The plan, dubbed Safeguarding Historic Infrastructure via Efficient Land-use Defenses, or SHIELD, would create a brand new “federal use” zoning class that may require any such deal to undergo a prolonged public assessment, and it will give the Metropolis Council the power to dam it.
“As mayor, I will fight to protect our civic infrastructure, using all the tools at my disposal to protect it from Trump selling it to the highest bidder,” Stringer mentioned in a press release. “Under this new zoning rule, if Trump wants to hatch a scheme to line his or his cronies’ pockets, he’ll have to go through New Yorkers first.”
There are simply 4 buildings in New York that might be in danger and would fall beneath this federal coverage, together with the 41-story Javits Federal Workplace Constructing in decrease Manhattan, which is house to Immigration Court docket and Immigration and Customized Enforcement’s native subject workplace.
Stringer’s proposal to tackle this area of interest subject for the town would require a brand new textual content modification to the town’s zoning guidelines, which might itself require a months-long course of with the intention to be put in place.
A Stringer marketing campaign spokesperson mentioned the proposal is comparatively uncontroversial, so it might be adopted extra shortly, and {that a} potential developer is perhaps turned off by the concept of going via a protracted course of.
The Trump administration final month launched, however then walked again a listing of tons of of buildings throughout the nation that it was contemplating promoting off. The administration has mentioned it’s persevering with to establish authorities buildings that it doubtlessly may put up for bids.
Beneath the proposed new designation, the constructions would acquire a “special use” situation on high of their underlying zoning.
Then, if the feds tried to promote one of many properties, the developer must get a particular allow from the Metropolis Planning Fee. That, in flip, would set off the months-long Uniform Land Use Evaluation Process, or ULURP, that goes via numerous ranges of metropolis authorities for approval, with the Metropolis Council getting the ultimate say.
Mayoral candidates working within the Democratic major election have been keen to point out how, if elected, they every would stand as much as Trump’s threats, with many pitching plans to counter Trump’s threats to drag federal funding.
Former Governor Cuomo confronted early criticism for saying he’d be open to working with the president, and has since leveled extra blows at Trump — though he’s nonetheless going through backlash for taking donations from Trump allies.
