New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a comprehensive plan to solve the city’s housing issue and laid the groundwork for the construction of 100,000 new houses in the Big Apple.
On Thursday, Adams revealed the greatest housing makeover in decades at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. His ‘groundbreaking’ ideas may see construction limitations near subway stations and above laundromats, bodegas, and one-level residential units removed, allowing for five-story additions.
New construction might be significantly larger if affordable housing is included, one- and two-family homes could gain permission to convert basements, attics, and garages into flats, and red tape around converting business buildings may be erased.
‘Zoning rules in New York City have scarcely altered since 1961,’ Adams explained. ‘The continuous housing crisis is at the basis of so many of the difficulties we confront.’
The measures will help a city that is in severe need of inexpensive accommodation to absorb an inflow of migrants – 110,000 have already arrived – and a burgeoning homeless population.
After US Census statistics revealed that an unprecedented 404,750 individuals fled the city between 2020 and 2022, Adams is aiming to change present restrictions that have hampered housing expansion in NYC.
If Adams’ demand is granted, the new ideas would allow for construction on practically every street corner in New York City.
‘This is not tweaking around the margins; this is pioneering – literally – by erasing history’s wrongs,’ Adams added.
Since the spring of 2022, more than 110,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the city, with more than 10,000 entering each month.
According to a new report, homelessness in New York City is up 18% over last year, with 4,042 individuals sleeping in subways or on the streets.
‘By rewriting history’s wrongs, this plan will enable us to build a little more housing in each neighborhood, incentivize affordable housing, build more housing near transit hubs, convert unused office space into apartments, renew our commercial corridors, assist small homeowners in building better spaces on their property, and, finally, prioritize people over parking,’ said the mayor.
One plan would enable apartment buildings up to five storeys tall to be built on top of laundromats and bodegas in several communities outside of Manhattan where it is presently prohibited.
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NYC Mayor Adams Proposes Housing Expansion and Parking Reform
Adams also wants to make it simpler for one- and two-family houses to convert underused space in the city, such as basements, attics, and garages, into apartments.
He also promises to enable larger structures in the city if they incorporate affordable housing, and he wants to abolish the need for new buildings to have parking spots, which has previously held back many developers.
If his ideas are implemented, developers would find it simpler to convert office facilities into flats, and smaller apartment sizes will be made lawful.
As bold as the proposals for the city are, they might take years to implement and must be approved by the municipal council.
Adams campaigned on pledges to alleviate the housing issue, yet his prior housing initiatives have failed.
According to real estate firm Douglas Elliman, the average rent in Manhattan in August was $5,552.
In accordance with the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are 655,940 affordable and available rental houses for extremely low income residents in New York.
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Source: Daily Mail
