NYC mayoral candidate Scott Stringer plans zoning change to stop Trump from selling fed buildings

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Apr 16, 2025

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NEW YORK — Mayoral candidate Scott Stringer is proposing a new zoning designation to block President Donald Trump from auctioning off federal buildings to luxury developers, the Daily News has learned.

The plan, dubbed Safeguarding Historic Infrastructure through Effective Land-use Defenses, or SHIELD, would create a new “federal use” zoning category that would require any such deal to go through a lengthy public review, and it would give the City Council the ability to block 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 said in a statement. “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 just four buildings in New York that could be at risk and would fall under this federal policy, including the 41-story Javits Federal Office Building in lower Manhattan, which is home to Immigration Court and Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s local field office.

Stringer’s proposal to take on this niche issue for the city would require a new text amendment to the city’s zoning rules, which would itself require a months-long process in order to be put in place.

A Stringer campaign spokesperson said the proposal is relatively uncontroversial, so it could be adopted more quickly, and that a prospective developer might be turned off by the idea of going through a long process.

The Trump administration last month released, but then walked back a list of hundreds of buildings across the country that it was considering selling off. The administration has said it is continuing to identify government buildings that it potentially could put up for bids.

Under the proposed new designation, the structures would gain a “special use” condition on top of their underlying zoning.

Then, if the feds tried to sell one of the properties, the developer would have to get a special permit from the City Planning Commission. That, in turn, would trigger the months-long Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP, that goes through various levels of city government for approval, with the City Council getting the final say.

Mayoral candidates running in the Democratic primary election have been eager to show how, if elected, they each would stand up to Trump’s threats, with many pitching plans to counter Trump’s threats to pull federal funding.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo faced early criticism for saying he’d be open to working with the president, and has since leveled more blows at Trump — although he’s still facing backlash for taking donations from Trump allies.