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Dear New Yorkers,

Google’s new headquarters at St. John’s Terminal, in the West Village, opened earlier this year — with far less affordable housing than politicians had promised.

Nearly a decade ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration brokered a deal to redevelop the derelict terminal on the west side of Manhattan, which had once been a train shed. City Hall touted an expected 1,600 new apartments, almost 500 of them affordable.

Some affordable housing is coming: Last month, the City Council approved a tax break for 175 affordable apartments for seniors on a slice of the terminal property north of Houston Street.

It’s just a lot less of it than promised.

What happened to the rest of the apartments? Ultimately, the developers — initially Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group — had no obligation to build them. Today, St. John’s Terminal is home to Google, which purchased the critically acclaimed rebuilt structure for about $2 billion in 2022.

Members of Manhattan’s Community Board 2, which signed off on the deal, first got wind of the course change in 2016.

Even now, they express both rage and resignation at the outcome.

“The community board basically got scammed,” said Tobi Bergman, a former member of CB2 who was closely involved. “For a lot of people, what sold them on the zoning change was the affordable housing.”

Read more about the deal and what went wrong here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Tuesday's Weather Rating: 7/10. A very nice start, with partly cloudy skies and highs in the lower 70s! Clouds move in by early afternoon though, and showers are possible from the afternoon into tonight with increasing humidity. The vibes are good, but getting unstable again ...

Our Other Top Stories

While Garden State politicos continue to try to put the brakes on Manhattan’s congestion pricing, the MTA is buying buses from New Jersey Transit in advance of rolling out the program on June 30. An MTA spokesperson confirmed that the agency paid $100,000 to NJTransit for 15 used coaches whose parts will now be used to help maintain express buses. It’s part of a boost in bus service designed to help people in borough neighborhoods that don’t have subway lines still get to Manhattan. Mayor Eric Adams, now looking at two Democratic challengers to his reelection bid next year, said he was praying for the press while ducking their questions and blessing reporter Katie Honan on his way to meet the Pope in Vatican City. The mayor’s trip and much more gets discussed on the latest episode of the FAQ NYC podcast.

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Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Saturday, May 18: Family Farm Volunteer Day, featuring projects for all ages. Free from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Battery Urban Farm, Manhattan. Saturday, May 18: LIC Springs!, a community festival with music, art, performances and more. Free from 12 to 5 p.m., various blocks in Long Island City, Queens. Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19: Aloha Days Family Festival, a celebration with music and hula performances to celebrate Hawai’i. Free from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Museum of the American Indian.

THE KICKER: At least one person was completely unfazed by Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud: the owner of Lucali, an already popular Cobble Hill pizza place that Lamar shouted out on “6:16 in LA.” In an interview with Eater, the owner deemed the resulting frenzy of customer attention just “business as usual” for his restaurant.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Tuesday.

Love,

THE CITY

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