Cuomo: Turn empty hotels, office buildings into apartments amid pandemic

Owners of largely empty hotels and office buildings in Manhattan’s central business district amid the coronavirus pandemic could convert their properties into apartments under a proposal announced Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

During his 11th State of the State address, Cuomo said the COVID-19 outbreak has created opportunities for innovation — particularly when it comes to creating more housing at a time when hotel rooms and office buildings are largely vacant due to a halt in tourism and employees working from home to prevent the spread of the killer bug.

“The housing problem in our cities has gotten worse. But the crisis of growing vacancies in our commercial property provides an opportunity. We should convert vacant commercial space to supportive and affordable housing and we should do it now,” Cuomo said.

The legislation would create a five-year period during which owners of office buildings and hotels in midtown Manhattan could convert them for residential use — an idea backed by both the Real Estate Board of New York and the NYC Hotel Association.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, New York, like states across the world, must reimagine how central business districts will succeed and thrive in the 21st century,” said REBNY, which has promoted the idea of such conversions in recent months.

“New York will remain a global commercial hub by instilling a 24/7 environment in its central business districts, which will simultaneously strengthen its retail and small business sectors, create ‘walk to work’ environments and provide much needed housing and affordable housing. This forward-thinking approach will make such areas even more attractive to cutting edge businesses and their employees,” REBNY said in a statement.

Vijay Dandapani, president of the Hotel Association of NYC, said: “The hotel industry is the most stressed industry in the commercial property sector due to the near total evaporation of revenues since March 22. With no prospect of a meaningful revival for another three to four years, the Governor’s proposal that seeks to make it easier for owners and operators of hotels to maximize the value of their severely negatively affected assets will be welcomed by many.”

Some hotels, such as the Roosevelt in Midtown, have closed for good. Others have been used to house the homeless or recovering coronavirus patients during the pandemic.

Cuomo’s office only gave bare-bone details of the conversion plan Monday and a spokesman said it would be fleshed out in the coming days. But officials said they believe a state law would supersede the city’s zoning laws if there were any conflicts.

State Senate Housing Committee Chairman Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan) welcomed the governor’s initiative.

“The governor is smart to focus on the opportunities that may be available to convert commercial and retail space but it’ll take some smart thinking to figure out how to do that effectively,” Kavanagh said.

He said New York City government will have to be a willing partner to make such building conversions work.

“We can incentivize localities to look for potential sites, and incentivize them to permit these kinds of projects to happen more easily,” Kavanagh said.

A spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Bill Neidhardt, said of theconversion plan: “We’re reviewing it. We want affordable housing at the center of all rezonings.” 

Council Speaker Corey Johnson told The Post, “Creating more affordable housing is a must for New York City and exploring new ways to do so will be key to our recovery. I look forward to seeing more details on this proposal from Governor Cuomo.”

Such conversions are not new.

Many of the older buildings in the Wall Street area were converted into housing after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The financial district now houses 60,000 residents.

Unclear is what happens to hotels that have labor contracts with the Hotel Trades Council union. There are 40,000 union workers employed at 300 hotels.

An arbitrator’s ruling last year ordered 75 hotel owners to pay $500 million in back severance pay and benefits to employees who lost work during the pandemic.