed the city, spoke with a wide range of agency partners, and pulled together — for the first time in one place accessible to the public — our affordable housing pipeline on City land. More than 100 projects that will create over 50,000 homes.
We've also taken steps forward on projects all across the city already. Just yesterday, we announced the designation of a long-vacant plot of land in Hunters Point, Queens, to become nearly a thousand homes. A couple of weeks ago, we announced the designation of an NYPD parking lot in the East Village to a development team that's going to include a community land trust. We released the RFP for the development of a library in Bensonhurst that the mayor visited just Tuesday night, which will become affordable housing with a new library facility below it. And that's just this month.
So, we're also working, of course, to speed up these projects. As I mentioned, one of the mayor's first executive orders was to establish the SPEED Task Force, and those actions will cut as much as two years off the development and lease-up time for new housing. Specifically for City land, we also announced the Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, a new HPD program, and have been making use of the new ELURP review process, which was approved by voters last year. Together, these programs will cut another two years off the pre-development timeline for affordable housing, specifically on City land.
We know there's much more work to do, but we are treating the high cost of living in New York with the urgency that New Yorkers deserve, and we are investing with the scale to match, $22 billion just in the next five years. The projects that we will see on today's tour show the breadth of what that investment can do, benefiting NYCHA residents and seniors, creating new home ownership opportunities, and pairing housing with new services like libraries. So, with that, let's get going. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times as we get to our first destination.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our first stop. We are at Morris Houses — named after Gouverneur Morris, founding father, penman of the Constitution — but much more importantly, the future site of Sol on Park. Sol on Park is a great example of how we'll be doing additional infill on NYCHA campuses, and it's going to be the largest use of a tool we call “Transfer of Assistance,” the largest used of this tool to date. It shows how our agencies will be working together across NYCHA, HPD and HDC to use innovative financing tools to build more affordable housing that not only produces housing for New Yorkers, but specifically for NYCHA residents as well.
It's going to include 80 apartments that will be reserved specifically for NYCHA residents; 69 homes for formerly homeless individuals; and 79 homes that will be available through the Housing Connect lottery for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. The Transfer of Assistance, again, is one tool that we're going to be using more of in this administration as we look to reboot NYCHA's role as a public developer. In doing so, we'll also be using other tools that allow us to convert Section 9 to Section 8 to build more housing. We also have Policy Director Justin Lamorella with us today to talk a little bit about how NYCHA residents are engaged in projects like this.
Justin Lamorella, Policy Director, NYCHA's Real Estate Development Department: Hi everyone, I'm Justin Lamorella. I'm the policy director for NYCHA's Real Estate Development Department. This is a really great example of the way that we've worked together with our sister agencies of HPD and HTC. We engaged with residents over many years about the development of this building; we learned a lot from them. We heard that they really wanted to be a part of this building, so we're really excited that we'll be able to use this Transfer of Assistance tool to open up opportunities for Morris Houses’ seniors to be able to move into this brand-new building with lots of amenities and social services and outdoor space. We're going to continue to engage residents. It will still be many years, as you can see, before the building is built; but closer to the construction completion, we'll make sure residents are ready to actually apply and make sure they're ready to move. Happy to answer questions at the end of the tour.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: We'll be moving on to our second site right here. Yep, Sol on Park. This is going to be the site of the project.
Question: Can you talk a bit more about how Transfer of Assistance works?
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Sure. So, Transfer of Assistance is a tool through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal government, that allows NYCHA to apply. It's a tool, through the Rental Assistance Demonstration, to convert Section 9 assistance to Section 8. Those Section 8 units are converted into a project-based voucher contract that helps with the financing and underwriting of the new affordable housing project. But because those units are coming specifically from NYCHA residents, they will voluntarily apply to be part of the project. Those units specifically are for those NYCHA residents. That also allows NYCHA, for the units that convert over, to use their Faircloth Limit to then backfill the homes that folks are coming out of, with additional Section 9 assistance. So, we both enable a new Section 8 unit and a resident to live in a brand-new home, and we enable NYCHA to bring a brand-new public housing unit online. Yes, the NYCHA team is looking to use this tool, and this is part of our goal in supporting NYCHA to reboot its role as a public developer. We'll be using it both on NYCHA land but in partnership with owners of other land as well.
Question: Can you say more about what it means for NYCHA [inaudible] public developer? [Inaudible].
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Yeah, in some cases NYCHA will be acting as a development partner. On Sol on Park, it's an example where they're using their tools to support the development in a way that benefits NYCHA residents. There's other examples where they'll actually be co-developers, participating in developer fee and cash flow splits. NYCHA originally built a lot of affordable housing in our city. They also built some of the Mitchell-Lama housing that exists in our city. So, we're really trying to lean into the role that a big public institution can play in building and sustaining affordable housing.
[Tour continues.]
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Alright, we have arrived at our second stop, the future site of Claremont Houses. Claremont comes from the French words “Clair” (clear) [and] “Mont” (mountain), which refers to the vistas and airy hilltop vibe that used to characterize this neighborhood. This is a project that's been in the works for many years. The city actually first committed to build affordable housing on this site as part of the Jerome Avenue rezoning in 2018. As I mentioned earlier, part of our goals in this administration is to work to speed up the development of affordable housing everywhere we can. This is an example of a long-standing project that's hit hurdles, and we're going to be moving swiftly to get it to a financial closing.
Since the time that it was committed for housing, it's gone through an RFP and a rezoning to get to this point and all of its land-use approvals. That's the path that many of these public sites take. Communities advocate for it, fight for it to become housing, and then the city works to deliver. And this project is actually much more than just about keeping our word. It's also about finding opportunities for affordable home ownership projects everywhere we can. And this is going to be developed by a team that includes Habitat for Humanity and the Interboro Community Land Trust.
It's a project that's going to be financed through HPD's Open Door program, which, again, delivers affordable home ownership opportunities all across the city. And in our administration's first executive budget, we committed to doubling the amount of affordable homeownership opportunities through the Open Door Program. I'm now going to pass it to Commissioner Levy to say a little bit more about this project.
Commissioner Levy: Thank you, deputy mayor. So just two quick things I would add. So, the point that the deputy mayor made about the fact that this project will be transferred to the Interboro Community Land Trust means that there will be a ground lease under the project that will keep this new development affordable permanently for generations of homeowners. So, you know, anytime a family goes to sell, they'll be able to earn a little bit of equity. But the next generation of buyers will also get the benefit of that really deeply affordable homeownership.
The second thing I'll say is that this is also going to be in the neighborhood where we are focused on the new Bronx plan, which is a commitment to go really deep in terms of housing quality and making sure that we are building all types of affordable housing as well as amenities throughout this neighborhood. So, we're really excited to be launching this first Open Door project in the same neighborhood where we will be doing a really deep dive into our Bronx plan. So, with that, we have questions.
Question: I was wondering, it seems like some of these projects, this one included, have been in the works for a while. For each of the projects today, [were] these projects actually identified by the LIFT force in January, or are they long-standing projects?
Commissioner Levy: So, this one was identified prior to that, but as the deputy mayor said, delayed, primarily because we released the RFP at the time of — literally like a month before COVID. So, there was some slowdown on this one. And then also because of the rezoning, there was additional delay. But I think this one we knew about, but we haven't been able to get it going until now.
Question: So, is the whole building [a] rental and [a] buyer?
Commissioner Levy: No, no.
Question: I guess you said it's going to stay permanently affordable because of that lease. I just wonder, then, how do families then build their equity if they feel like they're not going to really make anything if they're buying into [inaudible]?
Commissioner Levy: It's a great question, and there is allowed — there is equity building. So first of all, it will be completely homeownership. So, the land lease is basically separating the improvement — the building — from the land. The land then stays under a ground lease that the Interboro Community Land Trust will own. As buyers move into the building and stay, they get to earn an amount of equity for every year that they're there. Usually, it's about two and a half or three percent every year. So, when they sell, they do make some equity. But it's affordable to the next generation. And the assumption is it's growing with incomes over time.
Question: [Inaudible] The program was stalled before; I wonder what's different now under this administration.
Commissioner Levy: Well, it was stalled partially by the pandemic and then just needing to go through rezoning, but I think we are well past that, and as the deputy mayor said, the SPEED initiative and all the work that we've been putting into making sure we can go more quickly is now happening.
Question: I'm still a little confused, so the previously announced sites are sites already in the works? Are they included in the 50,000 counts?
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Yes, so all the sites today are sites that have been previously announced but have not yet been completed. So, in our administration, we'll be working to close on financing or take them to the next stage. For the most part, close on financing. We're showing these sites as the types of City-owned sites that are examples of the models that we'll continue to lean into. In the first six months of our administration, we've already identified, and the LIFT Task Force has identified and rolled out about six new sites.
As part of today's announcement, we're also committing to an additional five RFPs per year at minimum for affordable housing on some of the additional sites that have been announced. The 100 that are now posted — we're now also announcing, of course, the tracker, which is the first time that we are publicly showing to everyone where these city sites are that we are working on for affordable housing. Those sites are going to be sites that are either between announcement and construction.
So, the five additional per year that we'll be announcing, we're not naming what those are yet just because of the process that we have to go through for working with local communities. We don't wanna contribute to over-speculation, but the 100 sites with 50,000 homes that will be on the tracker are all things that we've announced since the start of the administration or are working on in this administration.
Question: Does it include previously Eric-Adams-announced, City-owned sites, like that doesn’t —
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: If they haven't closed on financing and our administration will be advancing them, [then] they will include those sites.
Question: Okay, and so it's just five new sites today that the LIFT Task Force has identified?
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: The LIFT Task Force is going to be an ongoing task force, so since the day one EO, we've announced six new sites for affordable housing. We are also now committing to an additional five-per-year going forward.
Question: So, you're announcing — as part of this announcement today, you are talking about five RFPs that are being issued, but you are — you are announcing five new RFPs, but you are keeping what they are a secret? I'm just a little confused on that.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: It's not that it's a secret, but there's a lot of work that goes into readying a site for public announcement, because all of these become competitions. So, we are identifying the 100 sites that we're working on right now, which include the six that we have announced since the beginning of the administration. And we are committing to an additional five RFPs per year, but we haven't — we're not naming which sites those are yet.
Question: But you've identified them, those five sites?
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: They're in city ownership.
Question: Are those part of the hundred number?
[Inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: Okay, here on your right, this two-story brick building is our third and final stop. It's the Grand Concourse Library, built in 1959. Now, there's been a lot of discussion and interest in library and housing projects, and it's been great to see so much consensus form about the opportunities to co-locate housing and critical public services.
We already have a great example of some of these library and housing sites, including one across the Harlem River in Inwood. There are also others in work, including at the Bloomingdale Library, which our partners at the Economic Development Corporation are supporting with and the New Utrecht branch of the Brooklyn Public Library System in Bensonhurst, which we rolled an RFP out for recently. We are also, of course, excited to be working with our partners Tony Marx, President Marx, and the New York Public Library system broadly to identify additional opportunities.
Our work on LIFT also will be looking at other sites, not just the libraries, but other types of public services that we can co-locate with housing. EDC has been a key partner on some of these sites, especially in higher value neighborhoods where we want to cross-subsidize the land value to support with things like building new libraries. But this is an example of a site that will be 100 percent affordable and allow a new library to be built as well. This site has been designated to a development team and is getting ready to go through a rezoning process.
Question: I wanted to ask about one of the constituent concerns that was shouted here today about parking and one of the sites you mentioned at the beginning of the tour. The NYPD parking lot that was redeveloped in the East Village, you're replacing parking for NYPD on that lot as part of the redevelopment.
I'm wondering under what circumstances the types of lots that the city owned where there might already be parking or there might be city agencies or groups like the NYPD that might want parking, under what circumstances would you consider the city putting money into a project to replace the parking? Especially considering in your housing plan during the campaign you were against mandating minimum parking in new developments.
Mayor Mamdani: So, I'll share a few words and then I'll pass it over to our deputy mayor. First and foremost, the importance of tackling the housing crisis comes from the fact that it is the dominant crisis in our city that is pushing New Yorkers out of the five boroughs. And you ask so many of the New Yorkers who now live in Connecticut or Massachusetts or Pennsylvania or Jersey City, and they will tell you that what pushed them to take that decision was because they couldn't afford the cost of rent in this city.
And what we've seen is that since about 1961, the city has not been building the requisite amount of housing needed to grow. And frankly, if you are not growing as a city, you are dying. And so, today's tour is both a reflection of the many different kinds of new housing developments that we are going to be investing in and a reflection of the fact that for far too long, new housing has only lived in a press release and not actually been able to be delivered on a timeline and where those who live in the neighborhood would also be able to enjoy that same housing.
So, today is about the housing we're going to be bringing online, as well as the work that we're doing within the bureaucracy of city government to speed up those processes so that housing can be built within the same lifetime of somebody who is currently being priced out. I'm going to pass it over to our deputy mayor to add anything.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: On the specific question, you know, this is actually a huge part of the work of the LIFT Task Force is the partnership with other agencies to identify how do we work with you to have your needs met while also using a publicly owned site to help tackle our housing crisis. As I noted up top, we don't have that many very kind of easy, clean-cut vacant sites anymore to turn into housing. There are some, but they're dwindling. And so, it's upon us to look for other sites in partnership with agencies to figure out what can we do to meet both your needs and the broader housing crisis.
So, in the case of the NYPD parking lot, it's underutilized from a housing perspective and a zoning perspective. It's not underutilized from their perspective; it's critical parking for them. So, we work in partnership to figure out how we can do both. And that's the case whether we're talking about working with the libraries or working with other agencies that have parking. I'll just note in terms of the mandates, there's a big difference sometimes between mandating parking through something like zoning or your regulations and analyzing where parking is needed.
Often developers work to identify what is the actual market demand and need for parking in this area, to determine if parking should be part of that project. And things like the mayor has talked about and that we talk about in terms of zoning reform. The question is, should this be mandated in zoning or regulations versus allowing a project-specific sites or constraints to determine whether it's appropriate?
Question: [Inaudible] local communities around these sites in addition to the agencies that might own them? I know community engagement is part of the process in a lot of these. I'm wondering if they're learning about them for the first time through this tracker.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: So, that's a really great question. Community engagement is a very important part of any housing development that we do prior to releasing a request for proposals. So, it is a multi-step process. First, in working with agencies to say, “I know this site is under your jurisdiction; is this something we can work together on to co-create housing and some other use?” That's about the question of, “Can we unlock this site for housing?” Once the answer for that becomes yes, HPD, EDC, the agencies develop an intensive community engagement process to work with folks to say, “This site's going to become housing. What do you need in your neighborhood? What are you looking for?” Often, what's produced then is something called a community visioning report that is attached to a request for proposal, so that respondents are responding specifically to the needs that communities have expressed through engagement.
And then, of course, the land use process has engagement as well, but the more intensive community engagement often is in that pre-RFP stage, and then there's touch points throughout the way once a site is going through a process to be developed. I will note, the time it takes to develop housing has made that community engagement process really challenging. You wanna engage a community before an RFP's released, but sometimes it's taking two, three, up to five years, even more sometimes, to actually finance that building. That's part of why our SPEED initiative's important; it's part of why the additional capital so that we can expedite the financing of these projects is important. So that so much time doesn't pass between that community engagement and when the housing is being delivered.
Mayor Mamdani: And I'll just add one final point on that, which is that right before we got on this beautiful double-decker bus, I had the chance to say hello to Bronx borough president, Vanessa Gibson. And she mentioned to me that the second site that we were going to was a site that she won in the 2018 Jerome Avenue rezoning. That site was won when the current borough president was a city councilwoman. And now, eight years later, it continues to look very similar as it did on that day. And that also speaks to what the deputy mayor is referring to when it comes to the delays that we've seen characterize a lot of our housing processes.
Question: In plain terms, what do you see on this tour that reflects what you think you're bringing to these projects, which predated your administration, but you're promising to speed them up. I heard deputy mayor—
[Crosstalk.]
Question: In plain terms, can you talk about what you're bringing to — picking up on what you were talking about before. What are you adding to these projects to make them come together?
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: I think one of the things that we are taking away from this tour is both what it will look like for this housing to actually be built, how it would transform places that you might not even blink at if you were walking past. And that is a reflection of the fact that there's a lot of land across the city that is not being used to its fullest potential to keep people in this city. And I think when we talk about when these announcements were first made, we're talking about multiple mayoral administrations ago, and now is the possibility — through the LIFT Task Force, through the SPEED Task Force — to start to actually make what is currently, you know, overgrown grass and trees into a place that can actually house New Yorkers. And it's going to take an all-of-the-above approach. In some places it's going to be a place that is fenced off; in other places it is going to a library that currently exists and transforming it into something that is not only keeping New Yorkers well-read, but also well-housed. And that is part of a partnership that we're proud to have with the New York Public Library system, and one that we believe still has far more units to unlock when we apply it across the city.
Question: So, what efforts are you all taking to not only make sure that the community is aware of what's going on, but that that prioritize in getting affordable housing?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, it's a great question. I think one is that the community has helped to shape what these developments are going to be. You know, the second site that we just saw was affordable home ownership. And that's something that we had heard from the community when it comes to that specific site; it was a point of importance. In the first site that we saw, we hear often from NYCHA residents about their hopes for what housing could look like in their own neighborhoods. And I think you heard from the deputy mayor that that site is going to be one that's not just built on NYCHA land but will also have housing for current NYCHA residents. And that is critically important, that those who have borne the brunt of government neglect can now also be the beneficiaries of government investment.
Question: I'm wondering if — I know you're talking about speeding this up, do you have a benchmark of like how much time on average you'd actually like to shave off? I know that it can depend vastly based on projects.
Mayor Mamdani: I think we've set the goal of 200,000 affordable homes to be built by the end of 10 years. That will require a pace we have not seen in City government for quite some time. We are doing that alongside taking the measures that will also unlock private development alongside public development. And so, the SPEED Task Force — we've seen estimates that can cut what was a two-year wait into six months. Also adding our voice to efforts at the state level like SEQRA reform, which have a similar impact in cutting down that wait time. I don't know, deputy mayor, if there's anything you'd add.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: I'll just add that, as the mayor noted, there's a series of reforms we're introducing, things like capitalizing on the SEQRA reform that the state passed that we've committed to enabling us to cut the pre-certification timeline from two years to six months. But some of the other reforms that we're using and introducing through the SPEED Task Force; through use of things like ULURP; through use of things like our fast track. We're hoping to cut down another, you know, at times it can be another 6 to 18 months that we're able to cut down, depending on the specifics of a project.
Question: And then with these city-owned lots that have been identified, does the admin have an idea for what portion should go to housing, or is it all supposed to be housing and then, you know, notch down from there if things are ineligible for like a new development like that?
Mayor Mamdani: Generally, our focus is on housing, and the reason it's our focus is that we are seeing people priced out of the city on a daily basis, and wherever opportunity we have to build more housing is one that we're going to take.
Question: What is the status of the Sunnyside Yard project? Have you and the president continued to have conversations about that?
Mayor Mamdani: It continues to be the subject of conversations, and the reason it's something of importance to us is that it holds the potential to deliver on more than 10,000 new homes, as well as delivering more than 30,000 jobs. And when we're looking at our city, one of the things that is most finite is land. And so, the opportunity to turn land, which is currently a railyard, into somewhere that housing could be built, is one that we're always going to be interested in talking about. This will be a long-term conversation given the scale of investment required and the scale of commitment, and part of that is the reason why this idea has been an idea for frankly close to a century, and now we're doing the work to try and make it into a reality.
Question: Are you waiting for his office to come back to you, or is there something that you and the governor can present to the president to advance it?
Mayor Mamdani: It continues to be a conversation.
Question: I have a pied-à-terre question. I want to know how many people are being hired at both DOF and OATH in connection with processing pied-à-terre tax, I guess, where it applies, and what exactly are the new positions they're hiring for at those two agencies?
Mayor Mamdani: 24 people are being hired across both of those, and the focus of their hiring is to engage with New Yorkers who have questions about this process. And one of the reasons that we started this process at this point is to ensure that New Yorkers have the requisite amount of time to engage with city government before the levying of this tax. And so, for New Yorkers who have questions for the Department of Finance, they have until the end of next month, and then that period continues when it comes to the tax commission until March. And what I will also say is, I understand the concerns that some New Yorkers have, and they are facing, and I know that a new tax typically brings more questions than it does bring answers. And right now, we are working around the clock across multiple city agencies to ensure that we are engaging with New Yorkers about how we are going to be delivering a tax on secondary homes worth more than $5 million.
Question: Was it always the intent of the executive order to include existing projects in the 10,000-unit count, or do you expect the LIFT Task Force to eventually identify enough new sites to build those 10,000 units that were named in the executive orders?
Mayor Mamdani: I think part of our focus is on how to expedite long-standing sites that have either been dormant or have been delayed, and how to ensure we can actually deliver on them so that we go beyond renderings and move into reality. I'm going to pass it over to my deputy mayor to add any additional details.
Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning: It's both about identifying the sites we're working on and how we can ensure that we speed them up and be transparent about it with the public. Folks are often asking where are public sites that we can use for housing. So, there's a transparency element to what we're working on and know today. And then we have also and will be identifying new sites to meet the targets laid out in that executive order, about identifying sites to build an additional 25,000 over 10 years. So, it is truly both.
Question: Hi Mr. Mayor. I wanted to ask, you know, these three sites that you guys have been talking about today. The financing seems to be, I would just say, creative, but different than more than other ways. Is that because developing housing in the city continues to be a struggle? And then my other question is, among these hundred locations, are any of them being prioritized for communities that have long been needing housing?
Mayor Mamdani: I would say that that is generally a focus for us of how to build more housing, especially in neighborhoods that have been denied that kind of affordability. Just the other day, I was at a library in Brooklyn with City Council Member Alexa Avilés, and we were celebrating not only the 100th tenant union that was formed as part of Partners in Partnership, but also the fact that at that very library there was to be 100 percent affordable housing being built on top of it. Which I think is the first affordable housing that's going to be built in that neighborhood in quite some time. And when it comes to the financing approach, we are going to explore every option we have in front of us because creativity is going to be a necessary part of ensuring that we are finally building enough housing for the greatest city in the world because what we've seen for far too long is — it's been since 1961 that we've had a recognition of what we need to build to keep the city growing to its fullest potential.
Deputy Mayor Bozorg: I'll just add; every community needs affordable housing in New York City, and some have been producing more than others and so there is certainly going to be an effort to kind of figure out how to merge the Lift Task Force work with the broader work we're doing through the Fair Housing Framework to identify areas where we know we need to be expediting the creation of housing and specifically affordable housing. So, it really is a bit of both. Everywhere needs more housing, and we need to capitalize on the resources we have, but we will also be targeting areas where we feel like not enough housing has been built.
Question: So, Black Lives Matter released their own audit today in which they claim that there are about 1,600 active NYPD officers with at least $100,000 settlements. If that is the case, should those officers be reinvestigated? And what would you like to see from the police commissioner in order to bring that number down and, you know, cost the City less money?
Mayor Mamdani: I think the first thing I'm going to do after this press conference is actually to review this, because it's the first that I'm hearing of it. What I will say is, something that Commissioner Tisch and I share is a belief that New Yorkers need not have to choose between safety and justice. That is paramount to us, and we're proud of the fact that we are delivering some of the lowest crime in New York City history when it comes to murders, shootings and shooting victims. That continues to be the lowest in recorded history here in our city. We also know there's far more work to be done to ensure that we're delivering that public safety on a daily basis, and that'll continue to be our North Star. Thank you for raising it, though.
Question: Hi, I wanted to go back to the pied-à-terre. Do you agree with the way that it was rolled out? You know, many people would say that it shouldn't be on them as homeowners that believe that their properties weren't supposed to be the ones in that catch net, and it should be the city going with the scalpel versus this huge broad approach. I mean, what would you have wanted them to do differently?
Mayor Mamdani: To be clear, these “you may be subject to” letters were sent to 17,000 homes out of our city of eight and a half million people. And I nevertheless understand the concerns of some New Yorkers in opening these letters because I know that a new tax often offers more questions than it does answers. And what we are doing in this process is the work that is necessary to ensure that this tax is only levied on secondary homes that are worth more than five million dollars. Now, some of those homes are obviously secondary homes; some of them are homes that are registered as a trust or as an LLC. And this outreach is to ensure that they are occupied by a primary residence holder. And whether New Yorkers want to call DOF or the Tax Commission or 311, we are ensuring that various aspects of city government are prepared to engage in this so that we can actually be in a conversation with New Yorkers about this tax. That's all the time we have for today. Thank you all very much.
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