BILL NUMBER:  S95

 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.

 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 former 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 :

S.496 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Cities
A.1758 of 2015-2016 (Wright): Advanced to Third Reading Calendar
S.4641 of 2013-2014 (Hoylman): Died in Cities
A.6964 of 2013-2014 (Wright): Passed Assembly

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Minimal

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately