[mrnyc]

nys sen holyman is terrible with big, divisive issues, but he’s pretty good with the low hanging fruit stuff:


Dear Neighbor,

This week I introduced a bill to require developers to replace every unit of housing they demolish. We have seen a sharp increase of real estate developers tearing down low rise apartment buildings with many affordable units to replace them with large condo towers with fewer apartment units. The New York Times found that developers were squandering high density sites. For example, a historic townhouse with 30 rental apartments was razed and replaced with a 321 foot behemoth; despite the height there are now only 21 massive luxury condo units.


My bill would make sure developers build back all the units they tear down. This is common sense as we continue to see soaring rent prices in Manhattan and across the city.