New York is targeting the construction and preservation of 400,000 affordable housing units over the next decade — split evenly between 200,000 new units and 200,000 preserved — as the city faces a record-low 1.4% rental vacancy rate and rising market rents.
Outlined in a 112-page plan titled “Block by Block,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal calls for that combined total of affordable units and is backed by what the administration describes as a historic $22 billion capital commitment over five years. About 70% of New Yorkers rent, according to the city.
The plan pairs new construction goals with expanded tenant protections, increased investment in public housing and new financing tools.
With the city’s Rent Guidelines Board set to decide June 25 on rent levels for rent-stabilized units — including a potential rent freeze the mayor has supported — the plan also outlines measures to offset rising building costs. Those include a city-backed insurance program for regulated housing and efforts to streamline façade repair requirements, including a pilot program using human-monitored drones to reduce inspection costs. The city said operating costs for apartment buildings have risen sharply since 2020.
“I am genuinely disappointed. This proposal is severely lacking. … He appears to have ignored the most immediate crisis facing his administration: the severe fiscal distress in stabilized housing.”
At the same time, officials said they will more aggressively target poorly maintained buildings by using legal tools to remove negligent landlords and property managers from day-to-day control. The administration also supports expanding tenant unions.
The city is backing the proposed Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, which would give nonprofits and qualified buyers the first chance to bid on certain multifamily properties and the right to match competing offers — a policy industry professionals say could reshape transaction dynamics in parts of the rental market.
The plan also includes what it describes as the largest city capital investment in the New York City Housing Authority in recent history. NYCHA, the nation’s largest public housing system, houses more than 500,000 residents. The Mamdani administration is seeking a renewed role for the agency as a public developer, supported by new financing tools to build additional housing.
“This plan will reboot NYCHA as a public developer for the first time in generations,” Mamdani said Tuesday at a news conference.
New financing tools, faster approvals
Among those tools is a city-backed revolving loan fund designed to finance NYCHA redevelopment projects upfront and recycle returns into future housing investments. The city said the structure offers an alternative to “higher-cost private equity financing” and other financing tools.
The fund will first be used at the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses in Manhattan, where a redevelopment effort involving a joint venture that includes Related Cos. is expected to replace 2,056 existing public housing apartments and add thousands of mixed-income units. Revenue from those units would repay the city loan and support future projects.
To boost production, the city also plans to fast-track development in neighborhoods that have produced relatively little affordable housing. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, projects in the 12 community districts with the lowest recent production — which the city has yet to identify — will be eligible for a shortened public review process capped at 90 days, down from roughly seven months.
The plan also emphasizes transit-oriented development and proposes changes aimed at adding housing in historic districts. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will study where accessory dwelling units can be added and explore ways to make it easier for landmarked buildings to transfer unused development rights.
In addition, the administration is seeking to establish a $40 per-hour minimum wage and benefit standard for construction workers on city-financed projects.
“From building 200,000 new affordable homes and preserving 200,000 more, overhauling how we enforce housing codes, investing in public housing, and making sure the workers building our city’s future earn a fair wage, this administration is using every tool at its disposal to meet the moment,” Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said in a statement.
Concerns emerge
The real estate industry response has been mixed.
“I am genuinely disappointed,” New York Apartment Association CEO Kenny Burgos said in a statement. “This proposal is severely lacking. … He appears to have ignored the most immediate crisis facing his administration: the severe fiscal distress in stabilized housing. This proposal repeats the mistakes of prior administrations and continues to kick the can. … Thousands of buildings are bankrupt. Yet the administration continues to propose half-measures and small fixes around the edges, and suggests that is good enough. It’s not.”
James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said the group is still reviewing the proposal but raised concerns about potential increases in development costs.
“At a time when we need to build as much housing as possible, we question why the city would choose to make projects more expensive to build and finance through the addition of costly and inflexible” project labor agreements, he said. “New York won’t solve its housing supply crisis by undercutting its own laudable production goals.”