When the state allowed the 421-a tax abatement program to expire in January, the city of New York lost a key tool for development in the city. Now scuttled developments are blaming their demise on the lack of 421-a.
"A second major affordable housing development touted as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's citywide intitiative [sic] is in jeopardy as a result of the state's 421-a tax break program expiring," according to an article by Jeanmarie Evelly.
The development in question, Astoria Cove, "would bring some 1,700 apartments, 27 percent of them affordable, to the Hallets peninsula," according to Evelly. The project's developer, 2030 Astoria Developers, told Evelly that the project depended on 421-a, which expired in January. A separate article by Zoe Rosenberg describes the demise of 421-a and the legislative negotiations going on since then to find a replacement for the program.
Astoria Cove was touted by the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio as an early example of his Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning policy. According to Evelly, Mayor de Blasio used the announcement of the expected demise of Astoria Cove as an occasion to call on state lawmakers in Albany to craft a replacement tax abatement program for the city.
FULL STORY: Demise of 421-a Tax Break Stalls Second Major Housing Development
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