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MAY 28-JUNE 3,2015
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
Business
< HEPATITIS BILL NOW LAW Mayor Bill de Blasio recently signed into law legislation that requires the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to issue a comprehensive annual report on hepatitis B and C.
The annual report will focus on efforts by DOHMH to identify and prevent the spread of hepatitis B and C during the preceding calendar year. Council Members Margaret Chin, Corey Johnson and
In Brief BREWER: DON’T TAKE RENT LAWS HOSTAGE Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer recently responded to a Daily News report indicating some upstate Republican legislators favor holding New York City’s rent laws hostage to win changes to the NYSAFE Act. “I was shocked and disturbed to read in today’s Daily News that some upstate Republican legislators are so obsessed with watering down our state’s gun laws, they are willing to hold a gun to New York City tenants’ heads by holding our rent laws hostage,” said Brewer in a statement. According to her office, there are roughly 285,000 rent-regulated apartments in Manhattan alone, and more than a million citywide. “It is preposterous to threaten to throw these New Yorkers out on the street because elements of one party’s political
base feel inconvenienced by a new law,” said Brewer. “On behalf of Manhattan’s 1.6 million residents, I call on Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan to reject this kind of hostage-taking and negotiate the renewal of our rent laws in good faith.” Brewer recently issued a policy paper outlining her office’s priorities for changes in the rent laws currently under negotiation in Albany, which includes eliminating vacancy deregulation, eliminating “bonus” vacancy rent increases, and fixing the “often-abused and wasteful” 421-a affordable housing tax abatement program, among other measures. “We should be having a rational conversation about what we can fix and improve in our rent laws, but Albany’s grown-ups need to get this conversation back on track,” said Brewer.
KOCH GIFTS $150 MILLION TO NEW MSK CENTER Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recently announced that it has received the largest gift in its history, a commitment of $150 million from long-time MSK board member David H. Koch. The high-profile cancer hospital said the contribution will transform cancer care with a state-of-the-art outpatient medical
facility to be known as The David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care. The 23-story building is currently in development between East 73rd and 74th Streets overlooking the FDR Drive. According to MSK, the gift is the largest single donation ever made by David Koch.
OUR TOWN’S EAST MIDTOWN TRIVIA CHALLENGE As part of the Great East Midtown Challenge on June 10, Our Town will be holding a trivia contest! We’ll pose a question that can be answered by looking elsewhere in this week’s paper. Find all the answers over the next few weeks and you’ll have a leg up on the other teams in next month’s challenge. GREAT EAST MIDTOWN This week’s question: What is the height of the controversial new CHALLENGE tower at Sutton Place? For more info on the challenge, go to http:// eastmidtown.org/challenge
Peter Koo introduced the legislation in February 2014 in an effort to increase public awareness around hepatitis B and C, and to help the city focus funding and resources to more effectively combat these diseases, according to a joint press release. According to Chin, Johnson
and Koo, it’s estimated that at least 250,000 people in New York City live with hepatitis B and C and are at risk for developing complications related to the disease. Many individuals who are infected are unaware of their status, they say, and viral hepatitis remains a leading
cause of liver cancer and related complications, which presents a major public health challenge. According to the CDC, 1 in 12 Asian-Americans have hepatitis B, and as many as two-thirds do not know they are infected.
RENT OVERHAUL SEEMS HEADED FOR A TRUCE NEWS Albany may have too much on its place to tackle the issue for now BY DAVID KLEPPER
With Albany still reeling from corruption scandals and time running out on the legislative session, it’s looking less likely state lawmakers will overhaul New York City’s longstanding rent regulations or a tax break for real estate developers. Changes have been proposed for both laws, which expire next month, but many lawmakers say the most practical option may be to simply renew the laws essentially as-is, with only minor tweaks. “We’re probably just going to have an extension,” Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick, RLong Island, said this past week during debate on rent control. That reflects an emerging consensus among lawmakers interviewed by The Associated Press and comments made by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said “at a minimum” both laws must be extended. “Albany has a lot going on right now,” the Democratic governor said late last month. “To have these finer negotiations on these delicate points is going to be problematic this year.” Rent control and the tax break have huge impacts on the New York City housing market, and they’re touchy for lawmakers in any year because the real estate industry is one of the biggest political donors in Albany. On the
other side, tenant advocates and liberal groups have organized big rallies in New York and Albany to denounce the tax break and urge lawmakers to strengthen rent control. The tax break was created decades ago during a much different real estate climate in New York City as a way to spur redevelopment. In exchange for the incentive, developers building in certain areas must incorporate affordable units. Critics say the tax break, which cost New York City more than $1 billion last year, is no longer needed. The real estate industry argues the tax break is essential to efforts to keep New York affordable. The rent rules regulate the rents paid by more than 2 million New York City residents. Landlords chafe under the rules, but supporters say they ensure that low- and middle-income residents can afford to live in the city. Keeping both measures essentially the same started to become an appealing option following the arrest of former Senate Leader Dean Skelos this month. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, is fighting charges that he extorted payments for his son from an environmental technology company and a major real estate firm in New York City. In January, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, was arrested on charges that he accepted
nearly $4 million in bribes. Both men say they’re innocent, but the charges forced them to step down from leadership at a critical time. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for stronger rent control laws and the extension of the tax break -- though he wants to require that any developer receiving the incentive set aside 25 percent to 30 percent of a project for affordable units -- compared with the current requirement of 20 percent, which only applies in certain areas. “No more tax breaks without building affordable housing in return -- period,” de Blasio said. The mayor’s proposal has the support of some top lawmakers and, notably, the Real Estate Board of New York. “There is an enormous opportunity in the next month for state lawmakers to put a plan into action that will create more affordable housing ... in every borough,” REBNY President Steven Spinola said. Critics who want the tax break abolished said the mayor’s changes don’t go far enough. “It’s a tax break that benefits billionaire real estate developers who don’t need the help,” said Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action of New York. The tax break on new construction can last as long as 25 years. Last year, about 150,000 apartments in the city were under the tax break.