Through executive order 43, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is requiring city agencies to review their city owned and controlled land for potential housing development sites.
As New York City faces a generational affordable housing crisis with just a 1.4 percent rental vacancy rate, Adams says “bold, forward-thinking solutions” are needed to increase the supply of affordable housing across the city.
“If there’s any land within the city’s control that has even the remotest potential to develop affordable housing, our administration will take action,” Adams said. “To solve a generational affordable housing crisis, we must bring new innovative ideas to the table and activate all city agencies, whether they are directly involved in creating housing or not, to help deliver for New Yorkers.
“Today’s executive order is one of the many ways we will continue to exhaust every option to meet this crisis head on and fulfil our pledge of building 500,000 new housing units by 2032.”
Effective immediately, the executive order establishes the City Housing Activation Task Force, with representatives from mayoral agencies and other public entities. The task force will review land under the ownership and control of the city to identify potential sites for housing development, and develop guidelines to ensure agency policies promote housing production. All locations that can be used to further housing production or on adjacent or nearby sites without disruption to critical municipal operations will be considered.
“Adding to New York City’s affordable housing stock is absolutely necessary to combat the current housing crisis,” said New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “It is critical that we think outside the box and utilize every tool at our disposal in addressing the shortage in housing options, just as NYCHA is using the Public Housing Preservation Trust and PACT program to renovate properties across our portfolio in the face of a nearly $80 billion capital need.”
In June, Adams presented a budget with $2 billion in capital funds across FY25 and FY26 to HPD and NYCHA projects. In total, the Adams administration has committed a record $26 billion in housing capital in the current 10-year plan as the city faces a general housing crisis.
Last month a $500 million investment from the Battery Park City Authority’s Joint Purpose Fund was approved to build and maintain affordable housing.
“‘City of Yes for Housing Opportunity’ is all about ensuring that every neighborhood helps solve our housing crisis, and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and work with our sister agencies to build new income-restricted, affordable housing on city-owned land,” said New York City Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick. “Initiatives like this demonstrate our commitment to turning the tide on our housing shortage and building the homes that New Yorkers need.”
