The budget deal in Albany this week doesn’t fund Gov. Cuomo’s new Tenant Protection Unit at DHCR, but Assembly Housing Committee Chair Vito Lopez is happy that Gov. Cuomo will find the money internally anyway.
New Energy Benchmarking reports for 2011 must be filed by May 1st, but first the Department of Buildings will be issuing violations in April for buildings that weren’t filed last year.
Speaking of the environment, the City Planning Commission approved a package of Green Zoning Code changes and sent them to the City Council for approval. There’s a full presentation on the Planning website, with last minute changes noted on the bottom of the page. Get those windmill plans ready.
The City Council was busy passing a prevailing wage bill for building service employees in City leased or assisted buildings. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to veto the bill, and the Council is likely to override. A prevailing wage bill for construction of city subsidized projects is also in the works, but Council Speaker Christine Quinn keeps amending the draft bill depending on whether she thinks she needs to pander more to unions or keep business support in her race for Mayor.
Meanwhile, the City’s Economic Development Corporation, unlike the City Council, wants to encourage private development of City properties and has issued RFPs for several surplus MTA properties.
Finally, despite believing a Mayor should not get free housing at Gracie Mansion, Mayor Bloomberg signed legislation extending rent regulation for three more years.