The City Council is considering two bills that seek to ensure more affordable housing is created and controlled by nonprofits.
One measure, dubbed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, would require city-approved nonprofit organizations or community land trusts be given the first chance to buy residential buildings with three or more apartments when they are put up for sale. The other would create a land bank that would warehouse properties and then prioritize selling them to community land trusts and nonprofits.
The aim of both bills, according to its sponsors, is to ensure such properties are taken over by organizations that will maintain or create affordable housing, rather than try to turn a quick profit.
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Most city-owned land slated for affordable housing development is transferred to for-profit companies a trend that a new City Council bill seeks to end.
The measure, from Council member Brad Lander, would mandate that city-owned property intended for affordable housing be awarded to nonprofit developers. The only exceptions would be if no qualified nonprofits applied or if the property were sold under a state law.
The city’s agreements on such deals do require affordability from for-profits and nonprofits alike, but they typically expire after 20 or 30 years.
The impetus for the bill, Lander said, is to keep such properties “affordable in perpetuity.” Nonprofit organizations have less incentive to flip the property once affordability agreements with the city expire, he said.
City Excludes Parts Of Chinatown From Small Business Pandemic Loans Intended For Lower Income Neighborhoods
arrow The corner of Pell and Doyers Streets in Chinatown, Manhattan on May 15th, 2020. Debra L Rothenberg/Shutterstock
A city pandemic loan program intended to help out small businesses in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color has left out a swath of Manhattan s Chinatown.
In late November, the city s Department of Small Business Services launched a $35 million low-to-moderate income storefront loan program. Small businesses in certain neighborhoods could receive up to $100,000 in a zero-interest loan. The funds would provide loans for at least 350 businesses across the city, depending on the size of loans allocated.
Here’s Everyone Running for New York City Mayor (So Far) Curbed 1 day ago Caroline Spivack
Are you running for mayor? No? You may be unique: More than six months before the primaries in June, the race is already brimming with candidates. Some 40 New Yorkers have filed campaign paperwork ranging from career politicians to total newcomers and several more are exploring bids for City Hall. Over the coming months, prepare yourself for a barrage of campaign speeches, debates, mailers, and ads from most, if not all, of these aspirants.
The Contenders
Age: 60
Current job: City comptroller
Résumé high points: He represented the Upper West Side in the State Assembly, then served as Manhattan borough president before he was elected as the city’s fiscal watchdog in 2013.