Zoning reform in New York City involves adjusting land use regulations, permitting processes, and building codes to increase housing production and lower development costs. This page covers CBC’s work on the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, transit-oriented development, office-to-residential conversions, environmental review laws, and strategies to streamline housing approvals.
This page was created with AICBC Insights uses AI to group, analyze and present data and recommendations from CBC's publications. Always reference the cited sources to verify important details..
The plan’s rezonings should allow more as-of-right development, especially near transit, to boost housing production.
The City should leverage newly streamlined review processes to build more housing in neighborhoods that for too long have resisted growth.
The City should take a critical look at the City’s building codes, including unique requirements for elevators and plumbing that contribute to New York having the world’s highest construction costs.
The City should take full advantage of State and federal resources and partner with the private sector to deliver the housing that New Yorkers need.
The Administration should make changes to the Mayor’s Management Report to publicly track progress.
Key Data
In September 2025, the CBCNY reported that New York City's land use review process is too long and expensive, with private rezoning approvals taking 2 to 3 years and adding up to $82,000 to the cost of each housing unit in 2025 dollars.
In December 2024, the CBCNY stated that the passed City of Yes for Housing Opportunity would yield only one-fifth of New York City’s needed additional housing production, with compromises cutting nearly 30,000 potential units.
In February 2023, the CBCNY noted that extending the building age for FAR cap relief from 1969 to 1991 would allow an additional 120 million square feet of office space built at densities greater than 12 FAR to be converted to residential use.
In January 2023, the CBCNY reported that over the last decade, New York City only approved 25 new units per 1,000 residents, which is only 20% of what Seattle and Austin built.
In June 2022, the CBCNY highlighted that under New York City's current zoning, only 20% of the city’s residential lots have enough capacity to make development worthwhile.
Mayor Mamdani's "Block by Block" housing plan aims to increase housing production by allowing more as-of-right development near transit and streamlining review processes in neighborhoods that have historically resisted growth. The proposal also emphasizes reforming building codes to lower construction costs and utilizing public-private partnerships to address the city's housing needs.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The plan’s rezonings should allow more as-of-right development, especially near transit, to boost housing production.
The City should leverage newly streamlined review processes to build more housing in neighborhoods that for too long have resisted growth.
The City should take a critical look at the City’s building codes, including unique requirements for elevators and plumbing that contribute to New York having the world’s highest construction costs.
The City should take full advantage of State and federal resources and partner with the private sector to deliver the housing that New Yorkers need.
The Administration should make changes to the Mayor’s Management Report to publicly track progress.
New York State faces significant economic and housing challenges, with population growth lagging far behind the national average and public school enrollment declining. To address these issues, state leaders are encouraged to supercharge housing production by streamlining environmental reviews and implementing transit-oriented development through local zoning changes and possible State zoning overrides.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
State leaders should supercharge housing production, especially downstate, by promoting transit-oriented development, including local zoning changes and possible State zoning overrides.
Key Data
4.7 percent
— The State’s population growth since 2000, which lags significantly behind the national average.
20.9 percent
— The nation’s population growth since 2000, highlighting the disparity with New York State's growth.
12 percent
— The decline in public school enrollment since 2021, reflecting broader demographic shifts.
New York City's housing affordability crisis is driven by record-high rents and a 1.4% vacancy rate, exacerbated by construction costs that are among the highest in the world. To address this, the city must streamline permitting, reform environmental review laws, and implement widespread rezoning to increase housing supply and reduce development costs.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The easiest way to address the high cost of land is rezoning to increase opportunities for development and chip away at the scarcity that drives up prices.
The City and State should focus on predictability and simplicity over site-by-site approval processes and complexity, with speedy permitting, as-of-right approvals and simple financing and design requirements for affordable housing.
The State should reform environmental review laws to exempt beneficial projects.
The City could align construction codes and regulations, which are often now bespoke to New York, with best practices from other global cities.
The State should repeal New York’s exceptional Scaffold Law and adopt the liability standards used in every other state in the country.
Key Data
1.4%
— The citywide vacancy rate, which is the lowest it has been since 1968.
$3,730
— The record-high asking rent for vacant apartments in New York City as of July.
23%
— The additional cost to build affordable housing projects when prevailing wage requirements are applied.
$82,000
— The increase in hard and soft costs per unit caused by a two-year discretionary review process.
New York City's land use decision-making process is currently too slow, expensive, and uncertain, adding up to $82,000 to the cost of each housing unit and taking years to approve. Implementing proposed ballot measures would streamline these procedures, modernize the City Map, and create new appeals processes to help boost housing production across the city.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Voters should support Question 2, which would create fast track reviews for affordable housing through the Board of Standards and Appeals and for mixed-income residential projects.
Voters should support Question 3, which would create an Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP) for three types of zoning proposals.
Voters should support Question 4, which would create an Affordable Housing Appeals Board to help balance citywide needs and neighborhood concerns.
Voters should support Question 5, which would modernize the administration of the City Map by digitizing it and transferring oversight to the Department of City Planning.
Key Data
$82,000
— The amount added to the cost of each housing unit in 2025 dollars due to the current land use process.
2 to 3 years
— The time it currently takes for private rezoning application approval.
30 percent
— The allowed increase in residential capacity in medium- and high-density districts under the proposed ELURP.
8,000
— The number of individual paper maps currently administered by the offices of the five Borough Presidents.
45 feet
— The height limit for projects in low density residential districts under the proposed ELURP.
60-day
— The duration of concurrent advisory reviews from the Community Board and Borough President required by the proposed ELURP.
The proposed Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP) aims to accelerate housing production in New York City, but requires modifications to ensure that all necessary land use approvals are included and that administrative requirements do not create new delays. Clarifying the scope of materials transmitted to local boards and leveraging existing environmental reviews will help streamline the process and reduce legal uncertainty.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Allow all necessary land use approvals for Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP)-eligible projects to go through ELURP.
The Charter language should clarify that applicants can leverage CEQR findings to satisfy the infrastructure requirement and RER reviews to evaluate projects’ consistency with the fair housing plan.
The Charter language could also clarify that that the CPC assessment is not subject to a private right of action.
Specifying clearly what needs to be transmitted to Community Boards and Borough Presidents would make the process more certain and less open to legal challenge.
The ELURP reform could further streamline the process by simply requiring DCP to transmit the completed ELURP materials at the start of the 30-day pre-certification notice period.
The Charter language should also clarify that the 30-day pre-certification period is the maximum amount of time that Community Boards and Borough Presidents have prior to the start of their ELURP review period.
Key Data
45 feet
— Height threshold for ELURP eligibility for modest increases in density.
2.0
— Floor-to-area ratio threshold for low-density districts eligible for expedited review.
30 percent
— Increase threshold for medium- and high-density districts eligible for expedited review.
30-day
— Duration of the pre-certification period for ELURP.
60-day
— Duration of the review period for ELURP.
90-day
— Combined pre-certification and review period for ELURP.
Streamlining the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure by fast-tracking modestly sized residential projects and exempting non-zoning actions would reduce the cost and uncertainty that currently deter housing development. Removing administrative hurdles for minor revocable consents, public projects, and special permits would further improve the efficiency of land use decision-making in the city.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City should fast-track residential buildings of 250 or fewer units in moderate- to high-density zoning districts and 175 or fewer units in low density districts through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
The City should exempt all non-zoning actions from the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and subject them instead to administrative reviews.
The City should exempt all "minor" revocable consents and franchise agreements from the full Uniform Land Use Review Procedure to allow modest projects to move more quickly.
The City should exempt otherwise as-of-right public projects, such as new parkland, from the full Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
The City should exempt special permits from the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure because they are administrative, not legislative actions.
Key Data
250
— Maximum number of units for residential buildings in moderate- to high-density zoning districts to be fast-tracked through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
175
— Maximum number of units for residential buildings in low density districts to be fast-tracked through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
The 2025 New York City mayoral candidates were asked to outline their positions on critical issues including fiscal management, government efficiency, and housing policy. Candidates were specifically queried on their approaches to the city's capital budget, tax policy, and potential reforms to the land use review process for new housing development.
48,000 is the number of new homes to be created when we add together the 40,000 that should be enabled by 5 neighborhood rezonings and the current proposed plan to redevelop the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. New York must dramatically increase housing production if it is going reduce its affordability problems…
CBC's Andrew Rein was joined by NYC Director of City Planning Dan Garodnick and NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball for a wide-ranging discussion on job and population trends, housing affordability, and economic development in a time of uncertainty. Dan Garodnick is Director of the New York City Department of…
New York City's current land use review process is excessively long and expensive, adding $82,000 to the cost of each housing unit and taking up to three years for private rezoning approvals. Reforming the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) by streamlining advisory reviews, creating an appeals process for rejected applications, and shifting non-zoning actions to administrative agencies would reduce costs and accelerate development.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Merge the Community Board and Borough President advisory reviews into a single review under the Borough President to make the advisory review stage shorter and more productive.
Allow applicants to appeal actions rejected by the City Council to a ULURP Appeals Board consisting of the City Planning Commission and Council Speaker to encourage a greater balance of citywide needs and neighborhood concerns.
Focus ULURP on zoning and shift review of non-zoning actions and modest rezoning applications with no adverse impacts to City agencies or commissions to streamline the process.
Key Data
2 to 3 years
— The current time required for private rezoning application approval.
$82,000
— The amount added to the cost of each housing unit in 2025 dollars due to the current land use process.
90 days
— The current combined time required for Community Board and Borough President advisory reviews.
14 months
— The median time required to approve dispositions of City-owned land through the Urban Development Action Area Program.
15 percent
— The minimum cost increase for small residential buildings caused by the current review process.
5 months
— The amount of time that could be saved on project approvals if administrative review were used instead of ULURP.
New York City's land use decision-making process is currently too uncertain, lengthy, and costly, with a two-year review process increasing construction costs by as much as $82,000 per unit. Reforming the City Charter to better align land use decisions with strategic planning goals and address the impact of member deference is essential to increasing housing production and economic growth.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City should offer ample opportunity for as-of-right development while also facilitating approval of discretionary actions aligned with citywide goals for jobs, housing, and resiliency.
Reforming the Charter’s land-use decision-making processes would enable the City to modernize the zoning code to increase as-of-right zoning capacity, give private landowners guidance and predictability, and encourage projects that advance City priorities and goals.
The process should evaluate proposals based on potential benefits and alignment with the goals of its Charter-mandated strategic plan and other plans.
Advisory reviews at the community level should be more collaborative, participatory, and productive.
Balancing citywide needs and neighborhood concerns should not be circumvented by member deference.
Key Data
$82,000
— The amount by which a two-year-long review process increases construction costs per unit.
2.5 years
— The average time it took for private rezoning applications filed between 2014 and 2017 to secure approvals.
14 months
— The median time required to approve dispositions of City-owned land through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Urban Development Action Area Program.
30,000
— The number of potential housing units cut from the City of Yes plan due to compromises demanded by the City Council.
10 percent
— The share of new housing units completed in New York City that are accounted for by privately initiated rezonings.
60 percent
— The approval rate for the 171 private proposals that came forward in the four years studied.
The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative is a significant step forward, yet it will only provide one-fifth of the additional housing production required to address the city's housing crisis. While the agreement includes $5 billion in commitments, the compromises made to secure it cut nearly 30,000 potential units, and the resulting spending must be offset to avoid exacerbating an $8 billion fiscal year 2026 budget gap.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City Council and the Administration should develop and implement plans that will boost even more production all across the City and especially in neighborhoods carved out of the final City of Yes deal.
New operating budget spending must be paid for with reduced spending elsewhere or it will widen already huge budget gaps, potentially driving budget cuts.
Key Data
one-fifth
— The City of Yes will yield only one-fifth of New York City’s needed additional housing production.
30,000
— The compromises that secured the City of Yes agreement cut nearly 30,000 potential housing units.
$5 billion
— The City Council secured $5 billion in commitments as part of the compromise.
$8 billion
— The fiscal year 2026 budget gap exceeds $8 billion when underbudgeted services are taken into account.
80,000. That’s the number of additional new housing units the Adams’ Administration hopes will be developed over the next 15 years thanks to the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. The City Council votes this week on Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to tackle the housing crisis. However, that is not…
New York City's housing crisis requires immediate action, and the proposed 'City of Yes' zoning amendment is a critical step toward increasing housing production across all neighborhoods. To address record-low vacancy rates and economic stagnation, the City Council should approve the proposal without scaling back its scope or conditioning it on unrelated spending.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City Council should pass the City of Yes as is, without exempting neighborhoods, attaching restrictions or mandates that make it financially untenable to build rental housing, or conditioning approval on new spending that would widen the City’s gaping $9 billion budget gap.
The Council should not scale back the scope of individual City of Yes provisions by imposing onerous affordability restrictions or wage mandates.
The Council should not condition their approval of City of Yes on new spending or capital projects unrelated to the text amendment.
The Council should oppose any proposals that would reduce zoning capacity or trade growth in one area of the city for stasis elsewhere.
Key Data
$9.3 billion
— Estimated budget gap for fiscal year 2026.
1.4 percent
— New York City's record-low rental vacancy rate.
$300 million
— Income and sales tax revenue lost in fiscal year 2022 due to negative outmigration caused by housing affordability and availability.
$2 billion
— Annual tax revenue potentially lost due to the city's severe housing shortage.
1 in 3
— City households living in homes that are significantly larger than they need for their household size.
109,000 is the number of new homes New York City aims to create over the next 15 years through its City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning proposal.
New York City's housing production must double to address a severe shortage that has driven the rental vacancy rate to a record low of 1.4 percent. This scarcity, which costs the city $2 billion in annual tax revenue, requires the implementation of the 'City of Yes for Housing Opportunity' zoning amendment to increase development capacity citywide.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City Planning Commission and the City Council must hold the line against such opposition to needed progress regarding the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity.
The final zoning text needs to result in a meaningful increase in development capacity—citywide—to have any chance at improving affordability and quality of life.
Public officials should oppose any proposals that would reduce zoning capacity or trade growth in one area of the city for stasis elsewhere.
Housing production in New York City needs to double to meaningfully improve affordability.
The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity takes the right approach to New York City’s housing crisis: Build more housing, everywhere, of all types, for everyone.
Key Data
1.4 percent
— New York's rental vacancy rate, which is a record low.
$300 million
— Cost to the City in income and sales tax revenue in fiscal year 2022 due to persistently negative outmigration.
$2 billion
— Potential annual tax revenue lost due to the City's severe housing shortage.
1 in 3
— New York City households living in homes that are significantly larger than they need for their household size.
New York City's persistent housing shortage, driven by restrictive land-use policies and sluggish production, has led to record-low vacancy rates and rising costs that force residents to leave, costing the city hundreds of millions in tax revenue. To address this crisis, the city must modernize its zoning ordinances and implement broad-based development policies to increase housing supply and improve affordability for all residents.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City must implement local zoning changes, such as the Adams Administration’s City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal, to increase the capacity for development throughout the city.
New York must modernize the City’s zoning ordinance to allow more housing everywhere to address the long-standing housing shortage.
The State should reform environmental review laws to increase housing production at the scale needed to improve affordability.
The State should repeal the Scaffold law, which currently drives up insurance costs and hinders development.
The City should reform its property tax policy to help boost housing supply and improve affordability.
Key Data
1.4 percent
— The rental vacancy rate in New York City, which is the lowest level since the City started vacancy tracking in the 1960s.
22 percent
— The increase in rents from pre-pandemic levels as of April 2024.
$300 million
— The conservative estimate of personal income and sales tax revenue lost by the City in 2022 due to net outmigration.
$1.4 billion to $1.9 billion
— The potential annual boost to City tax revenue if enough housing is built to close the current supply gap.
170,000
— The number of households in New York City that are considered severely overcrowded, with more than 1.5 people per room.
160,000
— The net loss of residents from New York City due to domestic outmigration in 2022.
New York State's housing crisis requires targeted policy interventions, including raising the floor area ratio cap to increase density and facilitating office-to-residential conversions. These measures, alongside legalizing basement apartments and enacting a successor to the 421-a tax incentive, are essential to boost housing production and affordability in the region.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Enact a 421-a successor: Tax incentives are necessary to make affordable rental housing development in New York City financially feasible.
Enact housing production and density improvements: Proposals to raise the FAR cap, support office-to-residential conversions, and legalize basement apartments would also help boost production and affordability.
Reject proposals that disincentivize production: Of equal importance to opening the flow of new housing production is to avoid proposals that would add counterproductive burdens to housing production and affordability.
Key Data
$250 million
— Initial appropriation to support a goal of developing housing on State-owned property.
15,000
— Goal of developing housing units on State-owned property across the State.
20 percent
— Affordability threshold for units at 80 percent of area median income in office-to-residential conversions.
New York State's proposed housing package aims to create 800,000 new units over the next decade by requiring local governments to plan and zone for growth, including transit-oriented development. These strategies seek to boost housing production and affordability by removing regulatory barriers like restrictive floor area ratio caps and outdated environmental review requirements.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Local governments should be required to plan and zone for growth by either meeting production targets or allowing streamlined development.
Local governments should rezone for transit-oriented development to boost housing production.
Housing development actions should be exempt from costly and time-consuming environmental reviews.
New York City should create a path to legalize basement apartments to maximize production potential.
The state should lift the floor area ratio (FAR) cap on new development to increase housing capacity.
Key Data
800,000
— new housing units intended to be created over the next decade under the Governor's proposed package of bills.
Converting underutilized commercial office space into residential units requires targeted regulatory relief, such as lifting restrictive Floor Area Ratio (FAR) caps and allowing as-of-right development. These zoning reforms can help transform central business districts into mixed-use neighborhoods while protecting the city's property tax base.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Policymakers should implement zoning and building code changes, such as lifting the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) cap, to make commercial-to-residential conversions possible for buildings that would otherwise be prohibited or financially infeasible.
The City should implement the zoning changes identified by the Office Adaptive Reuse Task Force to allow more commercial buildings to convert to residential use as-of-right.
Policymakers should take steps to ensure that any incentives or tax breaks for conversion projects are well-targeted and cost-effective.
The City should extend the building age to which the FAR cap applies from buildings built before 1969 to before 1991, which would allow an additional 120 million square feet of office space to be converted in its entirety to residential use.
Policymakers should prioritize allowing conversions as-of-right rather than through discretionary processes to maximize the potential number of conversions.
Key Data
13 million
— Square feet of commercial space converted into 12,865 residential units in lower Manhattan.
12,865
— Residential units created from 13 million square feet of converted commercial space.
120 million
— Square feet of office space built at densities greater than 12 FAR that could be converted in their entirety to residential use if the FAR cap age limit is extended.
12
— Floor Area Ratio (FAR) cap threshold that limits the conversion of office buildings to residential use.
New York must address its housing crisis by streamlining permitting processes, reforming environmental review laws, and removing arbitrary density caps that hinder development. Implementing statewide housing targets and mandating minimum densities near commuter rail stations are essential steps to accelerate the construction of 800,000 new homes over the next decade.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The city should exempt projects smaller than 200 units from costly environmental review to enable deeply affordable housing.
The city should streamline the Department of City Planning’s process for private rezonings to reduce development bottlenecks.
The city should move fire code plan review and inspections to the Department of Buildings to consolidate the plan review process.
The state should remove the Multiple Dwelling Law’s cap on residential density to increase housing production.
The state should mandate minimum densities near commuter rail stations to address underbuilding in suburban areas.
The state should create a state appeals process for local denial of land use actions to prevent exclusionary zoning practices.
The city should remove the arbitrary limit on residential development in New York City, specifically the 12.0 floor area ratio (FAR) cap.
Key Data
800,000
— Number of homes New York State needs to build over the next ten years to address current needs and meet expected growth.
$50,000 to $70,000
— Added cost per unit resulting from two years of delays, rezoning, and environmental review.
$1.4 million
— Cost imposed by a three-month delay during the construction of a 100-unit building.
$14,000
— Cost per unit resulting from a three-month delay during construction.
25
— Number of new units approved per 1,000 residents in New York City over the last decade.
12.0
— The floor area ratio (FAR) cap on new and converted residential buildings in New York City.
The 421-g program successfully incentivized the conversion of nearly 13 million square feet of office space into 12,865 residential units in lower Manhattan between 1995 and 2006. Future efforts to convert obsolete office buildings into housing require targeted regulatory relief, such as lifting floor area ratio caps, and an as-of-right approval process to ensure cost-effectiveness and feasibility.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Regulatory relief of various forms is essential, including lifting the FAR cap, to unlock the potential of future office-to-residential conversion projects.
An as-of-right approvals process is needed to ensure that the market is able to dictate when and where office-to-residential conversions make sense.
Care is needed to design a cost-effective incentive that avoids providing subsidies that are more than necessary to incentivize conversions.
Any conversion program should be based on a detailed financial feasibility analysis that looks at the types of conversions that would be feasible without subsidy and which would require subsidies.
Policymakers may want to design an incentive specifically to catalyze or accelerate the pace of conversions for neighborhoods or building types that historically have not seen much conversion activity.
Key Data
13 million square feet
— The amount of office space converted to residential use in lower Manhattan between 1995 and 2006 using the 421-g incentive.
12,865 units
— The number of new residential units created through 421-g office-to-residential conversions.
$1.2 billion
— The nominal cost of the 421-g program through the end of fiscal year 2022.
$132,000 per unit
— The total tax expenditure of the 421-g program in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation.
30,000 units
— The total increase in lower Manhattan’s housing stock between 1990 and 2020.
$262 per square foot
— The estimated breakeven point for residential conversions to be financially feasible, assuming renovation costs of $100 to $200 per square foot.
As Chief Housing Officer, Katz oversees the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Authority, the Housing Development Corporation, the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Katz most recently served as executive director of the research nonprofit Citizens Housing…
2 1/2 is the average number of years it takes a private rezoning application to get approved in New York City, and that doesn't include the often lengthy informal pre-review negotiations. This is one of many findings in CBC's report "Improving New York City's Land Use Decision-Making Process," which can…
New York City's land use decision-making process is overly complex and slow, hindering the development of necessary housing and jobs while failing to align with citywide strategic goals. Reforms are needed at both the State and City levels to streamline environmental reviews, increase as-of-right development, and create more predictable, transparent approval pathways.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
New York State should amend environmental review laws to reduce barriers to beneficial growth and development.
New York State should encourage local governments to streamline approvals of projects that help achieve identified regional housing and job-creation goals.
New York City should create a process that evaluates proposals based on potential benefits and alignment with goals of its Charter-mandated strategic plan and other plans.
New York City should make advisory reviews at the community level more collaborative, participatory, and productive.
New York City should streamline and rationalize environmental review within limitations of State law.
New York City should better balance citywide needs and neighborhood concerns through an appeals process or requirement of a City Council supermajority to reject an application.
Key Data
171
— Total private rezoning applications initiated between 2014 and 2017.
60%
— Percentage of private rezoning applications initiated between 2014 and 2017 that were approved.
11% to 16%
— Increase in development costs caused by a two-year-long discretionary approval process.
30 months
— Median length of time to secure approval for the 103 approved projects.
80%
— Percentage of residential units approved between 2010 and 2018 that were built as-of-right.
23 months
— Median time spent in pre-certification and environmental review for approved projects.
The Penn Station Area Civic and Land Use Improvement Project requires strict control over renovation scope and careful scrutiny of tax abatements to ensure they effectively promote economic growth. Future land use decisions should prioritize city-led rezonings and transit-oriented development, ensuring that current agreements do not establish unfavorable precedents for future projects.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The scope of Penn Station renovation should be tightly controlled and focused on efficient and safe passenger flow.
The State and City should resist calls to add purely cosmetic or non-essential project elements, lest an already costly project become unaffordable.
Abatements should be based primarily on promoting economic growth.
ESD should scrutinize any possible abatements based on whether projects would not be feasible without a specific PILOT discount amount.
This plan should not set a precedent for future rezonings or financings.
The City generally should lead rezonings, both within the central business district, as it did for East Midtown, and for station area plans.
The State should continue to encourage denser development around station areas and consider intervening in local land use issues when local governments fail to enact appropriate transit-oriented development plans.
New York City must implement a growth-oriented housing plan that includes broad-based rezonings to increase as-of-right development capacity across all neighborhoods. To address the housing shortage, the city should move beyond limited affordable housing initiatives and adopt comprehensive strategies that facilitate market-rate and mixed-income development.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The City should implement broad-based rezonings to increase as-of-right development capacity in every neighborhood to meet housing production targets.
The City should change its zoning to allow for growth and facilitate the production of all housing types.
The City should reform the property tax system, building and construction codes, insurance laws, and the Multiple Dwelling Law to make housing less expensive to build and operate.
The City should allow the Department of City Planning to fast-track projects that it certifies as advancing the city’s strategic planning goals.
The City should set goals for total housing production (inclusive of both income-restricted and market-rate units), the net growth in housing units citywide, and the net change by community district.
Key Data
560,000
— Number of additional housing units New York City needs by 2030 to meet existing needs and future population growth.
50,000
— Number of housing units that must be permitted annually to meet housing needs, which is twice as many as issued in recent years.
40%
— Percentage fewer housing permits issued per resident in New York City compared to San Francisco.
20%
— Percentage of the city’s residential lots that have enough capacity under current zoning to make it worthwhile to develop.
The Penn Station Area General Project Plan proposes rezoning blocks around the station to catalyze development and fund transit improvements, though it faces significant financial risks and questions regarding local control. The project's success depends on ensuring cost-effective execution and protecting the City's future tax revenue and land-use authority.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Before any financing plan is approved, the scope of work for the rezoning and development project should be reasonably detailed, scrutinized, and streamlined as much as possible.
The State and the railroads should focus on improving safety, circulation, and functionality and doing so in the most cost-effective manner.
The State and the railroads should avoid costly, non-essential, cosmetic improvements and should not preclude the possibility of future capacity or service enhancements.
The Mayor and City Council should guide whether and how much of the City’s future property tax revenue should be dedicated to specific needs, such as a mass transit project, instead of other needs like public safety, education, or housing.
It is of utmost importance that ESD and the City work together to develop a financing plan and a rezoning that makes sense for all New Yorkers.
Key Data
$6 to $7 billion
— Estimated cost just for the renovation of Penn Station.
$12 billion-plus
— Estimated cost for the expansion of Penn Station.
New York City must implement a comprehensive, growth-oriented housing plan that includes broad upzoning to increase as-of-right development capacity and meet the urgent need for 560,000 new housing units by 2030. To achieve this, the city should reform its land-use decision-making process, improve operational efficiency, and enact property tax changes to ensure the financial feasibility of new housing construction.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The city must change zoning broadly, across the city, to increase as-of-right development capacity to ensure the housing plan is realized quickly and cost-effectively.
Broader upzoning to increase allowable building sizes will still be needed to provide enough density to meet an ambitious production target.
The land-use decision-making process should be improved so that local representatives have a strong voice but do not hamper the city’s ability to meet its stated goals.
The city’s housing plan should quantify current and future housing needs — for all types of housing, for all income levels and across all neighborhoods.
Ultimately, changes are needed to make development of all housing types across the city financially feasible, which requires property tax reform and the right tax and other incentives to encourage mixed-income development.
Key Data
560,000
— Number of housing units needed by 2030 to meet existing needs and future population growth.
50,000
— Number of housing units that must be permitted annually to meet housing needs.
40%
— Percentage fewer permits for housing units issued per resident in New York City compared to San Francisco.
20%
— Percentage of the city’s residential lots that have enough capacity under current zoning to make development worthwhile.
22,000
— Number of vacant positions in the city that could be utilized to improve basic operations like approval times.
New York City requires a successor to the 421-a tax incentive program to boost rental housing production and prevent further scarcity, while also needing to establish the NYCHA Preservation Trust to fund critical public housing renovations. To address these housing challenges, officials should prioritize increasing zoning capacity, reducing construction costs, and reforming property taxes.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
State and City officials should take action to increase zoning capacity to improve housing supply.
State and City officials should take action to reduce construction and operating costs.
State and City officials should take action to reform the property tax.
The proposed 485-w replacement program should be modified to incentivize more production in moderate-to-middle-income neighborhoods.
State lawmakers should pass the NYCHA Preservation Trust legislation to fund public housing repairs.
Key Data
$100 million
— The maximum annual revenue the City would receive over the next seven years if the 421-a program ends without a successor.
$1.8 billion
— The amount of funding that will not be freed up for decades to come if the 421-a program is allowed to expire.
400,000
— The number of residents living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing who would benefit from comprehensive renovations.
New York State should implement zoning reforms, including requiring local governments to allow for denser transit-oriented development and legalizing accessory dwelling units, to increase housing supply and affordability. Additionally, lifting caps on residential floor area ratios and facilitating commercial-to-residential conversions would provide New York City with necessary tools to stimulate housing production.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The State should require local governments to zone for denser transit-oriented development to increase regional housing supply.
The State should legalize accessory dwelling units to help meet the diverse housing needs of New Yorkers.
The State should lift the cap on residential floor area ratios to give New York City more tools and flexibility to stimulate housing production.
The State should encourage commercial-to-residential conversions to give New York City more tools and flexibility to stimulate housing production.
The proposed Penn Station Area Civic and Land Use Improvement Project aims to revitalize the area through a new zoning framework and development, but the financing plan lacks sufficient detail regarding costs and the City's role. A more holistic approach to neighborhood rezoning and a transparent, collaborative financing strategy are necessary to ensure the project effectively serves the region's long-term needs.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The plan should avoid costly, non-essential cosmetic improvements and should not preclude the possibility of future capacity or service enhancements, including both allowing for through running or for additional track capacity.
New York City should have a substantive role in the planning process and should be a partner that agrees to the use of tax revenue that would otherwise flow to the City’s general fund.
There should be additional public discussion about the merits of the financing strategy compared to other alternatives and whether this is the most appropriate financing approach for the renovation of Penn Station.
A broader rezoning, perhaps led by the City, could take a holistic approach to the neighborhood that also includes policies that encourage property owners to reinvest in outdated buildings and reimagine the future of Midtown.
Likewise, there should be a robust discussion about potential tax incentives or abatements for redevelopment projects in the GPP district.
Key Data
$17 billion
— Estimated cost of the entire Penn Station project, including renovation, expansion, land acquisition, demolition, and public space improvements.
$6 to $7 billion
— Estimated cost of a scaled-back renovation project that excludes the proposed Penn South expansion.
$1.3 billion
— Amount included in the State's Fiscal Year 2022 Enacted Budget for Penn Station-related projects.
50 percent
— Anticipated funding share for the project from the federal government.
25 percent
— Anticipated funding share for the project from New Jersey.
25 percent
— Anticipated funding share for the project from New York.
47 is the number of people who will have held the office of NYC Comptroller once Brad Lander is sworn in on January 1, 2022. At a breakfast with CBC Trustees, President Andrew Rein sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with the Comptroller-elect, covering subjects including risks to New York’s…
New York City faces a housing affordability crisis driven by insufficient housing production, which is hindered by zoning constraints, high construction costs, and inequitable property taxes. To address this, the city should implement ambitious production goals, rezone areas to increase density, modernize building codes, and reform the property tax system to improve equity.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The next Administration should plan for growth and set ambitious but achievable production goals across the city.
The next Administration should rezone to increase density appropriately and allow more as of right development when aligned with City plans.
The next Administration should modernize the City’s building code to decrease costs.
The next Administration should support reform of laws that disincentivize development such as the New York State’s Scaffold Law, the Multiple Dwelling Law, and rent stabilization.
The next Administration should reform the property tax system to increase equity.
Key Data
$40 billion
— Capital needs at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) exceed this amount due to years of underinvestment, cost inflation, and costs for lead abatement.
New York City's capital planning process requires better alignment with comprehensive needs assessments and affordability metrics to effectively prioritize infrastructure investments. Reforms to the city's strategic planning should focus on measurable outcomes, such as increasing capacity for residential and commercial development and advancing fair housing, rather than simply tying capital reforms to land use changes.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The Ten-Year Capital Strategy should reflect how the City plans to prioritize investments given its overall needs and its financial outlook.
The Strategy would adequately cover long-range capital planning needs if it were aligned with a comprehensive needs assessment, an assessment of affordability, guided by measurable goals and objectives as intended in the Charter.
The Mayor should retain the role of submitting a capital budget to the Council and the right to propose how to prioritize investments based on strategic planning documents, a revamped AIMS report, or a newly conducted comprehensive physical needs assessment.
Any changes to the strategic planning process should drive towards measurable results, such as increasing capacity for appropriate as-of-right residential and commercial development, improvements in the city’s resiliency and sustainability, and advancing fair housing.
Key Data
78%
— of spending in the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2022 Ten-Year Capital Strategy is for state of good repair needs or programmatic replacement.
$92 Billion
— is the amount of spending in the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2022 Ten-Year Capital Strategy dedicated to state of good repair needs or programmatic replacement.
29 is the number of acres in the proposed Special Flushing Waterfront District. In our third episode on land use and zoning, we move from Brooklyn to Flushing, Queens to discuss the proposed district that could add 3 million square feet of housing, hotel, retail and office space; remediate Flushing…
8,200 is the number of new housing units that could be created by the proposed rezoning of Gowanus, Brooklyn. Councilmember Brad Lander joins "What's the [DATA] Point?" to discuss the rezoning plan and make the case for comprehensive planning.
New York's housing shortage is driven by restrictive zoning and outdated regulations that limit development, with 60% of residential lots zoned for low density and only one in four available for potential development. To address the affordability crisis, the city and state must modernize building codes, reform property taxes and the Scaffold Law, and encourage zoning for growth in transit-rich areas.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
State and city lawmakers should update the zoning code to facilitate housing production.
Policymakers should set housing production targets as part of a comprehensive planning process.
New York should modernize outdated building-code provisions to keep pace with modern construction methods.
New York could enact laws to encourage municipalities to zone for growth, particularly in transit-rich areas.
The state should reform the property-tax system, the Scaffold Law, and rent regulations to reduce the costs of building dense housing.
Key Data
60%
— Percentage of all residential lots in New York City that are zoned for low densities.
12%
— Percentage of residential lots in New York City that allow no more than single-family homes.
one in four
— Proportion of residential lots that are potential development sites based solely on the zoning code.
20,000 is the number of jobs that could be potentially created by proposed rezoning of Industry City, a sprawling retail, office, and manufacturing complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. But this week the developer pulled the plug on the proposal after negotiations with stakeholders came to a standstill. What went wrong,…
Housing affordability for New Yorkers of all incomes is important to the competitiveness of the New York City region. The panelists discuss strategies for spurring housing production and changes that should be made to laws and local zoning regulations. Introduction Karim Hutson Founder & Managing Member, Genesis Companies Presentation of Report Findings Sean…
New York City's housing production has failed to keep pace with job and population growth, largely due to restrictive zoning, high development costs, and an inequitable property tax system. To address this, the city and state must implement comprehensive housing strategies, update zoning codes to increase capacity, and reform laws that disincentivize new construction.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
New York City should have a citywide housing plan that quantifies current and future housing needs, identifies the gap between these needs and existing zoning capacity, and sets ambitious production goals.
The City should update the zoning code to increase capacity by allowing for incremental growth, increasing density near transit, and making it easier to build three-plus unit buildings as-of-right.
The City should continue to revise outdated building code requirements that increase costs and adopt strategies to encourage construction industry innovation.
State lawmakers should pass laws to require municipalities to zone for more housing and a wider variety of housing, including accessory dwelling units and multifamily residences, particularly near commuter rail stations.
State lawmakers should reform laws that disincentivize housing production, such as the Scaffold Law, the cap on floor area ratio, and the Multiple Dwelling Law, to reduce construction costs.
State lawmakers should pass property tax reforms to make the system more equitable and efficient, including reducing the high tax rate on multifamily rental buildings relative to single-family homes.
Key Data
206,000
— Number of housing unit permits issued in New York City during the 2010s.
40%
— Percentage fewer units per capita issued by New York City compared to San Francisco.
0.19
— Number of housing units added for every net new job created in New York City between 2010 and 2018.
60%
— Percentage of residential lots in New York City that fall into the lowest density zoning categories.
20%
— Percentage of residentially zoned lots in New York City that are potential as-of-right development sites.
$1.6 Billion
— Cost of 421-a tax exemptions in fiscal year 2019 in foregone City tax revenue.
New York City's land use process often acts as an impediment to necessary job creation and housing development rather than a tool for improvement. City leaders are urged to prioritize projects that foster growth and carefully balance community needs with broader citywide interests, such as private investment opportunities.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
City leaders should work to advance and approve projects that help New York City continue to grow and adapt as a modern metropolis.
The New York City Council should carefully consider how best to balance community needs with citywide interests, which include the potential for job creation with no direct public investment required.
New York City faces a housing crisis driven by high costs and insufficient supply, with over 920,000 renter households currently rent burdened. To address this, policymakers should lift the floor-area ratio cap, reform property tax systems, and update zoning codes to better align with the needs of a growing region.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Lifting the cap on floor-area ratio for residential buildings would help address some of these issues.
City and State lawmakers should continue to look for solutions to boost housing production across the New York region by ensuring that zoning codes match the needs of a growing region.
City and State lawmakers should continue to look for solutions to boost housing production across the New York region by reforming New York City’s property tax system to make it easier to build rental housing without the need for substantial subsidies.
City and State lawmakers should continue to look for solutions to boost housing production across the New York region by finding ways to incentivize the suburbs to build sufficient housing to meet the regional demand.
Key Data
920,000
— renter households in New York City that were rent burdened, paying at least 30 percent of their incomes in rent.
22 percent
— of all housing units produced in 2017 that were in 40-plus story buildings.
23 percent
— of units in 40-plus story buildings that were income-restricted.
90 percent
— of the severely rent burdened households that were low income.
New York City's public housing authority requires $32 billion for repairs, a goal that can be advanced by leveraging underutilized land for mixed-income development and selling development rights. By prioritizing market-rate units in these projects, the city can generate the necessary capital to renovate aging infrastructure without displacing current residents.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The city should prioritize including sufficient market-rate units in any new development on NYCHA land to maximize revenue for repairs.
Elected officials and community members should support ambitious developments on NYCHA property that generate new housing and funding for the authority.
NYCHA should facilitate mixed-income development on underutilized land and sell development rights to raise capital for apartment repairs.
Key Data
$32 billion
— Estimated cost to repair NYCHA buildings and apartments over the next five years.
$3 billion
— Potential revenue NYCHA can raise to repair apartments by facilitating mixed-income development on underutilized land.
$469 million
— Funding needed over the next five years for the Holmes, Cooper Park, Wyckoff Gardens, LaGuardia, and Harborview Towers developments.
4 is the number of neighborhood rezonings that have been passed under Mayor de Blasio. Sally Goldenberg, Politico's Senior Reporter on real estate and housing, joined Ben and Maria to discuss the rezonings that have passed, those that haven’t, possible future rezonings, and more on housing and real estate.
$307.45 - the minimum per square foot price for selling air rights in East Midtown. NYC Department of City Planning General Counsel and Chief Data Officer Anita Laremont discusses the de Blasio's administration's approach to commercial and neighborhood development, including the East Midtown rezoning, Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, and more.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey should improve the fiscal sustainability of its maritime ports by closing underperforming facilities like Brooklyn and Red Hook and repurposing the land for housing, commercial, and park development. These actions would reduce the port's recurring deficits while simultaneously addressing the city's need for additional housing and industrial space.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The Port Authority should identify excess capacity at facilities with low productivity and convert them to higher uses such as housing, commercial, or parks.
The Port Authority should support changes in collective bargaining agreements to lower costs driven by staffing arrangements for crews known as 'gangs'.
The Port Authority should support the elimination of container royalties paid by shippers to the workers' union to fund payments and benefits beyond those funded in their contracts.
The Port Authority should close the Brooklyn and Red Hook facilities to reduce recurring deficits and generate revenue through the sale of the properties.
The Port Authority should renegotiate terminal leases to inject more competition into the process and ensure the agency is protected from subsidizing the maritime port.
Key Data
$107 million
— Projected annual deficit for Port Commerce in 2029.
$82 million
— The loss generated by Port Commerce in 2013.
$205,718
— The loss per acre generated by the Brooklyn facility in 2013.
$184,788
— The loss per acre generated by the Red Hook facility in 2013.
$354 million
— Estimated container royalties paid by carriers for New York-New Jersey terminals in 2013.
$300 million
— Potential cost reduction from eliminating cash payments and port-specific assessments.
New York City has aggressively utilized zoning as an economic development tool, rezoning over 36 percent of its land area since 2002 to encourage growth in diverse sectors. To further foster job creation, the city should continue to expand special mixed-use districts and re-evaluate restrictive heavy industrial zoning that limits commercial development.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
The city should continue rezoning and expand special mixed use districts to facilitate diversified job growth in areas currently limited to industrial use.
The city should re-evaluate areas zoned as 'M3', which are currently restricted to heavy industrial uses, to allow for more commercial business growth.
The city should utilize special districts to encourage mixed industrial, commercial, and residential use within close proximity to build on existing industry strengths.
Key Data
36%
— Percentage of New York City's land area that has been rezoned since 2002.
100,000
— Number of manufacturing jobs lost in New York City over the 12-year period ending in 2013.
130%
— Growth rate of professional, business, and technical services in areas like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Bush Terminal since 2000.
Small business leaders in New York City and northern New Jersey are generally satisfied with their locations but express dissatisfaction with the overall cost of doing business, which is influenced by taxes, fees, and zoning rules. Policymakers should focus on controlling these costs through government actions to sustain employment growth and support local entrepreneurship.
Recommendations related to Zoning Reform
Government officials should give renewed attention to controlling costs that can be managed through policy, as public policy regarding taxes, fees, zoning rules, and utility regulations can adversely affect business costs.
Policymakers should implement public policies that encourage enterprising individuals to start businesses, as a favorable business culture is critical to sustaining employment growth in the region.
Key Data
82 percent
— The share of firms that have obtained bank credit in northern New Jersey.
72 percent
— The share of firms that have obtained bank credit in New York City.
80 percent
— The proportion of firms in northern New Jersey required to pledge collateral to obtain credit.
67 percent
— The proportion of firms in New York City required to pledge collateral to obtain credit.
20 percent
— The cost savings required by about four in ten business heads in order to relocate.
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