Council Member Brewer asks about rent-stabilized demolition and historic districts

Thank you.

Are you committing to saying you're not going to tear down rent-stabilized buildings?

Let me tell you what happens.

Excel, just empty 96th Street and Broadway.

So they didn't have any discussion.

They just paid money.

84th Street and Columbus, they just paid money.

So when you say nobody's ever going to tear down rent-stabilized buildings that are occupied, sure, because they'll buy everybody out.

How would you handle that?

Would you then go ahead and say go ahead and build after everybody's been bought out of a rent-stabilized building?

Thank you, Councilmember.

So we want to make sure that we're protecting rent-stabilized apartments and buildings.

And again, I know that there are laws at the state level.

There's also...

They don't mean anything.

I'm just telling you.

I do this all day long.

They do not mean anything.

So there are laws that do prohibit...

Not when you're going to get $23 million for a condo.

Understood.

I will say that there are...

There are those protections, but there's also the work that we're doing to make sure that we protect tenants as an administration.

I would just note that includes expanding investment in right to counsel, baselining it for $40 million.

I can't listen to it.

I've heard it all.

It doesn't work.

I'm telling you, not when $23 million is standing for one unit.

I hear you, Councilmember.

I will just say that it is a priority to us that we are preserving existing affordable housing as we pursue the development of new housing.

Historic districts.

I want to keep them.

I don't know that this administration cares about historic districts.

So I want to know, are you also going to be building and tearing down historic districts?

So whether it's the fast track or any other land use action, any proposals that impact historic districts will still go through the existing LPC review process.

It does not change.

You know how I feel about that process right now with West Park Presbyterian Church being torn down, proposed.

I hate LPC right now.