T
he New York City Council has agreed to Mayor Eric Adams' signature housing policy, the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, after securing $5 billion in public funding and making changes that will reduce the amount of housing built under the plan. Instead of generating up to 109,000 units over 15 years, the revised plan is expected to add about 80,000 beyond what would otherwise have been built.

    The City Council's zoning subcommittee and land use committee voted in favor of the text amendment after making modifications, including preserving parking minimums for new housing construction in some parts of the city. The original proposal had called for eliminating these requirements citywide.

    To secure approval, the Adams administration pledged $5 billion for infrastructure and the city's housing agency, with $1 billion coming from the state. The commitment includes $2 billion in capital funding for housing, $2 billion for infrastructure, and $1 billion for expenses.

    The latest version of the text amendment creates three different zones, one in which parking requirements are eliminated, a second where they are partially discontinued, and a third where they remain largely intact. Parking minimums will be eliminated in certain areas of Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.

    Developers support ending parking mandates, but some City Council members wanted to keep them in their districts, fearing development without off-street parking would result in drivers circling the block in search of a spot. The Council also added affordability requirements to two measures allowing more housing in commercial districts and providing density bonuses to developers who use extra space for affordable housing.

    The proposal passed with little fanfare, despite some opposition from City Council members and community groups. Staten Island Council member David Carr proposed a motion to reject the text amendment before the subcommittee's vote, but it failed.

    City of Yes has been in public review for most of this year and was projected to add 4,000 to 7,000 new housing units annually through 2039 beyond what would otherwise be built. The amendments are expected to reduce that projection, although it is unclear by how much.

    The text amendment also includes changes intended to encourage more office-to-residential conversions and to take advantage of a provision in this year's state budget that lifted the residential floor area ratio cap. Opponents predicted the amendment would overwhelm suburban parts of the city with towers and overburden sewers and streets, but City Planning countered that the increase in density would be too minor to have a significant impact on local infrastructure.

    The administration framed the text amendment as an effort to update outdated zoning rules that have reinforced segregation, enabling affluent communities to avoid adding their fair share of new housing. The Council also proposed its own housing plan, dubbed Housing for All, which called for significant capital commitments from City Hall and more affordability requirements as part of City of Yes.