📰🔍👀Today's my first day at @nysfocus.bsky.social, where I'll be covering the people and policies shaping New York, the Mamdani agenda in Albany, and hopefully lots of other big, weird, complicated stories. Get in touch: nick[at]nysfocus.com.

💥Professional news💥: after 3 great years, Friday is my last day at Crain's New York. Next week I'm joining @nysfocus.bsky.social as a politics reporter, covering the people and policies shaping New York, as well as the Mamdani agenda in Albany. Can't wait to tackle some big, thorny stories.

New: Mayor Mamdani is starting to shake up NYC's approach to economic development: • Enlisting Lina Khan to interview potential heads of the Economic Development Corp. • Putting EDC under a new deputy mayor • Talking with EDC about city-owned grocery stores: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

The City Council has a new website & leaflets blasting the mayor's housing ballot questions as giveaways to developers. Some ethics experts say they comes dangerously close to electioneering. A council member called them a "waste of taxpayer dollars" Story: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

NYC's pro-housing ballot measures are getting a boost from the city's biggest businesses. The Partnership for NYC, through an affiliate, is spending $750K on a campaign about the Charter questions, including TV ads already airing. More campaigns will follow: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

New: the developers of the Times Square casino bid are trying to win over the influential affordable housing complex Manhattan Plaza with an unusual $22.5M gift, plus a cut of annual profits. Tenants aren't sure what to make of it. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

skinny "sliver" buildings legalized by City of Yes are starting to take shape, beginning with a recently sold UES townhouse that could become a 15-story tower, CJ Hughes reports: www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/...

NYC's office-to-apartment conversions are booming, w/ 44 known projects slated to produce 17K homes, per a new @nyccomptroller.bsky.social report But the design of the 467m tax break means the city may spend billions on conversions that would've happened anyway www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

the Big, Beautiful Bill includes long-sought changes to affordable housing funding that could boost NY developers and create some 73K extra housing units statewide over 10 years. BUT... that silver lining could evaporate if Trump's huge HUD cuts are passed: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

Below the radar of the mayoral race, corporate giants & others have spent a record $11M on City Council primaries. Among them: a little noticed PAC whose #1 funder is Bill Ackman. I spoke to super PAC strategists about why that money is flowing to some unexpected candidates. t.co/mYq8sf5h8h

New: the Coney Island casino bid has put @justinbrannan.bsky.social in an unusual political pickle. At a council hearing next week, Brannan may question the same casino developers spending $30K on an outside super PAC to support his comptroller campaign: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

new: the Adams administration has filed its response to the lawsuit seeking to overturn City of Yes. City lawyers say doing so would "cause havoc" in the housing market with many projects already underway, and also say the complaint is riddled with errors: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

we have a new super PAC—Manhattan City Council candidate Rachel Storch is being boosted by an independent expenditure funded by Jessica Tisch's brother, Sam. Sam's wife Eliana is an officer. Storch is opting out of matching funds and has raised $433K: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

Exclusive: DoorDash has formed a super PAC and plans to spend $2M on City Council primaries, fresh off its $1M donation to the pro-Cuomo PAC. It's considering supporting possible speaker candidates Julie Menin and Kevin Riley, plus 4 open-seat contenders: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

new, long-awaited data on NYC's 485x housing tax break validates some early fears: zero projects proposed with 100+ units and only 2 in Lower Manhattan, where wage rules are higher. Developers have signaled interest in 118 total projects worth 2,600 units: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

the Adams administration says it quietly stopped doing business with Cushman & Wakefield in the wake of the lease scandal involving Jesse Hamilton and others. Instead, the city is extending its contract with another firm, CBRE, as it seeks 5 long-term brokers: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

Uber is the latest corporate giant planning to spend in this year's city elections. A new filing shows its PAC has $2.5M and already spent $92K in support of five City Council candidates. They're supporting pols who favor "access to transportation." Story: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

The City Council will pass a law today raising the COVID-era cap on fees that apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats can charge to restaurants, from 23% to 43%. ...and in exchange, as part of a legal settlement, those apps have agreed to drop 2 lawsuits against NYC: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

Exclusive: NYC's long-awaited commercial waste zones will be fully implemented by December 2027, per a new Adams administration timeline. 2 more zones take effect in 2025. That means it'll take a full 8 years to reform the notorious private waste industry: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

ICYMI, @nickgarber.bsky.social on the casino bidding process for downstate NY: www.wnyc.org/story/the-st...

landlords or brokers who illegally charge fees to tenants will be fined $750 once @chiosse.bsky.social's FARE Act takes effect in June, per these rules the city proposed yesterday. (That's assuming REBNY's lawsuit doesn't succeed in blocking the law.) story: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

Scoop: 3 prominent NYC casino bids fear they'll be unfairly disqualified due to the state's failure to start their monthslong environmental reviews. The bidders — SL Green, Silverstein and Soloviev — face a Sept. 30 deadline for a process that's barely begun: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

New: the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue has abandoned its Midtown casino proposal, becoming the first serious contender to drop out of the high-stakes downstate process months before bidding is set to open: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

In recent days, surging socialist mayoral candidate @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social spoke to Kathy Wylde, head of the Partnership for NYC & a friend of the CEO class. The cordial talk reflected Mamdani’s openness to the business world—which has hardly warmed to him www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

new @crainsnewyork.bsky.social: a profile of the Center for an Urban Future, the think tank that's quietly exerted significant influence on NYC policy and caught the ears of top officials through hyper-specific ideas for improving economic mobility. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

late-Friday scoop: NY AG Tish James and a key state agency are siding with the city in the lawsuit against the FARE Act, rejecting claims by REBNY and its co-plaintiffs that the broker fee reforms run afoul of state law. The state filed court papers today: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

Three land-use lawyers told me they see little merit in the conservative legal challenge to the City of Yes housing plan, pointing to the Adams administration’s lengthy environmental review. But the lawsuit could deter developers and spook investors: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

The Adams administration is awarding a $996K contract to City Safe Partners, the security company once owned by ex-Deputy mayor Phil Banks, for armed guards at the Dept. of Consumer & Worker Protection's Licensing Center, where business owners get their permits: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

New @crainsnewyork.bsky.social: a deep dive on the Real Estate Board of New York, their big losses in 2024 on the FARE Act & 485x tax break, and how they hope to regain clout. Some news: expect a return to campaign spending, REBNY President Jim Whelan told me: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

remember last year's news that the NYPD's press office, DCPI, had swelled to 87 uniformed employees? It's now been slashed nearly in half to 47 under Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, she told the City Council yesterday. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

We have kind of two mayoral races going on right now. One is a bunch of earnest left of center wonks putting out policy papers and the other one is two guys doing an Alien vs. Predator thing

As the NYC-area casino process gets underway, 2 people have quietly resigned without explanation in recent months from the powerful 5-person state board that'll decide who gets the wildly lucrative gaming licenses: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

The housing-focused charter commission convened by Mayor Adams is asserting its independence amid City Hall scandal — and, under law, will stay alive even if Adams leaves office. "We will continue to act independently," commissioners say in a new statement. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

amid chaos in Mayor Eric Adams' City Hall, allies of Council Speaker Adrienne Adams put out calls last night gauging support for her own potential late entry into the mayor's race, sources say: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.

Exclusive: Manhattan borough president @marklevinenyc.bsky.social is rejecting Related's Hudson Yards casino rezoning, a symbolic setback that could further jeopardize the $12 billion proposal. "The plan as currently proposed is not good enough": www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

to answer 1 question: yes, the money was in a Citibank account controlled by NYC, the comptroller's office told me. (The keeps its deposits in 26 different banks.) www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

The Adams administration is celebrating a renovation of 1 and 2 United Nations Plaza, saying it'll create jobs. But the city was previously supposed to sell those buildings & use the money for a Greenway expansion under a failed Bloomberg-era deal: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

In an ugly blow-up between 2 prominent nonprofits, the Fund for the City of New York is accusing the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors of stealing $850,000 and routing cash to a secret bank account. The construction-industry group denies the claims. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

New: a battle is brewing between the Adams administration and NYC’s business improvement districts over a new trash-containerization rule that BIDs say will blow their budgets — and potentially hamstring other street-cleaning nonprofits like ACE: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

New: Housing advocates are moving to take advantage of Mayor Adams' housing-focused Charter rewrite, which gets underway tomorrow. Early ideas: curb member deference, let affordable developments skip ULURP, create a builder's remedy tied to fair housing: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

NEW: how did Eric Adams' City of Yes housing plan pass, despite ferocious opposition and his own indictment? Careful policy choices, unlikely alliances & some political courage, say 10 people closely involved in the 2-year fight. Here's the inside story: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

City of Yes passed the council committees today. Here's a map showing parts of NYC where parking mandates will be eliminated (red), "significantly" reduced (yellow), & preserved (blue). And here's a Council graphic showing how parking mandates won't apply to some housing types most affected by them.

STORY on the deal, still being hammered out: City of Yes will now create about 80,000 homes, down from previous maximum of 109,000, two sources say. City Council committee votes, now hours delayed, expected sometime this afternoon:

Deal emerging on City of Yes, per source: • Parking mandates will vary by 3 zones (exact areas TBD) • Substantial carveouts for ADUs: banned in flood/coastal zones, & historic districts. Also banned in some low-density zoning districts: R1-2A, R2A & R3A. • ADUs capped at 1 story (cont.)

Instead of eliminating parking mandates in NYC, the City Council will change City of Yes to create 3 tiers w/ different parking levels, source says. (Confirming @smaldo.bsky.social) But no other huge changes seem likely for the housing plan before tmrw's vote: www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

At a Citizens Budget Commission event today, NYCHA chair Jamie Rubin urged Reps. @ritchietorres.bsky.social and Dan Goldman to get more involved in local issues. "Political leadership in the state is not as strong as it might be," said Rubin, an ex-Cuomo aide. www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...

After a 7-year fight, the City Council is nearing a deal to OK an apartment building across from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden after prior attempts were rejected due to shadows. Tomorrow's vote comes as Councilwoman Crystal Hudson faces pressure from labor unions www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-pol...