With Hochul's housing plan scuttled, no lifeline for 421-a sites like B5 (700 Atlantic), the delayed first tower proposed for the railyard

The failure of Gov. Kathy Hochul's ambitious housing plan has big-picture implications--today's New York Times front-page article was headlined New York Officials Failed to Address the Housing Crisis. Now What?--but for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park watchers, one provision is probably the most important.

The governor had proposed to extend for four years the deadline to complete projects using the 421-a tax break--which had to start by June 15, 2022 and be finished in 2026--but that, as well as other elements of her proposed Housing Compact--didn't pass. Nor was 421-a renewed.

B5, center-left, plus (built) B4. Dattner Architects

So June 15, 2026, the deadline for construction under the recently expired 421-a tax break, looks ever more challenging--though theoretically possible--for the first tower slated for the Vanderbilt Yard, B5, or 700 Atlantic Avenue.

The site supposedly had sufficient footings to qualify as having started under 421-a's loose requirements.

After all, the platform over the first railyard block, between Sixth and Carlton avenues, was supposed to start last June, with construction of the tower starting a year later. 

But the platform didn't start, developer Greenland USA (which owns nearly all of Greenland Forest City Partners) lost its Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park point man, and there's no evidence Greenland is ready to start building the platform--whether it be rising interest rates, the failure to renew 421-a, or tussles with the Long Island Rail Road over construction protocols.

Were that to change, though, presumably they'd want to get B5 done. But they wouldn't get until 2030. 

Suburban stalemate

Key to Hochul's larger agenda to add 800,000 homes over a decade was to require suburban towns, as well as New York City neighborhoods, to meet 3% increase in housing stock, rather than simply providing incentives--a tactic deemed insufficient.

While it may seem textbook urban planning to add density near suburban train stations, suburbanites are far more NIMBY than many city dwellers, and Democratic legislators, according to the Times, were wary of Republican challenges.

The High Stakes of Hochul's Housing Compact, Gotham Gazette wrote 4/5/23, noting that state officials said the housing deal had to come in the budget, given links to proposed infrastructure and planning assistance funds.

That didn't happen. But housing policy is expected to return in the legislature.

Lack of champions

New York Focus quoted one housing advicate as saying Mayor Eric Adams and city officials didn't back Hochul sufficiently, nor did the real estate industry, which was focused on fighting "good cause eviction"--essentially an extension of rent stabilization.

Rest of Hochul’s housing agenda all but dead: sources, The Real Deal reported 4/20/23, noting that scuttled plans included allowing more bulk--beyond a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 12 for residential building, a policy backed by Adams.

"Absent state action, the city’s goal of adding 500,000 new units over the next 10 years appears out of reach," the article stated, though there may be a way for the city to ease office-to-housing conversions.