BILL NO A06964
SAME AS SAME AS S04641
SPONSOR Wright
COSPNSR Silver, Kavanagh, Rodriguez, Roberts, O'Donnell, Mosley, Millman,
Gottfried, Sepulveda, Titus
MLTSPNSR Brennan, Farrell, Perry
Requires 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.
BILL NO A06964
04/26/2013 referred to housing
05/07/2013 reported referred to ways and means
05/22/2013 reported
05/23/2013 advanced to third reading cal.428
06/17/2013 passed assembly
06/17/2013 delivered to senate
06/17/2013 REFERRED TO RULES
01/08/2014 DIED IN SENATE
01/08/2014 RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
01/08/2014 ordered to third reading cal.329
03/24/2014 passed assembly
03/24/2014 delivered to senate
03/24/2014 REFERRED TO CITIES
BILL NUMBER:A6964
TITLE OF BILL: An act to require that any disposition of land or build-
ings 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.
EXISTING LAW: New law.
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 evalu-
ate 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 proc-
ess, as befits a city with such high density. Crucially, it requires
applicants to prepare environmental impact studies and authorizes Commu-
nity Boards and Borough Presidents to hold public bearings and make
non-binding recommendations. Finally, applications are subject to bind-
ing 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 Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer entitled "Land
Rich, Pocket Poor," there are 30.5 million square feet of unused devel-
opment 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: New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Minimal
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Minimal
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6964
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 26, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Housing
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 ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "NYCHA real
2 property public review act".
3 S 2. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, any
4 disposition of land or buildings by the New York City Housing Authority
5 shall be subject to and shall comply with the provisions of New York
6 City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure in addition to the provisions
7 of section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937.
8 S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10160-02-3
