ASKED & ANSWERED Why it’s important to let A.I. and other tech innovations play out PAGE 7
CRAINSNEWYORK.COM
|
MAY 8, 2023
REAL ESTATE
MT. VERNON and other suburbs already have been constructing developments near transit, which had been a key plank of the governor’s housing plan.
Suburbs still ready to pitch in on housing
The governor’s housing compact may be dead, but some areas of Westchester and Long Island are taking action on their own BY EDDIE SMALL
W
BUCK ENNIS
hen Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the details of her plan to build 800,000 new homes in New York over the next decade, the crux of which would have been state requirements for the suburbs to increase production, pro-development groups in the area were thrilled to see the housing shortage finally get the attention they thought it deserved. “We’ve had 50 years now of leaving it to local communities to try and find ways of solving the problem with various levels of state help, and it hasn’t worked,” said Westchester County Association President Michael Romita. “The goal is simply to get local communities to take some action, to do something, and if they can’t, to justify the reason why.” PICINICH However, Hochul soon found the plan under attack from all sides of the political spectrum, including from some suburban lawmakers concerned about the changes it would mandate in their towns. Housing proposals were ultimately left out of New York’s budget almost entirely, although some advocates still saw benefits to the newfound See HOUSING on page 19
POLITICS
City could fit rat-proof trash bins on nearly all streets Getting garbage off sidewalks would require removing 150,000 parking spots, an eagerly awaited study says BY NICK GARBER
R
ather than dumping smelly bags of garbage on its sidewalks, the city could install trash containers on nearly all of its streets, according to an eagerly awaited report released last week by the Department of Sanitation. About 89% of streets could accommodate
VOL. 39, NO. 18
containerized trash bins, covering more than three-quarters of the city’s residential waste—although a citywide program would require a new fleet of trucks and more frequent pickups in some places, the study concluded. The report, written with the help of the consulting firm McKinsey, had been commissioned in the fall of 2022 as the Adams
© 2023 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.
administration sought to bring New York in line with the dozens of other global cities that containerize their waste in some form. The city ultimately paid McKinsey $1.6 million for the study, down from the $4 million it initially estimated, a Sanitation Department representative said. Implementing containerization citywide would require replacing about 150,000 park-
See TRASH on page 22
RESTAURANTS
WHO OWNS THE BLOCK
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
The iconic Kellogg’s Diner in Williamsburg is now on the market
P001_CN_20230508.indd 1
ing spaces—10% of the city’s residential total—with new bins shared by multiple buildings. But about half of the city’s streets, especially in low-density neighborhoods in the outer boroughs, could accommodate smaller bins serving individual addresses, the report said.
The sale of a failed hotel on East 46th ends a messy development tale
5/5/23 4:35 PM