NYC Developers Split Projects to Qualify for 485-x Tax Breaks
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What happened
The New York Post, citing data from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) drawn from NYC Housing Preservation and Development and Department of Buildings records, reports a sharp rise since July 2024 in new or planned residential projects with 99 or fewer units in New York City. According to those figures, such sub‑100‑unit projects increased to 172 between July 2024 and September 2026, compared with just 13 between 2008 and 2023. The article links this shift to New York State’s 485‑x tax exemption program, which imposes stricter affordable-housing and construction-wage requirements on buildings with 100 or more units than on those with 99 or fewer. Specific examples include the 23‑story Eastline project on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and The Fleet in downtown Brooklyn, each structured as multiple legally separate buildings with no single address exceeding 99 apartments. These projects are all legally permitted under current tax and zoning rules; what is new is the pattern of splitting large developments into multiple smaller, separately permitted buildings that each fall below the 100‑unit threshold.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 1 article
1 of 1 article cites a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
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BLINDSPOT.
No left-leaning outlet is covering this story — that side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
The most important gap is that only right‑leaning coverage explains that New York’s new 485‑x tax break is steering how many apartments get built, while left‑leaning outlets have offered no coverage at all. New York Post reports that developers keep projects below 99 units to qualify for looser affordability rules and to avoid higher construction wages. It cites a surge to 172 small projects in recent years and quotes real‑estate executives who argue this undermines the city’s push for more housing. Coverage also notes a city estimate that hundreds of thousands of new homes will be needed in the next decade, which makes these small buildings look inadequate.
Inside the right‑leaning press, even the headline verbs differ. One version calls developers “gaming” the tax program, while another uses a milder verb to describe them using it, softening whether this is framed as abuse or normal use.
What evidence is there on how many truly affordable units and better‑paid construction jobs New York is losing because projects are being sliced into separate 99‑unit buildings?
Bottom line
Because only the New York Post is covering it, readers on the left are missing that New York’s 485‑x tax break is shaping how new buildings are designed. Developers are reported to cap each structure at 99 apartments so they can claim generous tax breaks while taking on fewer affordable units and no higher wage requirements.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Right‑leaning outlets report that under the 485‑x program, buildings with fewer than 100 units face lower affordability requirements and no minimum construction wages, while buildings with 100 or more units must provide a higher share of affordable apartments and meet wage floors.
- Right‑leaning coverage says new or planned projects with under 100 units surged to 172 between July and September, compared with only 13 such projects over the entire period from 2008 to 2023.
- Right‑leaning outlets report that developers with fewer than 100 apartments can get a 25‑year exemption from taxes on the increased property value created by new construction.
- Right‑leaning coverage details that for sub‑100‑unit buildings, only 20% of units must be affordable at 80% of area median income, compared with 25% for 100‑to‑149‑unit projects and a deeper affordability standard of 60% of area median income for some projects with 150 or more units.
- Right‑leaning outlets give concrete examples such as the Eastline project, which is one 23‑story complex split into two legally separate 99‑unit buildings that share a courtyard, amenities, and a rooftop lounge.
The Right View
Right-leaning coverage, led by the New York Post, frames the trend as developers "gaming" or aggressively exploiting the 485‑x tax-relief program by designing projects so that no individual building reaches 100 units. The reporting emphasizes the numerical surge in projects with under 100 units (172 since mid‑2024 versus 13 from 2008–2023) and contrasts this with the city’s stated need for 700,000 new homes over the next decade, suggesting that current incentives discourage larger, more impactful developments. The Post details how 485‑x works: buildings under 100 units can get a 25‑year exemption on the increased property value from construction, must set aside only 20% of units as affordable at up to 80% of area median income (AMI), and face no binding construction-wage floor; in contrast, buildings with 100–149 units must devote 25% of units to affordability and pay at least $41/hour to construction workers, with even deeper affordability (60% of AMI) and higher wage requirements for projects with 150+ units in certain areas. The article uses case studies — like Eastline, split into two 99‑unit buildings sharing amenities but treated as legally separate, and The Fleet in Brooklyn, organized as five addresses with no more than 99 units each — to illustrate how developers structure projects to remain under key thresholds. REBNY officials are quoted arguing that current policy design is backward, saying New York "cannot meet its housing needs by building small" and calling for rules that encourage larger, higher-density projects while spreading the obligation to build more housing across neighborhoods.
Our Take (balanced)
This is a substantive policy story built on specific, checkable elements: a named state tax program (485‑x), clear unit and wage thresholds written into law, quantitative project counts attributed to REBNY and city agencies, and identifiable developments whose building configurations can be verified in public records. What is firmly established by the reporting is: (1) 485‑x sets more lenient affordability and wage requirements for buildings with fewer than 100 units than for larger ones; (2) there has been a documented increase in projects where no single building exceeds 99 units, according to REBNY’s analysis of HPD and DOB data; and (3) certain large complexes, such as Eastline and The Fleet, are indeed structured as multiple legally separate buildings under that threshold while sharing amenities. What remains interpretive rather than proven is the claim that developers are intentionally "gaming" the system in a pejorative sense, and the broader impact of this pattern on the overall housing shortage and on low-income renters; those points involve motive and macro-level effects that require further independent analysis. As of now, no left-leaning outlet has reported on this surge in sub‑100‑unit projects or on the specific examples highlighted, so the conversation about how 485‑x might be reshaped — including perspectives from tenant groups, unions, and housing scholars — is largely absent from mainstream coverage. Next, it will be important to watch for: independent confirmation of the project counts from city data; formal responses or proposed fixes from the mayor’s office, HPD, DOB, state legislators, and labor and tenant advocates; and any new analyses that quantify how much housing capacity and how many genuinely affordable units are being gained or foregone under the current 485‑x incentive structure.
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