Public Advocate Letitia James late Friday quickly rebuked Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent reform proposals to the policies and procedures concerning the lifting of deed restrictions not having any real accountability because it depends entirely on internal reviews.
De Blasio, who has been under state and federal investigation for several alleged pay-to-play schemes including the lifting of a deed restrictions to developers tied to lobbyist James Capalino, who has close ties with the mayor, issued the reforms to ensures that decisions about land use reflect the City’s policy goals and increases increases transparency and community.
Among the most looked at deal involves the Lower East Side’s Rivington House, in which the city took $16 million to remove a restriction requiring the property to be used as a nonprofit health care facility — shortly before a luxury condo developer bought the land for $116 million. Both the Allure Group, who succeeded in getting the deed restriction lifted and flipping it to the condo developer and Village Care the non-profit hospice operator which sold the property to Allure had ties to Capalino.
De Blasio said the proposed changes will also address issues raised by the Rivington House transaction to prevent similar outcomes in the future. They include when modifying a deed restriction, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will include legally binding language to ensure the property cannot be used or transferred for a different purpose.
Additionally a new layer of internal oversight will be imposed, in which a committee composed of representatives of the First Deputy Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, Corporation Counsel, the Office of Management and Budget, and City Planning will look at all lifting of deed restrictions.
But James said while she appreciated the Administration taking steps to improve the process by which deed restrictions are lifted, there needs to be real accountability, not simply internal reviews.
“The City Council should have oversight on the lifting of deed restrictions. This will ensure accountability and transparency in an otherwise opaque process with real implications for our communities,” said James.
“Moreover, as part of approving any deed restriction modification, the Administration must ensure that there will be no net-loss of community services or facilities for the local neighborhood. With property values and rents in New York City higher than ever, we must ensure that deed restrictions are only lifted through a process that involves substantial, independent oversight and benefits local residents.”
