Mayor Bloomberg has indicated he is opposed to a bill extended the Loft Law that protects tenants living in illegally converted industrial buildings and that passed the Senate and the Assembly earlier this month, according to an article today at the realdeal.com by Eliot Brown.
Such a law helped pave the way for the remarkable renaissance of SoHo as an international art center more than a generation ago.
Opposition to the bill puts the mayor on the side of landlords, who oppose the measure, which has long been pushed by tenant advocates, the article noted, adding that "This represents one of many pieces of legislation tenant advocates had hoped to see passed by Democrats when they took control of the Senate in 2008, as Republicans had a landlord-friendly agenda on housing issues."
In a letter to the governor sent Monday morning, the city said the bill would "would hurt our economy by driving manufacturers out of New York City":
"As written, this bill would hurt our economy by driving manufacturers out of New York City, reducing the number of good-paying jobs available to New Yorkers at precisely the time we need them the most. The bill would, in effect, prioritize residential occupancy over industrial use wherever they conflict, sending a clear and discouraging message to current and would-be industrial tenants anywhere in the city. It would prevent the City from taking measures to preserve even small islands of industrial businesses, including the city's sixteen Industrial Business Zones, which in the aggregate represent a small geographic portion of the city, but which this legislation treats no differently than the rest of the city, including its most residential neighborhoods. The bill would render those zones meaningless."
The article noted that the Bloomberg Administration has rezoned miles of waterfront in recent years go allow residential buildings to rise in the place of industrial buildings, but added that "Still, the administration has shifted somewhat in the past few years, particularly since the recession, warming more to the concept of preserving industry in New York City."
A spokesman for the governor declined to comment on the bill, which was sponsored in the Assembly by Housing Chairman Vito Lopez and in the Senate by Martin Dilan.
Such a law helped pave the way for the remarkable renaissance of SoHo as an international art center more than a generation ago.
Opposition to the bill puts the mayor on the side of landlords, who oppose the measure, which has long been pushed by tenant advocates, the article noted, adding that "This represents one of many pieces of legislation tenant advocates had hoped to see passed by Democrats when they took control of the Senate in 2008, as Republicans had a landlord-friendly agenda on housing issues."
In a letter to the governor sent Monday morning, the city said the bill would "would hurt our economy by driving manufacturers out of New York City":
"As written, this bill would hurt our economy by driving manufacturers out of New York City, reducing the number of good-paying jobs available to New Yorkers at precisely the time we need them the most. The bill would, in effect, prioritize residential occupancy over industrial use wherever they conflict, sending a clear and discouraging message to current and would-be industrial tenants anywhere in the city. It would prevent the City from taking measures to preserve even small islands of industrial businesses, including the city's sixteen Industrial Business Zones, which in the aggregate represent a small geographic portion of the city, but which this legislation treats no differently than the rest of the city, including its most residential neighborhoods. The bill would render those zones meaningless."
The article noted that the Bloomberg Administration has rezoned miles of waterfront in recent years go allow residential buildings to rise in the place of industrial buildings, but added that "Still, the administration has shifted somewhat in the past few years, particularly since the recession, warming more to the concept of preserving industry in New York City."
A spokesman for the governor declined to comment on the bill, which was sponsored in the Assembly by Housing Chairman Vito Lopez and in the Senate by Martin Dilan.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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