Proposed Law Could Save Battery Park City Residents Millions
On Tuesday, the State Assembly passed a bill (ratified by the State Senate in April) that will, if signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, offer financial relief to a significant number of Battery Park City residents. The measure seeks to preserve housing affordability for both rental tenants and homeowners by requiring the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) to provide rebates on the portion of housing costs attributable to increases in ground rent.
This proposal hinges upon the nature of property ownership in Battery Park City, where landlords and developers do not own outright the land they occupy, but instead lease the space (currently through June 2069) from the BPCA, in exchange for yearly payments of ground rent. The terms of this ground rent are contained in a ground lease that governs all aspects of the BPCA’s relationship with occupants of land in the community. This matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Albany legislature because the BPCA is state agency.
The bill mandates reductions in payments for both rental tenants (in units designated as “affordable”) and condominium owners who earn less than 150 percent of a federal benchmark known as “area median income” (AMI). This threshold (which changes each year, for each region of the country, as determined by statisticians at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) is currently set at $170,100 for a one-person household and ranges up to $262,500 for a household of up to five people.
An analysis of U.S. Census data for the 10280 zip code in southern Battery Park City indicates that 38 percent of condominium units and 35 percent of rental households are occupied by residents whose household income falls below 150 percent of the AMI yardstick. This translates into slightly more than 500 condominium units, and roughly 1,000 rental households. In the 10282 zip code of northern Battery Park City, approximately 240 condominiums and slightly more than 400 rental units would potentially benefit.
Because ground rents (bundled into common charges for condo owners and absorbed into monthly rent for tenants) represent a significant and growing proportion of the cost of housing in Battery Park City, the relief mandated by this bill could become an important factor in enabling residents to remain in the community in the years ahead. Its impact on seniors who have lived in the community for decades and would prefer to age in place (but whose fixed incomes make rising costs especially challenging) may be especially beneficial.
Assembly member Charles Fall (who, in addition to representing Battery Park City and part of the Financial District in Albany, serves as that chamber’s Deputy Majority Leader) was the lead sponsor for the measure in the lower house of the New York State legislature. He said, “for years, Battery Park City residents have raised legitimate concerns about the burden of rising ground rents and the impact those costs have on families, seniors, and working New Yorkers. At a time when affordability remains one of the greatest challenges facing our city, we have a responsibility to pursue solutions that help people stay in the communities they call home.”
“This bill is about providing meaningful relief to homeowners and renters who have faced growing financial pressure despite years of investment in their neighborhood,” he continued. “For many residents, this is about stability, security, and the ability to remain in the community they love. Today’s vote is an important step forward in our broader effort to make New York more affordable and ensure Battery Park City remains a place where residents can continue to live, work, and thrive.”
Assembly member Grace Lee, who co-sponsored the Assembly version of the bill, said, “as costs continue to rise across New York City, we need to do everything we can to keep people in the neighborhoods they call home. This legislation will help protect affordability in Battery Park City and ensure that families, seniors, and longtime residents aren’t priced out of their community.”
State Senator Brian Kavanagh (who succeeded in passing the proposed law in the Senate twice before, only for it to die in the Assembly) credited Assembly members Fall and Lee with “playing a huge role in persuading their colleagues and the leadership in the Assembly to get this done. Their collaboration made all the difference.”
He added, “the principle here is that when lower and middle income people are living on land owned by the State, it is not unreasonable for government to decline to collect the full value of market-rate increases. So the intent of this law is effectively to freeze the contribution of eligible residents on the portion of their housing costs that is attributable to ground rent.”
Senator Kavanagh predicted, “this benefit will be a modest cost to the Battery Park City Authority,” which collected more than $58 million in ground rent in 2025, on overall revenue of $389 million. He projected, “within several years, the protection offered by this bill is likely to total about $1 million for all eligible residents, and then keep growing from there.” He also noted that the bill does not reduce current ground rent obligations for any residents of Battery Park City, but rather prevents those costs (in the case of eligible residents) from increasing.
All three legislators were urged to push for passage of the bill by the Battery Park City Homeowner’s Coalition. Justine Cuccia, the group’s president, said, “this bill is a small but significant step in the right direction. It won’t help everybody, but it will help many, and the people it helps will be those who need it most. After years of trying, Brian Kavanagh, Charles Fall, and Grace Lee have succeeded in getting this bill to the Governor’s desk. But the work isn’t done. We need Governor Hochul to hear from every resident in Battery Park City that she must sign this bill.”
Senator Kavanagh agreed. “People should organize, and residents should contact the Governor’s office to voice their support,” he said. Constituents can phone Governor Hochul’s office at 518-474-8390.