BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Calling New York City’s current zoning laws “outdated, restrictive, and complicated’ patchwork quilt that “limits opportunities to create new homes and make those that do get built more expensive.” Vowing they’ve got a viable means “to build a little more housing in every neighborhood, the mayoral administration’s City of Yes: Zoning for Housing Opportunity proposal has seen passionate supporters and detractors, as it’s spent 2024 going through a public review process that put the plan before community boards, borough presidents, and, most recently, the City Planning Commission—whose approval last month put City of Yes for Housing Opportunity on the path toward a final vote by the City Council before the end of the year.

In a statement released on October 8, 2024, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams noted New Yorkers’ need for “access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.” While acknowledging “that zoning reform is one important component to address the housing shortage,” Adams asserted that reform in and of itself “is not a housing plan and cannot address the wide-ranging housing needs of New Yorkers.” Strengthening tenant protections, removing barriers to housing vouchers, and investing in neighborhoods were among the “full range of solutions”Adams identified as necessary “to ensure that our city helps New Yorkers access the safety and stability we all deserve” while conducting its review of the (Mayor Eric) Adams Administration’s zoning proposal.

On Monday, October 21 at 10:30am, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises holds a Public Meeting reserved only for testimony from the NYC Department of City Planning (applicant, City of Yes for Housing Opportunity). Members of the public who wish to testify at the Council’s Tuesday, October 22 Public Hearing (9:30am in the City Hall Chambes) are encouraged to “provide specific input that can help shape a housing plan with concrete actions and investments.” You can sign up in person, or do so in advance, online, by visiting council.nyc.gov/landuse. Written testimony may be submitted up to 72 hours after the hearing has been adjourned, via an email sent to landusetestimony@council.nyc.gov.

For more information, click here to access the City Council’s October 8, 2024 press release.

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