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City Council Moves to Stall Land Leases at Public Housing

The New York City Council and a group of tenants sued the Bloomberg administration on Thursday over plans to lease land in public housing developments for the creation of market-rate apartments.

The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, stems from a long-running controversy over the New York City Housing Authority’s proposal to raise revenue for repairs and capital projects by allowing private developers to build on the grounds of eight public housing projects in Manhattan.

Housing officials have given developers a Nov. 18 deadline for proposing ideas — so-called expressions of interest — but it was unclear whether they would be able to select construction projects before the change in administration that will follow the November mayoral election.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the lawsuit is intended to forestall any deals with developers before Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s term is over.

“The city has the ability to designate a developer and tie the hands of the incoming administration,” said Steven Banks, attorney-in-chief of the Legal Aid Society, which is representing the tenants. “The new administration would be without remedy.”

Democrat Bill de Blasio, the leading candidate for mayor, has not ruled out developing land owned by the housing authority, but he has said he favors building affordable housing, not market-rate units. The public housing system has more than 400,000 residents and $6 billion in unmet capital needs.

The Council objected to being left out of the decision-making regarding the plan to build on public housing grounds. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek to have the city rescind the request for expressions of interest. They argue that under state law, housing officials have no authority to lease public housing land for high-income residents and that they must submit their plan to the Council for approval.

“There’s still a need for more low- and middle-income housing, and that should be the city’s priority,” said Rosie Mendez, who heads the Council’s committee on public housing.

In response to the lawsuit, the housing authority issued a statement saying that it “has heard significant interest from developers and looks forward to receiving their proposals next month.”

“It’s unfortunate that the City Council is attempting to block a proposal that would generate significant revenue for the New York City Housing Authority — money that would go directly into developments and repairs for residents,” the statement said.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 23 of the New York edition with the headline: City Council Moves to Stall Land Leases at Public Housing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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