(The Center Square) — The New York City Council is poised to vote on a proposal aimed at expanding the availability of affordable housing in a city with some of the highest costs in the nation.
Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” proposal, which goes before the council’s land use committee on Thursday, is meant to address the Big Apple’s housing crisis by changing zoning regulations to allow more residential units to be built. If approved by the full council, the massive overhaul would be the first major change to the city’s zoning laws in more than 60 years.
Adams says his housing plan would create more than 100,000 new homes over the next 15 years. It would also allow empty office buildings in Manhattan to be converted into new housing. He said it would also ease parking requirements for new buildings and encourage new single-room apartments or so-called accessory dwelling units.
“We don’t have to live this way,” First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer said at a rally outside City Hall last month. “The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is our chance, maybe our generational chance, to move the needle on our housing crisis and bring real relief to our neighbors.”
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who supports the plan, has described the legislation as a “holistic housing plan” that will “support working- and middle-class families by investing in solutions that meet their needs.”
“New Yorkers need more housing, but affordability, homeownership opportunities, housing security and stability, and neighborhood investments are equally important to help working- and middle-class residents in our city,” she said in a statement.
New York is struggling amid a major housing shortage following years of population growth that are far outpacing new development. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of new jobs in New York City rose by 22%, while the number of housing units increased by 4%, according to a recent analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit watchdog.
But critics argue the mayor’s proposal, a cornerstone of his administration’s housing plans, would benefit real estate developers and allow for the rezoning of many single-family neighborhoods. Opponents have packed City Hall meetings to complain about the impact of the proposed neighborhoods. Some Council members have argued that the plan’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to affordable housing in the city won’t work.
“We have made it clear how we feel about the City of Yes and it’s a huge NO,” City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said in a recent social media post. “It’s time the Mayor and the City Council to accept that and move on from this fruitless battle.”
Many of the city’s community boards — including those in Queens and Staten Island — have voted against the plan in nonbinding recommendations over the past several months.
If the land use committee approves Adams’ housing plan on Thursday, it would go before the full Council for a vote in December.
