Each Friday, City Limits rounds up the latest news on housing, land use and homelessness. Catch up on what you might have missed here.

A proposal up for a vote this fall would speed up approvals for affordable housing in neighborhoods that have produced the least over the last five years. Here’s where the rule would apply if it went into effect today. (Patrick Spauster/City Limits)

Welcome to “What Happened This Week in NYC Housing?” where we compile the latest local news about housing, land use and homelessness.

Know of a story we should include in next Friday’s roundup? Email us.

ICYMI, from City Limits:

Among the ballot proposals New Yorkers will be asked to vote on this fall: A measure to accelerate affordable housing production in the parts of the city that have produced the least, which has drawn criticism from councilmembers and community boards. City Limits crunched the numbers to see which neighborhoods would be subject to the “fast track” rule if it took effect today.

Among the usually moderate public housing voters who helped power Eric Adams to the mayoralty, Zohran Mamdani outperformed expectations in last month’s Democratic primary. Here how every NYCHA-adjacent election district voted in first-round ballots.

Catch the latest episode of the “Hear Our Voices” podcast, which shares stories and resources related to family homelessness.

“Mitchell-Lama was one of New York’s most successful projects, and the time has come for us to do it again,” write New York City Assemblymembers Harvey Epstein and Grace Lee.

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

Did Mayor Adams really build more housing than the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations combined? The Real Deal fact-checks the claim. (Subscription required)

A long-shuttered former hospital in Forest Hills will be converted to 144 apartments for low-income seniors, Gothamist reports.

The task force charged with voting on a controversial plan to develop a swath of the Red Hook waterfront around the Brooklyn Marine Terminal delayed its decision for the fifth time, according to The City.

New York State plans to slash a program that helps low- and moderate-income homeowners lower their energy usage and costs, New York Focus reports.

The post What Happened This Week in NYC Housing? July 18, 2025 appeared first on City Limits.

State Sen. Nicole Mitchell resigned from office Friday after her conviction last week on two felony burglary charges. Her departure comes just a few days after she announced her intent to leave office by Aug. 4.

Mitchell, a first-term Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker from Woodbury, was arrested in April 2024 after breaking into her estranged stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home. She remained in office for 15 months after her arrest as Republicans and even some Democrats called for her to resign.

Some Senate DFLers argued Mitchell was entitled to due process in her criminal case and that she should remain in office until her trial was complete. Sen. Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul said Mitchell told colleagues she would resign if found guilty. On Friday, Mitchell followed through.

“I am resigning my seat in the Minnesota Senate for District 47,” she wrote in a letter to Gov. Tim Walz. “Thank you to my family, friends, and constituents who shared with me the issues they cared about and trusted me to work on their behalf. It has been a true honor to serve the state of Minnesota and the community I grew up in.”

The governor now can call a special election to fill Mitchell’s seat. The outcome could affect the balance of power in the Senate, where DFLers hold a narrow majority. The makeup of the Senate stands at 33 Democrats and 32 Republicans following Mitchell’s resignation and the death of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo, this week.

So far, two DFL candidates have stepped up to run in District 47 — Reps. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger and Ethan Cha, both of Woodbury. No Republican had announced as of Friday afternoon.

Earlier this week, Mitchell’s defense attorney said the senator would resign by Aug. 4. Her remaining time in office would be used to wrap up legislative projects, complete constituent services, transition legislative staff and obtain health insurance for her son, the law firm Ringstrom DeKrey said in a news release.

Mitchell is a former broadcast meteorologist and held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. She was elected in 2022 and was in the third year of her four-year term.

On July 18, a Becker County jury found Mitchell guilty of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools — both felonies. Mitchell claimed she was checking on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Police said she told them she broke in to retrieve her father’s ashes and other sentimental items.

Mitchell’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Detroit Lakes. The mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree burglary is six months in jail or a workhouse.

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Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson has a mild left hamstring strain that will keep him out of practice for the time being.

The announcement from head coach Kevin O’Connell came before the Vikings took the field for practice on Friday afternoon at TCO Performance Center

“I credit Justin for his ability to recognize how he was feeling and the fact that we were able to avoid anything major,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to hold him out here for a little bit and then reevaluate him next week.”

The initial concern popped up midway through practice on Thursday afternoon when Jefferson alerted the training staff of tightness in his left hamstring. He did not participate in 7-on-7 drills or 11-on-11 drills.

“We didn’t want to leave anything to chance so we did have a little bit further evaluation done,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to be really cautious with it.”

A couple of seasons ago Jefferson suffered a major right hamstring strain that forced him to miss an extended period of time. It doesn’t appear that this injury is even remotely close to that injury in terms of the severity of it.

In other words, the Vikings are fully expecting Jefferson to be ready for Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.

“I see no concerns in regards to the opener,” O’Connell said. “I have no worry at all that we’ll be able to get Justin ready to go.”

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By KATE PAYNE and ED WHITE, Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, finished 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials on Friday, answering questions “about 100 different people,” her attorney said.

“She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability,” David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we’re very proud of her,” Markus said.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein, a wealthy, well-connected financier, sexually abuse underage girls.

Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Donald Trump.

In a social media post this week, Blanche said Maxwell would be interviewed because of President Trump’s directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes.

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Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case, overshadowing his administration’s achievements. On Friday, reporters pressed the Republican president about pardoning Maxwell, but he deflected, emphasizing his administration’s successes.

Markus said Maxwell “was asked maybe about 100 different people.”

“The deputy attorney general is seeking the truth,” Markus said. “He asked every possible question, and he was doing an amazing job.”

Markus said he didn’t ask for anything for Maxwell in return, though he acknowledged that Trump could pardon her.

“Listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way,” Markus said.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist.

Maxwell is appealing her conviction, based on the government’s pledge years ago that any potential Epstein co-conspirators would not be charged, Markus said. Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 that shifted his case to Florida state court, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.

Epstein in 2019 and Maxwell in 2020 were charged in federal court in New York.

White reported from Detroit.