NYC Council Secures $5 Billion in Commitments for City for All Plan to Invest into Communities and Increase Affordability

 

Investments will strengthen affordability, homeownership, neighborhood infrastructure, tenant protections, agency capacity, and planning efforts while advancing zoning reforms to produce over 80,000 new homes

The New York City Council released the full overview of the $5 billion in commitments the Council secured for its City for All housing plan, as part of its agreement on the Zoning for Housing Opportunity (ZHO) citywide zoning text amendment. Together with modifications to ZHO, it is one of the most significant housing plans in New York City history, with $1 billion committed by Governor Kathy Hochul and the State of New York. The agreement is estimated to produce 80,000 new homes and invests in solutions that deepen the affordability of housing, support affordable homeownership, bolster neighborhood infrastructure, preserve affordable housing (including NYCHA), protect tenants, strengthen housing agencies’ capacities, and support new planning efforts that can produce more housing. The Council put forward City for All to advance a holistic housing plan that could support working- and middle-class New Yorkers and invest in solutions that met their housing needs, recognizing that zoning reform was only one part of addressing the housing crisis.

“The committees’ approval of the Council’s comprehensive housing plan to modify the Zoning for Housing Opportunity text amendment with major investments in City for All demonstrates that it is possible to create a significant amount of new housing in every neighborhood, while respecting neighborhood character and investing in more affordable housing, communities, and homeownership,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “This is an important step forward to address the city’s housing crisis that is making it unaffordable for working- and middle-class New Yorkers. Residents of our city need affordable and stable homes to rent and own and addressing that shortage, while supporting existing homeowners and tenants, deepening affordability, and strengthening the infrastructure of neighborhoods, are goals we must all share for a safer and stronger city.”

A more detailed summary of the $5 billion in commitments to City for All can be found here.

The commitments include: 

Deepened Affordability and Preserve Affordable Housing

• $2 billion secured in additional housing capital investments to finance affordable housing development and preservation, support Mitchell-Lama developments, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and HDFCs
• Larger projects that take advantage of the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) program with 10,000 or more square feet of UAP floor area will be required to deliver 20% of their total income-restricted units at 40% area median income (AMI) or below to deliver deeply affordable housing
• For the first time in New York City’s zoning code, affordability requirements in low-density zoning districts will be established to enact inclusionary zoning citywide
  • Town Center, Transit Oriented Development, and community facility developments of a certain size will be required to provide permanently affordable housing at an average of 80 AMI
• The MIH Option 3 deep affordability option that requires the delivery of 20% of income-restricted housing at 40% AMI deep affordability will become a stand-alone option opening up new opportunities for deeply affordable housing through the MIH program.

Support for Affordable Homeownership

• Double funding for the HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program with $41 million and expand its eligibility to more moderate-income New Yorkers up to 120% AMI to increase homeownership opportunities.
• Expand HomeFix 2.0 which supports working-class homeowners’ ability to maintain their homes with a commitment of $27.7 million.
• In addition to the funding commitments to support Mitchell-Lama developments, a joint City-State Mitchell-Lama Action Group will be established to improve and stabilize Mitchell-Lama developments that have accumulated billions of dollars in deferred maintenance.
• Increase funding of legal services for homeowners through the Homeowner Help Desk by $25.6 million to protect and support existing homeowners.

Investment in Infrastructure, Including Parks and Open Space, to Support Growth

• Dedicate $2 billion for infrastructure investments, including stormwater and drainage systems, street improvements, open space, flood mitigation, and sewer upgrades.
• Allocate $3 million to assist the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in designing new flood maps that guide where flood mitigation measures are required.

Protecting Tenants and Bolstering Utilization of Housing Vouchers  

• Add $215 million in funding for CityFHEPS vouchers across FY25 and FY26
• Increase funding by $187 million for CityFHEPS rental assistance for the rehabilitation and conversion of homeless housing to create permanent affordable homes for New Yorkers in the shelter system over ten years
• Dedicate $150 million to cover NYCHA rental arrears for eligible resident households, in addition to $35 million in state funding and $160 million of assistance distributed through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.  
• Commitment to work on issues related to Justice Involved Supportive Housing and the 15/15 Supportive Housing program with $137 million in capital funding
• Create a new unit in CCHR with new attorney positions to support enforcement against violations of NYC’s Human Rights Law, including source-of-income discrimination.  
• Restore $7.6 million in baselined funding to sustain Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection (AHTP) program in FY2025 and beyond; add $1.41 million annually to Partners in Preservation tenant organizing program to expand to 9 community districts.

Funding Agency Capacity    

• Add 200 new staff positions to strengthen the capacity of housing agencies to combat the housing crisis.
  • Staff for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to support a range of development, planning, and enforcement functions across the agency.
  • Staff for the Department of Buildings to bolster the enforcement, inspection, and examination of buildings, including ADUs and basement and cellar apartments.
• Add $5.9 million to support the Department of City Planning’s (DCP) capacity to advance neighborhood plans across the five boroughs.

Neighborhood Planning and Public Sites

• Initiate new DCP neighborhood planning studies for Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn Community Boards 12 and 14, East Flatbush in Brooklyn Community Board 17, Harlem River North in Bronx Community Board 7, and White Plains Road in Bronx Community Board 12. Public engagement will begin in 2025, and these studies could result in rezoning actions that deliver thousands of housing units, including affordable housing.
• Commitment for DCP to review potential densities in the Park Avenue area of the Bronx, with an eye toward a neighborhood plan that increases housing capacity, including homeownership.
• Commitment to working with the Speaker and Council to accelerate redevelopment of appropriate library properties into new state-of-the-art libraries co-located with residential housing that Speaker Adams advocated for in her State of the City address.
• Commitment to work with the Council to explore the Speaker’s State of the City proposal to redevelop new Section 9 apartments as part of mixed-income buildings on NYCHA land.
• Commitment to work with the Council to develop a vision for creating new community health, wellness and recreation centers in districts with health and safety challenges. These centers could feature access to health and mental health services, community and recreation spaces.

The Council, under Speaker Adams, has prioritized the advancement of housing solutions. Since 2022, it has approved over 27,500 units of housing, more than 50% of which are affordable, through its land use process. This includes the approval of major land use projects – Innovation QNS and Hallets North in Queens, Innovative Urban Village in Brooklyn, and the Bronx Metro-North Stations and Bruckner Boulevard rezonings in the Bronx. Speaker Adams has led by example within her own district by approving projects to create affordable housing, including the South Jamaica Gateway Rezoning, 141-05 109th Avenue Rezoning, and the 97-04 Sutphin Boulevard Rezoning, among others.

In December 2022, Speaker Adams released her Housing Agenda to Confront the City’s Crisis, outlining comprehensive actions for the City to tackle the housing shortage, deepen affordability, preserve housing, and restore support for City agencies, and in November 2023, the Council enacted Speaker Adams’ Fair Housing Framework Act, which will require the City to establish targeted housing production goals for each community district.

New York City is currently facing a severe housing crisis, with a citywide housing vacancy rate of 1.4 percent– the lowest percentage since 1968. The lack of housing is greatest for the most affordable homes, and most New York City renters are rent-burdened (paying 30 percent or more of their income on rent). Record homelessness, rising evictions, and widespread housing insecurity are impacting New Yorkers across the city, resulting in less safety and stability for communities.

As part of the agreement, the City will publicly track the status of implementation and completion of the commitments and provide an annual report.