The Adams administration’s signature housing plan — which involves building “a little more housing” in every neighborhood — kicked off with a formal approval process on Monday after months of hype.
“City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” is the mayor’s central strategy to tackle New York’s ongoing housing crisis. It’s designed to spur 58,200 to 108,900 new units over 15 years by relaxing decades-old zoning restrictions that currently limit how and where new homes get built.
“We’re saying yes to more housing, yes to addressing the rent burden which 50% of New Yorkers are experiencing,” Mayor Adams said at a rally on the City Hall steps. “We need to build environments in communities where everyone can have an opportunity to enjoy what this city has to offer.”
Monday’s official launch kickstarts months of review beginning with all 59 community boards and culminating in an all-important City Council vote some time before the end of the year.
But it will likely be an uphill battle: “Housing Opportunity” has faced criticism from the get-go, particularly from development-averse community boards in outer boroughs that have expressed a wariness of the potential changes.
“Housing Opportunity” is being spearheaded by the Department of City Planning, and director Dan Garodnick described it as “a critical initiative for the future of New York City” at a meeting on Monday.
“The invisible walls that prevent housing in too many of our neighborhoods are driving high rents, displacement pressure, homelessness, and creating an imbalance of power between landlords and tenants, but our housing shortage is a policy choice,” he said in a statement. “We look forward to talking with communities across the city about how this proposal would help lower housing costs across the board.”
Citywide proposed changes include making it easier to convert offices to apartments and lifting — but not banning — parking mandates for new housing.
In quieter, low-density neighborhoods there are provisions for adding two to four stories of housing above ground-floor stores; allowing three-to-five-story apartment buildings in lots near trains and subway stations; and permitting “accessory dwelling units” such as converted garages, attics and basements.
In denser, busier areas, new housing could be built 20% bigger than normally allowed, if the extra space is permanently affordable.
City Planning estimates the plan could generate $58.2 billion in economic impact over 30 years and create some 260,000 jobs in the construction and service industries.
Adams first announced the plan in September but the nearly 800-page draft text and draft environmental impact statement weren’t released until this month.
It comes as New York is facing a dramatic housing shortage: apartment vacancy rates are at 1.4%, the lowest level in decades, with a particular scarcity of affordable homes.
The legislative ball is back in the city’s court after Adams spent months imploring Albany to pass a housing deal, which finally came together earlier this month.
“Housing Opportunity” is the third and final component of the “City of Yes” package aimed at overhauling outdated zoning rules. The first, centered on eco-friendly fixes, passed last year, and the second, focused on the economy, will have a final vote this spring.
