Hudson Yards is an undeniable success. The Vessel – Thomas Heatherwick’s public installation – is a masterpiece that draws thousands to the Hudson Yards Public Gardens everyday. During the evenings and weekend, the City’s well-heeled gather at the TAK Room, where a pasta dish served with truffles is priced at $46.
The best deal in Hudson Yards however, is not found at any Tom Keller’s restaurant or even at the City’s first Neiman Marcus store.
Far and away the best deal to be had in this golden wonderland of wealth and privilege are the fabulous condominium units located at 15 Hudson Yards and 35 Hudson Yards (pictured).
As laid out in this StreetEasy listing (only 74 days old!), this “grand full-floor, 7-bedroom penthouse” has “360 degree river and city views with a south-facing private terrace”.
Enter this remarkable 9,886 square foot seven-bedroom penthouse that encompasses the entire 91st floor by private elevator.
And the clincher:
A beacon for those with rarefied tastes and an appreciation for unmatched levels of privacy and discretion, 35 Hudson Yards is the very best of New York, all in one inimitable place.
This writer concedes that the City and taxpayers have benefited from the creation of Hudson Yards. The construction activity since 2006 alone has resulted in billions of GDP creation.
By some estimates, property taxes from new buildings in Hudson Yards will generation tens of billions of incremental dollars after all tax abatements expire in about 20 years. Thousands of new jobs have been created — jobs which would have not existed if not for Hudson Yards.
With the slew of news over the last two weeks, it is apparent to nearly everyone now that Hudson Yards is fast emerging as New York’s second business district – after Midtown Manhattan. Amazon and Facebook alone are expected to take up new leases of close to 3 million square feet in Hudson Yards. That is the size of the entire business district for smaller American cities.
So no, the tax abatements and discounts given to Hudson Yards’ developers and billionaire condominium owners are not the biggest sin the City’s leaders have committed.
Far larger is the sin of conferring similarly generous (on a percentage basis) tax abatements to tens of thousands of high-priced condominium units in Brooklyn and Queens. All these units have experienced significant price increases as a result of near-zero property taxes for up to 15 years and now fetch $1-2 million for a one bedroom unit – but unlike Hudson Yards real estate – the profits that result from low City property taxes accrue entirely to owners of these Brooklyn and Queens condos and no one else. That… is just redistribution of scarce resources without paying anything forward.
Yes, these owners are largely White, largely Democratic voters – who like to think of themselves as “progressive” but are skilled at turning a blind eye when City’s arbitrary tax code favors them.
Mayor Bill deBlasio has marketed himself as a champion for working-class New Yorkers. There is little doubt that he will find much fodder to criticize the excessive indulgence associated with the likes of Hudson Yards and its posh residents (why not, the rich are capable of protecting themselves).
But if the Mayor were truly honest with himself (don’t count on it), he should proceed more quickly with property tax reform (don’t bet $1 on any reform) — so single family home owners (the Mayor owns two such units in Park Slope) and Brooklyn/Queens condominium owners with multiple-million-dollar homes do not continue to extract precious tax revenues at the expense of the City’s most needy.
Contact Lisa Lopez at LLopez@buymuni.com.
