In late June, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board approved a controversial rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. In early July, the conversion of the former Pfizer headquarters into residential apartments was halted due to buckling support columns and concerns about the midtown Manhattan building’s structural integrity. In late July, the Mamdani administration published a list of properties potentially subject to new pied-à-terre tax, prompting an outcry and a legal challenge.
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Amid these headline-grabbing developments, significant policy changes aimed at spurring more housing production are advancing with widespread support. As part of her Let Them Build agenda, Gov. Kathy Hochul passed legislation this year streamlining the State Environmental Quality Review Act. New York City’s Expedited Land Use Review Procedure is being implemented, and the Mamdani administration has launched its Block by Block housing plan that aims to create or preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable, rent-stabilized homes.
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City & State’s Trailblazers in Real Estate puts a spotlight on the key players who will determine how successful New York will be in combating the housing crisis. This list, researched and written in partnership with journalist Lon Cohen, features developers, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, attorneys and other top figures who are rebuilding New York.
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