de Blasio Announces Plan to Raise $3 Billion for Fixes for NYCHA Units

On Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio announced a plan to raise approximately $3 billion dollars for upgrades and repairs at New York Housing Authority units. The initiative called "NYCHA 2.0" will allow the sale of air rights and private development on select NYCHA parcels throughout the five boroughs. Last month, the de Blasio Administration announced another component of the initiative, to partner with private developers to manage a third of NYCHA's units. City Hall has reported that approximately $32 billion dollars over the next five years is needed to make necessary improvements to NYCHA housing.  Mayor de Blasio said he anticipates the NYCHA 2.0 plan will raise approximately $24 billion dollars, with another $8 billion expected from other city, state and federal resources.

Council Looking Into Amazon Deal Made Behind Closed Doors

Also on Wednesday, the New York City Council's Committee on Economic Development held a contentious oversight hearing to examine the agreement made between the city and Amazon to bring the company's 2nd headquarters to Long Island City in Queens. The deal announced last month has received significant scrutiny from local elected officials who claim they were left out of the negotiations to provide approximately $3 billion dollars in City and State tax and other incentives for the company. Amazon and its proponents assert that the new headquarters will bring approximately 25,000 jobs to the area and an estimated $27.5 billion in new city and state revenue. Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and others grilled Amazon executives and the city's Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James Patchett during the three-hour long hearing, expressing frustration with the lack of transparency regarding the controversial incentives and the impacts that project may cause in the local community.  Speaker Johnson chastised the deal, saying the it should have gone through the City Council's land use process for a fair review. To view a recording of the hearing, please click here.

Next Week's Schedule of Hearings

Next week, the New York City Council is in session with a full schedule of hearings. The Council's Committee on Finance, jointly with the Committee on Education and Subcommittee on the Capital Budget will examine the new five-year capital plan and the Committee on Cultural Affairs with the Committee on Criminal Justice will hold an oversight hearing to review the NYC Department of Probation's arts programming. To view a complete schedule of hearings, please click here.