Here’s Where Affordable Housing Was Built Last Year—& Where It Wasn’t

In City Councilmember Chris Banks Brooklyn District which includes East New York Brownsville and East Flatbush saw the greatest number of income-restricted apartments built or preserved Meanwhile two districts in Eastern Queens and Manhattan s west side saw zero units Brooklyn s nd Council district represented by Chris Banks pictured produced the greatest amount of new housing last year John McCarten NYC Council Media Unit In New York City helped create or preserve affordable apartments a nearly percent boost compared to the average over the last five years Just over of those units were new construction the second highest number on record But the building boom didn t happen everywhere Certain neighborhoods led the way including Brooklyn s City Council District which spans East New York East Flatbush and Brownsville and central Bronx s District Meanwhile two districts in Eastern Queens and Manhattan s west side saw zero units according to an annual analysis by the New York Housing Conference NYHC disclosed this week The latest record follows similar trends as in previous years the districts that produced the the bulk affordable housing tended to be lower-income and predominantly home to Black and Latino residents Areas that saw inadequate new units had a higher average median income and more white residents the analysis shows Above The City Council districts that produced the majority of new affordable housing last year vs the districts that produced the least NYHC Housing Tracker The Bronx is really showing up once again as the top producers in affordable housing disclosed NYHC Executive Director Rachel Fee Over the last decade Bronx Council districts account for five of the areas that saw the greatest number of new units New affordable housing over the last decade by Council district Source New York Housing Conference s NYC Housing Tracker Next year s tally has the anticipated to look different Fee notes Last year state lawmakers replaced the expired a tax break for affordable housing developers with a new abatement initiative -x which is expected to incentivize more new construction And in December the City Council adopted a modified version of Mayor Eric Adams City of Yes for Housing plan a series of zoning rule changes to allow for greater residential density citywide what supporters say will help fill an historic housing shortage and curb rising homelessness But the plan faced opposition in a number of neighborhoods primarily low-density areas in the outer boroughs where residents voiced concerns about promising out-of-scale maturation and strain on existing infrastructure The final deal approved by the Council included a number of carveouts and modifications to appease that opposition and the local lawmakers who represent those areas who voted on the plan It retained minimum parking requirements for new rise in certain neighborhoods and reduced the reach of specific outer borough zones around inhabitants transit stations where extra density would ve been permitted We had a concern about the lack of infrastructure explained Councilmember Banks who was among the lawmakers who voted against the City of Yes plan thought it ultimately passed the Council by vote of -to- The proposed removal of parking requirements for new growth was particularly unpopular with his constituents Banks reported describing parts of his district as a transportation desert where residents rely on cars Still the Brooklyn lawmaker who took office at the start of revealed he was glad to see his district ranked highest when it came to new affordable units last year We re happy to be a model in a sense And we re hoping for more housing to come and housing that really meets the demands and the desires of the local neighborhood he noted Our focus now is to make sure that local residents who want to stay in the nd Council district get the opportunity to move into certain of those new apartments Banks added Just how much say councilmembers get when it comes to new housing in their districts is under debate A Charter Revision Commission convened by Mayor Adams to explore changes to the city s housing processes disclosed a preliminary review this week on the issues it s considering including the concept of member deference a custom in which the Council defers to the vote of the local member on land use applications in neighborhoods they represent Supporters of the tradition the description notes say it promotes political accountability in land use matters with communities able to hold local members responsible for land use decisions and if necessary vote members out On the other hand critics say member deference fuels the uneven production of affordable units across neighborhoods and stymies the city s overall efforts to address its housing shortage Councilmembers frequently use their power to block housing proposals altogether the Commission wrote pointing to an analysis that identified since at least units overall have been lost as a product of Council modifications to the scale of housing proposals or the withdrawal of housing proposals in the face of opposition The most of vital consequence of member deference is however the the majority intricate to measure the projects that are never even proposed the analysis notes If a promising project is in a district where a local member is likely to be hostile to new housing it rarely reaches the filing stage The Commission stated it will explore solutions to give borough- or city-wide perspectives greater weight in the decision-making process when it comes to land use applications that require general review But Councilmember Banks disagrees with this approach The power when it comes to land use necessities to stay within the Council It necessities be consistent with being a bottom-up approach that starts with population board review he announced I believe it s a power grab by the administration he added This would be a way to kind of basically move around the Council The Council has already passed decree aimed at addressing geographic disparities in housing production In lawmakers passed Speaker Adrienne Adams Fair Housing Framework which mandates the city come up with a housing plan every five years that sets production targets for each of the region districts though stops short of mandating rise A few housing groups including the New York Housing Conference have called for greater accountability for districts that don t meet those goals In its testimony to the Charter Revision Commission NYHC recommended ending the land use population review process with the City Planning Commission in districts that are not meeting their production targets bypassing the City Council vote in those instances The long time use of member deference even though it s an informal process has really shifted land use decisions in New York from what used to be something that really took into account more citywide necessities Now it s really about local control Fee announced And in a city where the latest housing vacancy rate was a dismal percent the lowest availability in more than years every single project makes a difference she added Each unit here is somebody s home and saying yes to housing is giving somebody that opportunity Fee reported To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint agenda here The post Here s Where Affordable Housing Was Built Last Year Where It Wasn t appeared first on City Limits