The Adams administration is advancing two major neighborhood planning efforts. The first is aimed at leveraging four brand-new Metro-North train stations set to open in the East Bronx in 2027, for which scoping documents are now available. The City of Yes Bronx Metro-North Plan would bring a projected 10,000 jobs; major new public and private investments, including by large health care institutions already in Morris Park; and as many as 6,000 new homes—at least 1,500 of which will be permanently affordable. To support the environmental review process for this project, public information meetings were set for Dec. 13 and 15, 2022, and a public scoping meeting will be held on Jan. 9, 2023. The project is set to be certified and begin ULURP in the summer of 2023.

The second major planning effort is a neighborhood development initiative in Central Brooklyn known as the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan. It promises to bring thousands of new homes, and permanently income-restricted homes, commercial and industrial jobs, infrastructure, and other improvements to Atlantic Avenue and its neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. A steering committee formed to help shape the plan held its first meeting on Dec. 1, 2022. Six months of public engagement is expected to begin in January and run through June 2023, followed by the release of a report. Certification is expected in 2024.

Beyond these two neighborhood planning efforts, the administration has proposed Zoning for Housing Opportunity, a citywide zoning text amendment as part of Mayor Adams’ “City of Yes” plan. Scoping for this proposal will begin at the end of 2023 and will stimulate the creation of tens of thousands of new homes in neighborhoods across the entire city.

Priorities for the administration include: prohibiting exclusionary zoning practices and encouraging appropriate density near jobs and public transit; legalizing existing basement apartment units and allowing homeowners to create other accessory dwelling units; providing New York City the ability to allow additional residential density in high-density neighborhoods; allowing the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development to finance and preserve more affordable housing, secure longer affordability, encourage affordable homeownership, and enable affordable housing to include critical resources like child care and senior centers; facilitating the conversion of obsolete office buildings into housing; creating a tax benefit that enables multifamily rental development while requiring affordable housing; establishing an incentive to preserve housing quality and ensure healthy, safe living conditions for tenants; and streamlining approval processes and environmental review as outlined in the “Get Stuff Built” plan.

Mayor Adams will also continue to work with federal partners to secure financial support and regulatory changes. This includes working towards an increase in the value of tax credits and tax-exempt bonds and reducing the “50-Percent Test” to stretch federal housing dollars further.

New York Gov. Hochul, who is expected to address the state’s housing crisis in her State of the State address next month, applauded Mayor Adam’s new housing plan, adding, “We will need every community, every town and every city to do its part to make housing accessible and affordable for all.”

The Westchester County Board of Legislators voted unanimously on Dec. 12 to approve the 2023 county budget. Included in the budget is Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s capital plan, which calls for a total of $90 million in housing funding—hailed as the largest allocation in county history to build affordable housing. To support the program, the new budget includes $40 million for land acquisition ($25 million) and infrastructure ($15 million) improvements; and $50 million for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund to further develop workforce housing.