T
he Adams administration is investing $5 billion in housing and infrastructure, with a focus on four areas where rezonings may be explored. The City Council has outlined its priorities for the "City for All" plan, which aims to supplement the "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity" text amendment. As part of this effort, 200 new staff members will be added to housing agencies and neighborhood studies will be conducted in areas such as Coney Island Avenue, Harlem River North, East Flatbush, and White Plains Road.
The Department of City Planning has agreed to complete these studies at the request of local Council members. The studies are a first step towards potential rezonings, which could allow for residential buildings up to 15 or 18 times larger than their lot size. However, it's unlikely that these higher density districts will be used in the four proposed areas.
Some of the funding will also go towards addressing staffing shortages at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Department of Buildings (DOB). The new staff members will help support development, planning, and enforcement functions at HPD, while those added to DOB will bolster enforcement, inspection, and examination of buildings.
The City Council has also allocated $50 million to help HPD update its technology, including a project management system. This is in response to the agency's current disjointed system, which relies on Dropbox and email to coordinate between developers and project managers.
Other funding commitments include:
* $2 billion for housing capital investments
* $2 billion for infrastructure investments
* $3 million for flood map design
* $1 million for technical assistance for faith-based organizations
* $1.5 million for community land trusts
* $215 million in funding for CityFHEPS vouchers
* $10 million to renovate vacant rent-stabilized units
The City Council made several changes to the text amendment, including protecting parking requirements and restricting accessory dwelling units. These amendments reduced the expected number of housing units built under City of Yes from 109,000 to 80,000 over the next 15 years.
