The New York City Council approves a sweeping plan that includes 82,000 homes
The The New York City Council narrowly this week a housing plan was adopted backed by Mayor Eric Adams (D), known as “City of Yes,” who calls for the construction of 82,000 new homes over the next 15 years in the Big Apple. The plan’s approval has been characterized as some of the city’s most significant steps in decades to address the housing crisis.
But the plan – backed by a mayor who is currently embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit involving the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has alleged Adams participated in corruption – was narrowly passed by the council by a vote of 31 to 20.
The negotiations to get the plan across the finish line required scaling back ambitions. The final plan of 82,000 units is lower than the initial target of 109,000, according to recent reporting from The Real Deal.
The focus of production would be on multi-family housing, particularly high-rise apartments that will be built near the city’s transit stations. Communities in and around Staten Island and Queens opposed the plan, expressing concerns that single-family neighborhoods would be transformed by the high-rise apartments. according to reports from The New York Times.
According to the city council, zoning is an important point of attention in the new plan. City of Yes “is tackling this crisis by [it] It is possible to build more homes in each neighborhood,” the city said explained. “This will provide New Yorkers with more housing choices and lower housing costs. If every neighborhood contributes, we can create many homes in total without overloading a particular area.”
Adams celebrated the plan’s approval at City Hall on Thursday evening with New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D), who $1 billion in funding pledged from the state to help facilitate elements of the plan. Part of the plan will make it easier to build outbuildings and apartments at basement level, while also allowing developers to build larger buildings than are currently permitted.
Other zoning provisions would end the requirement to include dedicated vehicle parking and allow apartments to be built above some commercial businesses.
Housing affordability is an increasing problem in the country’s largest city. A January 2024 study tallied the estimated total number of unhoused people in the city at 4,140the highest figure since 2005 and an increase of 2.4% compared to the previous year. Nearly half a million NYC residents spend at least 50% of their income on rent, according to to Time.
Negotiations between the mayor’s office and the council — in which the mayor reportedly did not participate directly — were also a source of acrimony between his team and Adrienne Adams, the council president.
The speaker did not attend the mayor’s celebration Thursday evening, but she urged the council to vote in favor of the measure, saying the body “cannot do anything” about the city’s housing problems.
