New York’s housing shortage is a top issue for voters and politicians alike. Mayor Eric Adams’ administration tried to persuade lawmakers today of its plan to alter the city’s zoning code to facilitate development across the city.
It’s a proposal that has the backing of Gov. Kathy Hochul — a centrist Democrat like Adams who has shown an interest in expanding the housing stock amid a record shortage. But the plan — which came up for a City Council hearing today — has rankled city and state legislators representing more suburban areas of the five boroughs. Council members laid out myriad concerns with Adams’ “City of Yes” housing plan during the first part of a two-day public hearing Monday.
Some said the sweeping plan wouldn’t do enough to address the severe housing affordability problem. Others said it’s too much — a “one size fits all” plan that could overwhelm roads and sewers in low-rise communities, to the detriment of existing residents.
“Zoning changes cannot be made in a vacuum,” said Kevin Riley, chair of the council’s zoning subcommittee. “In my district, there are significant infrastructure problems with flooding. To successfully build more housing in the northeast Bronx, major investments must be made in the sewage infrastructure.” “This Council knows that zoning reform alone cannot fully address the wide-ranging housing needs of New Yorkers,” Speaker Adrienne Adams said in her opening remarks.
Notably, the Council — which will have final say on the zoning plan — continues to be in a legal battle with the administration over legislation seeking to expand access to housing vouchers. Vouchers and other housing issues unrelated to zoning could be part of final negotiations around the plan in the coming months. The varied input from members Monday illustrated the difficult balance the administration must strike to get the plan over the finish line.
“This is the most pro-housing policy in the history of New York City zoning. We’ve never attempted to do something like this,” said Dan Garodnick, director of the Department of City Planning. He cautioned, however, “Some claim that City of Yes will change low-density areas beyond recognition and lead to neighborhood-extinction events. In fact, I think you will find the changes will be very modest.”
The council will hear public testimony on the plan tomorrow, and is expected to vote on the blueprint later this fall. Hochul recently lauded the plan, saying the state laid the groundwork for the initiative. “Now the city is running with the baton; we handed it off to you,” the governor said last week, as she thanked the city’s planning commission for pursuing the program.
But her enthusiasm isn’t met by Albany legislators representing low-slung neighborhoods in the outer boroughs A trio of Queens lawmakers in the Assembly — representing neighborhoods such as Kew Gardens, Fresh Meadows and Rosedale — are actively working to oppose the plan. “We know that our neighborhoods can’t handle this increase in density,” Assemblymember Ed Braunstein
said at a September rally against the plan in Bayside. “Can you imagine on every corner, we’re going to have a 3-story apartment building?” — Janaki Chadha | 
