NYC Council passes Mayor Adams’ controversial ‘City of Yes’ housing plan

The City Council on Thursday passed Mayor Eric Adams’ controversial and ambitious plan to build 80,000 new housing units across the Big Apple over the next 15 years.

The initiative — known as “City of Yes” — was approved in a 31-20 vote after months of tense negotiations in City Hall as Hizzoner seeks to address the city’s housing and affordability crisis.

“Today is a historic day in New York City, but, more importantly, for working-class New Yorkers. We showed the nation that government can still be bold and brave by passing the most pro-housing piece of legislation in city history,” Adams said after the vote.

“Our administration proposed and fought hard for this proposal for more than a year, and now New Yorkers are the ones who will benefit from lower rent.”

The new legislation — which includes a $5 billion investment to build tens of thousands of new dwellings — aims, in part, to add more homes in basements and above stores by adjusting a massive slate of zoning rules for the first time in decades.

The plan is also designed to change off-street parking requirements for new construction and allow homeowners to build apartments on single-family lots in an attempt to spur more housing production.

Developers, too, can now build 20% more housing as part of their construction projects — as long as it is affordable.

“Our only shot at solving New York’s affordability crisis is by building more housing — and that’s why I’m committing $1 billion for projects that will make ‘City of Yes’ a reality,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. 

“I signed the most powerful pro-housing legislation in three generations earlier this year, but the work is far from over. That’s why it’s critical for New York City to move forward with zoning reforms that will create more of the homes New Yorkers so desperately need.” 

Still, more than a dozen councilmembers attempted to veto the plan — arguing their districts didn’t have the infrastructure to support such population growth and fears from locals that the “character of their neighborhoods” would change.

“My constituents fear the proposal will irreparably change the character of their neighborhoods, opening the floodgates for developers to build and construct with no concern for their interests and destroy generations of families that will be uprooted,” Democratic Brooklyn councilmember Chris Banks said.

Queens councilman Bob Holden, also a Democrat, added that the plan is “a developer’s dream and a neighborhood’s nightmare.”

“It’s really egregious that we’re turning over many decisions to developers,” Holden said.

“The guarantee of $5 billion dollars is not worth the paper it was printed on.”