BILL NUMBER:S4641

TITLE OF BILL:  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

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
addition 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 evaluate 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 process, as befits a city with such high density.
Crucially, it requires applicants to prepare environmental impact
studies and authorizes Community Boards and Borough Presidents to hold
public hearings and make non-binding recommendations. Finally,
applications are subject to binding 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
development 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
stakeholders for full transparency and accountability, NYCHA's initial
plans for engaging public input on infill development were woefully
inadequate. 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 incomplete 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