"New York City has seen a surge in developers proposing buildings with exactly 99 units due to the new tax program known as 485-x, a replacement for a popular policy called 421-a, which requires a $40 hourly construction worker wage for buildings with 100 or more apartments. It's decimating affordable housing where it's probably most needed, said John Valladares, an executive with the Slate Property Group."
"Some developers and their legal teams have begun to get creative — with some starting to propose projects that split larger developments up into discrete 99-unit towers to skirt the wage requirements. That's why you need lawyers, quipped moderator Max Rayetsky, a construction lawyer with Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone. The broader issue for housing affordability with the new tax incentive is that the new 99-unit projects are being filed in areas of the city that are zoned for higher density."
"We're being asked to solve one of the most historic housing crises of the country 25 units at a time, said Eli Weiss, principal at Joy Construction. It's not all doom and gloom for the affordable housing sector, panelists said. Some praised the passage of the New York City Council's City of Yes zoning plan, which loosens zoning regulations across the city, and charter reforms on housing that voters approved in November, which are designed to shorten the time"
A state tax incentive called 485-x is driving a surge of proposed 99-unit buildings to avoid a $40 hourly construction wage required for developments of 100 or more units. Developers are splitting larger projects into separate 99-unit towers to sidestep wage rules, leaving density-zoned sites underbuilt and reducing affordable housing yield. The trend concentrates these low-unit filings in higher-density areas and weakens housing production where demand is greatest. Recent zoning reforms such as City of Yes and voter-approved charter housing reforms aim to loosen regulations and shorten approval timelines to help address the crisis.
Read at www.amny.com
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