by: Bria Donohue
After a year of tireless advocacy, the New York City Land Use Committee is expected to vote tomorrow, November 21, on the proposed zoning text amendment, City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. At this time, all changes to the zoning text will be locked in, meaning no additional changes to the zoning can be made in between this week’s committee vote and the full City Council vote on December 5. The negotiations between the City Council and the Adams Administration have been lengthy, trying to find a balance with changes to the zoning proposal and Speaker Adams’ City of All plan. The key remaining areas of discussion are parking, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and funding.
Based on reporting from Politico, the state of the negotiations are as follows:
- Full elimination of parking mandates is unlikely to pass; instead, a tiered system of parking minimums reductions with variations in parts of the city is being discussed
- Geographic limitations for ADUs are being considered
- Commitment for additional dollars for subsidized housing and tenant protections in the next budget as well as infrastructure investment (e.g.: sewers) are being negotiated
AIA New York has been in staunch support of the proposed zoning amendment and has been advocating for City of Yes to be passed in as complete a version as possible, understanding that improvements to zoning are one piece of the puzzle to address our housing crisis.
On Monday, November 18, AIANY joined the Administration and our partners in the Yes to Housing Coalition and Labor to urge the City Council to say YES to City of Yes. Shams De Baron’s remarks at the rally put into perspective what we are fighting for and how personal the issue of housing is (start at 14:32).
The push for City of Yes does not end after the Land Use Committee’s vote. There are two more weeks before the full City Council will vote on the proposed text amendment, so any opportunity to express your support for the proposal to your Council Member is vital. Contact your representative to let them know that you, as a constituent, are supportive and why/how it impacts you. Your voice matters and will have a major impact on getting City of Yes across the finish line.