Photo: Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye lately. Courtesy of Gov. Cuomo’s Office
The on-again, off-again political bromance between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio turned frosty recently as New York’s leaders sparred publicly over elements of de Blasio’s affordable housing plan.
De Blasio last week trekked up to Albany to push his proposed “sweeping overhaul” of the 421a tax program, which expires on June 15. The mayor’s new plan calls for stricter requirements that would eliminate tax breaks for luxury condominiums, restrict benefits only to buildings with affordable housing, and subject all areas of the city—instead of the current 16.5 percent—to the affordable housing mandate.
Additionally, the proposal would replace the 80-20 program with the new 25 to 30 percent affordable requirements, and double the number of affordable apartments built. And a 1-percent Mansion Tax on the most expensive residential property sales will generate up to $200 million each year to build and preserve affordable housing stock, de Blasio said.
Cuomo, according to The Real Deal real estate blog, said “a lot of people think the deal that’s been negotiated by the city is too rich for developers and doesn’t do enough for workers.”
The de Blasio plan includes a prevailing-wage requirement for service employees in 421a-designated properties, but does not provide the same rule for hiring construction workers.
“I want to make sure the workers are protected and the developers get a fair deal,” Cuomo said in the same post. “But I am not interested in passing a program that is a giveaway to the developers.”
Asked about the “giveaway” comment, de Blasio ripped Cuomo as being “disingenuous.”
“Obviously, our plan is about both maximizing affordable housing and asking more of developers,” de Blasio added. “So it’s time for the governor to get the facts.”
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
