The Real Deal
Much of the excitement around New York’s election Tuesday centered on the approval of ranked choice voting, but passage of a down-ballot question affecting projects has drawn the ire of some developers.
The measure requires the Department of City Planning to give the relevant borough president, borough board and community board a detailed summary of projects subject to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure at least 30 days before the ULURP application is certified for public review. It also added 15 or 30 days to the time that community boards have to review such applications during the summer.
Some developers criticized it for adding more time and red tape to an already lengthy process but others said it will not have a big impact on their projects.
“Extra time is not the end of the world,” said Eli Weiss of Joy Construction, which is currently working on projects in neighborhoods including the South Bronx and Inwood. “Especially if it’s 15 days.”
“It’s a minimal change,” Weiss continued. “Certainly, I don’t view it as damage, and I think that community board members are not [real estate] professionals, so an extra 30 days, it’s understandable. These are volunteers.”
G&M Realty founder Jerry Wolkoff was more upset about the measure. He stressed that developers usually already need multiple attempts to get through the ULURP process, and these added steps will make that process even longer.
“It doesn’t happen on the first go around,” Wolkoff said of getting ULURP approval from a community board. “They have other questions. The five months will turn into a year, so there’s nothing new for New York.”
Another developer, who asked not to be named, echoed these comments, arguing that the changes will make real estate investors more inclined to build outside of New York City.
3 comments:
The big developers love bureaucracy because it strangles their scrappy competitors.
Bureaucracy and corruption are always a friend of the status quo, opposed to change, progress (not the "progressive" kind) and innovation.
"the relevant borough president, borough board and community board"
are all controlled by the machine. so what is the issue?
The real stupidity is the 1st voter initiative which will now make it impossible to vote out a machine hack. No more Joe Crowley or Malinda Katz. Absolutely impossible. Your unborn grandchildrens' teeth will be falling out in old age the next time that issue will go on a ballot.
nitwits.
Fifteen days is not a huge deal. Wah wah.
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