Albany Weighs Law to Bolster Affordability for Battery Park City Residents of Modest Means
On Wednesday, State Senator Brian Kavanagh won passage in the upper house of the legislature for a proposed law that may, if enacted, 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 exotic 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 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.
Senator Kavanagh’s bill would establish reductions in payments for both rental tenants (in units designated as “affordable”) and condominium owners who earn less 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 (if signed into law) become an important factor in enabling residents to remain in the community in the years ahead.
After passage in the Senate, the bill now goes to the State Assembly, where it is being considered by the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions. In that house of the legislature, it is sponsored by State Assembly member Charles Fall, who represents Battery Park City and part of the Financial District, along with the north shore of Staten Island. Mr. Fall said, “Battery Park City is a strong, vibrant community because of the people who have called it home for years, families who have built their lives here and shaped what this neighborhood is today. At a time when affordability feels further out of reach for so many New Yorkers, we have a responsibility to act with urgency and purpose. This legislation delivers real relief by addressing rising ground rents and helping ensure that income-limited residents are not pushed out. It’s about keeping this community whole and making sure Battery Park City remains a place people can continue to call home.”
Lower Manhattan community leaders are pushing to enact the bill. Dennis Gault is a New York City public school teacher, elected District Leader for Lower Manhattan, and former member of Community Board 1, who lives in a rent-protected apartment in Battery Park City. He said, “Battery Park City is more than a neighborhood—it is a living testament to resilience, community, and commitment. That’s why the passage of this bill is so important. By advancing measures like ground rent freezes and rebates for income-limited residents—both renters and condo owners—this legislation recognizes a simple but powerful truth: people who built and sustained this community deserve the chance to remain in it.”
“Preserving residential affordability is not merely an economic issue,” he continued. “It is about safeguarding the social fabric of a community. Residential continuity ensures that neighborhoods remain vibrant, stable, and humane. When long-time residents are displaced, we lose not just neighbors, but history, identity, and the very spirit that defines a place. If this bill is not enacted, we risk undoing decades of community-building. Working families, seniors, and retirees could be pushed out, not because they failed the neighborhood—but because the system failed them. Keeping people in their homes is not just good policy. It is also the right thing to do.”
Gateway resident Vittoria Fariello (also an elected District Leader), who co-founded the Coalition for a 100 Percent Affordable Five World Trade Center (a local grassroots organization that pushed for maximizing rent-protected housing at the last remaining development parcel in the World Trade Center complex), said, “the Battery Park City Authority’s founding statute specifically called for a mixed-income neighborhood. Early on, Battery Park City was a place where people could move to, raise a family, set down roots and contribute to the community. Today, with sky rocketing housing costs, many of these community members are struggling to stay. Continuity and diversity are necessary foundations for a healthy community. This bill is a great first step in helping people age in place and allowing for the income diversity that was originally envisioned.”
“Middle-class pioneers were key contributors to building BPC into a flourishing residential neighborhood,” said Jeff Galloway, longtime Gateway resident and chair of Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee. “Now, many of those pioneers are in danger of being priced out of the neighborhood they built. This bill is a positive step toward keeping those residents in their longtime homes.”
At the local level, support for the bill is being coordinated by the Battery Park City Homeowner’s Coalition. Justine Cuccia, the group’s president, said, “this legislation will go far in protecting and preserving residential continuity. It will keep our neighbors in their homes and slow down the flow of transient renters that has grown exponentially. Even if we all do not qualify, we all will benefit from a stronger, more cohesive community.”
Maryann Peronti, a board member with the Homeowner’s Coalition, said, “this bill recognizes and honors those residents who returned to their homes after September 11, 2001, and helped to rebuild our Battery Park City neighborhood. Now older and on fixed incomes, they will be enabled by this bill to remain in their homes and continue to be the bedrock of our community.”
The bill sponsored by Senator Kavanagh and Assembly member Fall will be discussed on Monday evening (April 6), when CB1’s Battery Park City Committee is scheduled to review the measure and consider a resolution supporting it. Staff members of the Battery Park City Authority are expected to attend. Members of the public are invited to participate, either in person or online.