We are still waiting for the City Council to bring the bill out of committee and to the full body for a vote. The Committee on Housing and Building had a two-hour hearing on proposed Intro 654 on May 30, 2024.* The proposed Local Law was laid over by committee, and it’s not currently scheduled for any future hearings or votes. Crain’s covered the hearing here: NYC may restore J-51 tax break for apartment renovations after lapse | Crain’s New York Business (crainsnewyork.com)
This City Council proposal follows the passage of state legislation enabling the City to pass the J-51 law. Both houses of the state legislature passed the law in June 2023, and the governor signed it into law on October 23, 2023. The state law didn’t actually pass the law for the City – it just allowed the City to pass it for themselves. The City still has to do that for J-51 to be revived. Some coverage of the state legislation:
- Lawmakers Revive J-51 Tax Break for NYC Apartment Buildings (therealdeal.com)
- New Tax Break for Major Building Upgrades | Habitat Magazine, New York’s Co-op and Condo Community – where I was quoted and I gave Habitat permission to use my heat map of “under $45,000 AV” co-op and condo hot spots weighted by total building area. I estimated about 3,300 co-op and condos might be eligible for the new J-51.
- New NY Housing Laws: New Housing Finance Laws & J-51 Property Tax Abatement Program | Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. (rosenbergestis.com)
* I watched the City Council hearing live. I was amazed how many questions (18?) Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez had prepared and asked. Kim Darga and HPD appeared excited for the new J-51 program. Time will tell if the City Council passes it… they have until June 30, 2025 to do so, but that doesn’t leave owners much time to comply with the program.
I asked Vikram Oberoi, who I knew created an AI tool to break down City Council hearings into manageable segments with video and transcript excerpts and summaries, to process the J-51 hearing. He graciously agreed to. I am the “local real estate attorney” of: 🍎 citymeetings.nyc #7 • Buttondown. Vikram made a very cool tool, and I expect you’ll be hearing more about it soon.
Watch the J-51 hearing here: citymeetings.nyc | NYC City Council | Committee on Housing and Buildings at 10:00 AM on May 30, 2024 | Chapters
