City of Yes or else

 

 

 NY Daily News

Mayor Adams announced Thursday a sweeping package of proposed zoning changes — including the elimination of parking minimums and allowing garages to be legally converted into homes — aimed at facilitating the creation of about 100,000 new homes in the next 10 to 15 years in a move that’s a direct response to New York City’s ongoing housing crisis.

Adams touted it as “the most ambitious changes to zoning in the history of New York City.” Rather than concentrating new housing in certain parts of the city, the measures would try to create “a little more housing in every neighborhood” by easing some of the strict zoning rules currently in place.

“So many of the issues we face as a city are rooted in this ongoing crisis,” Adams said. “We must change the restrictive laws that were put in place 62 years ago [with the 1961 Zoning Resolution].”

The citywide approach contrasts with the neighborhood-level and spot rezonings that have been used to ease zoning restrictions to allow for more and often taller housing.

“This is not tinkering around the edges,” Adams said. “Today, we’re proposing a slate of new rules that, if passed by our City Council, remove longstanding barriers to opportunity and usher in a new golden age of housing in New York City.”

In neighborhoods with smaller and fewer buildings the proposals would attempt to cut municipal red tape to make it easier for owners to adapt their homes.

Among other things, it would allow for certain types of “accessory dwelling units” to be built, such as backyard cottages and basement apartments, and conversions of attics and garages into housing. It would also aim to “safely legalize” existing ones.

One of the buzziest components announced Thursday is the elimination of parking mandates for new homes, space the city says it would rather use for housing.

“If you want to build parking spots, you still can,” Adams explained. “But we will not force people to build parking they do not want.”

The rules would also enable two to four stories of housing to be built above squat, single-story commercial buildings to match the height of neighboring ones.

  The new plan would enable conversion of under-used commercial buildings.

The city currently gives leeway for the creation of affordable senior housing, allowing for increased heights, an exception the administration is proposing extending to now include all forms of affordable and supportive housing in denser neighborhoods.

 The new plan would allow accessory dwelling units for single and two-family homes.

Under the new proposals, housing could also be built on various “large campuses” around the city, such as in the parking lots of houses of worship or on NYCHA property. Other changes include allowing three-to-five-story apartment buildings to be built on large lots near transit hubs as a way of blending in with the community; and making it legal once more for “modest apartments” to have common facilities such as shared kitchens and bathrooms.

 

NYC City Planning Department and their urbanish declaration of independence from communities

 

 Cityland

On October 17, 2022, the Department of City Planning will host an information session regarding the proposed “City of Yes” zoning text amendments. The “City of Yes” amendments, announced in June, aim to resolve obstacles that prevent the creation of more housing, remove certain zoning limitations to encourage economic growth, and support sustainability.

Earlier this summer, CityLand published a series of articles regarding the three proposed text amendments. While the Department of City Planning has yet to release a draft of the text of the amendment, the agency has updated its website recently with some more information.

The Zoning for Zero Carbon amendment would amend zoning regulations that place restrictions on the placement of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and limits on the amount of rooftop that can be used for solar panels, and increases energy efficiency requirements. For more information from the City’s webpage, click here.

The Zoning for Economic Opportunity amendment will remove restrictions and limitations on what types of business are allowed in commercial districts; removing restrictions on dancing in bars and restaurants in line with the City’s 2017 repeal of the Cabaret Law; support for the reuse of existing buildings for other purposes; and provide more flexibility for small-scale production spaces among other things. For more information from the City’s webpage, click here.

The Zoning for Housing Opportunity amendment will address the City’s housing shortage. The proposed amendment will increase opportunities to use different housing models, including two-family houses, accessory dwelling units, small apartment buildings, and shared housing models. The amendment will also expand opportunities to build affordable and supportive housing and reduce certain parking requirements. The amendment will also make it easier to convert obsolete buildings into housing and make it easier for home and property owners to alter and update their buildings. For more information from the City’s webpage, click here.

 

Rep. Suozzi and friends condemn Governor Kathy's push for ADUs

 

 Long Island Press

 U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), a candidate for governor, on Thursday joined a broad coalition of mayors, town supervisors, and civic leaders from Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens to oppose Gov. Kathy Hochul’s stated plans to eliminate single-family zoning laws in New York and dramatically alter the housing landscape across the state.

“Governor Hochul’s radical proposal would take away zoning control from municipal governments, erode local government authority, and end single-family housing across New York,” said Suozzi. “Hochul’s plan to eliminate home rule is not what we need. I support affordable housing, building up around downtown train stations, and helping the homeless. I oppose eliminating home rule and ending single-family housing.”

Suozzi was directly responding to Hochul’s recent State of the State Address, where the governor vowed to fix what she called outdated land-use laws that hold back housing supply.

This includes changing zoning laws for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) such as backyard cottages, attics, garages, and basements, which can provide an affordable multi-generational housing option that helps families live closer together. But current land use restrictions prevent homeowners in some communities from building ADUs.

To permit these vital options and help reduce housing costs, Hochul will propose legislation to require municipalities to allow a minimum of one ADU on owner-occupied residentially zoned lots.

In New York City, this legislation would require creation of an amnesty program to legalize existing ADUs, with an expectation that they are brought into compliance with key building code requirements to ensure resident safety, but also provide some flexibility for the City to exempt some units from specific Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) provisions without further New York State legislation.

Among the items Suozzi and the local electeds see as questionable in the legislation is that it would eliminate home rule. Under Hochul’s proposal, Towns would no longer have control of their local land-use regulations. The proposal would decimate local zoning control, which is the bedrock of New York’s local governments, Suozzi and the local electeds argued.

Gowanus rezone approval spurs luxury public housing over-development blowback

 

The Real Deal 

 Developers have filed plans to build three more largely residential buildings in recently rezoned Gowanus.

Rabsky Group affiliate Galaxy Developers and Monadnock Development each submitted plans for a 22-story building with approximately 300 residential units at 395 Carroll Street and 155 3rd Street, respectively. Avery Hall Investments put in paperwork to build nearly 200 units at 653 Union Street.

A steady flow of Gowanus developments have been filed since October, when it became clear the rezoning would pass.

But that is not the only reason that project filings are piling up at the Department of Buildings. The scheduled expiration of 421a, a generous property tax break for residential construction, in June is prompting developers to get their foundations in the ground by then.

Largavista Companies filed plans to build a 46-story tower with 518 residential units at 30-05 Queens Boulevard in Long Island City. The building will span about 474,000 square feet.

Howard Hughes filed its application to build at 250 Water Street after slogging its way through the Landmarks Preservation Commission and City Council as opponents complained that the project is too tall.

The building clocks in at 26 stories with 324 residential units and 160,000 square feet of commercial space. The site, which abuts the high-rent Financial District, has been a parking lot for decades, despite several attempts to develop it.

Also in Queens, Albert Shirian’s Lions Group filed plans to build a 49-story tower with 363 residential units at 26-32 Jackson Avenue. The company secured construction financing for an adjacent residential project at 27-01 Jackson Avenue with 164 units across 27 stories, the Commercial Observer reported.