Law makes way for 80K new NYC homes in 15 years plus legislation that complements City of Yes passes
On December 5, the NYC Council passed their modified version of City of Yes (called City for All) by an eleven vote margin. This shows there were more than the usual concerns as this victory was narrower than most. NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams offered this when addressing the NYC Council before the vote, “This proposal, when delivered to us, was not perfect, and is not perfect today.”
In the realm of something is better than nothing, NYC needs to address its housing crisis. City of Yes/City for All will bring more than 80K housing units to the city in 15 years. The NYC Council modified it so more of the 80K would be affordable to residents with incomes at or below 40% of area median income (approximately $43,000 for an individual and $62,000 for a family of four).
Mayor Eric Adams held a bill signing ceremony for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and additional legislation that provides complementary legal frameworks that includes: zoning reforms for ancillary dwelling units (ADUs) and basement apartments, better tracking of approved affordable housing developments, providing tax abatements for the maintenance and preservation of affordable housing buildings, updating flood maps and sewer maintenance plans, and supporting older adults aging in place.
“These bills will help us build housing that will finally allow us to turn these generations of no into generations of yes. A phrase that was coined by Dan Garodnick. … Probably for the first time, every area of the city will have some form of affordable housing being built in their communities. No more 59 community boards and 10 community boards carrying the full scope of the housing crisis,” said Adams.
The companion bills to City of Yes that were signed into law by the mayor on December 5 are: Introduction 1127-A establishes a basement and cellar dwelling unit legalization program in certain community districts; Introduction 1128-A sets forth eligibility and design requirements for ancillary dwelling units (ADUs) in one- or two-family dwellings, including utility systems and fire prevention requirements; Introduction 654-A Owners of eligible buildings (condos and coops where the average assessed valuation is under $45,000 per unit, and rental buildings where more than half the units are affordable, they are operated by limited-profit housing companies, or they receive substantial governmental assistance) could recover up to 70% of the cost of work to rehabilitate these buildings in the form of tax abatements for up to 20 years; Introduction 850 requires the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to submit biannual reports to the Council regarding city-financed affordable housing development projects involving the disposition of city property. Introduction 814-A requires that the Department of Environmental Protection update the sewer backup prevention plan by 2025 and conduct regular updates thereafter; Introduction 815-A creates and regularly updates an interim flood risk map identifying areas at risk of flooding due to 10-year rainfall events and sea level rise (as projected for the year 2050), as well as coastal flood areas with a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year (including the impacts of sea level rise as projected for the year 2080); Introduction 1022-A requires the Commissioner of the Department for the Aging to conduct a three-year study on Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) and Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (N-NORCs) in New York City. Within two years of completing the study, the Commissioner would be required to develop and implement a plan to support aging in place within these communities; and Introduction 1054-A requires the Commissioner of the Department for the Aging to submit a 10-year aging-in-place-plan that would focus on assisting older adults with aging in place throughout New York City.
The Greenline 