T
he New York City Council voted 31-20 in favor of the "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity," a zoning text amendment that aims to add 80,000 housing units over the next 15 years. To secure enough votes, the council reduced the projected total by nearly 30,000 homes and secured a promise from Mayor Eric Adams for billions of dollars in housing-related spending.
Proponents argue that the proposal would ease rules that have reinforced racial segregation in the city and allowed some areas to avoid building their fair share of housing. Detractors see it as neighborhood-destroying, foisting Manhattan-style density on quiet streets in Queens and Staten Island.
The approved version exempted single- and two-family home zones from changes allowing five-story apartment buildings and preserved parking minimums in most of Staten Island, southern Brooklyn, and eastern Queens. The council also added affordability requirements to provisions that allow developers to build larger residential projects than previously permitted.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said the modifications respect neighborhoods' differences while ensuring they contribute to growing the city's housing stock. Some council members who voted against the measure expressed concern about a one-size-fits-all approach and the potential for future administrations not upholding the pledge for $5 billion in funding.
Real estate professionals have supported City of Yes, but do not expect it to transform the development landscape. Building in New York will remain expensive, and while passage signals a shift toward pro-housing policy, NIMBY battles are unlikely to become a relic of the past.
The approved version includes a density bonus program called Universal Affordability Preference, which replaces Voluntary Inclusionary Housing and offers a less generous bonus. Developers who were already planning affordable housing can use this program.
City of Yes also includes $5 billion for housing and infrastructure improvements, dubbed "City for All." This package includes adding 200 staffers to the city's housing agencies over five years and $2 billion for sewer upgrades, flood mitigation, stormwater drainage, and other infrastructure.
