This fall, the inhabitants of New York will vote for four housing Measures of the ballot This applies to two main reasons for the lack of housing of the city: it takes too much time for housing construction, and it is too easy to block. Created by the Carter Revision revision commission, these proposals are aimed at quickly tracking the affordable housing and providing an approved city throughout the city, not in some areas.
The central element is question 2, which will create a quick path for the affordable housing funded by the city. This would allow projects that require repeated zones directed directly to the Council for standards and appeals, and not through Uniform land use review procedure (Ulurp) – The current process of the city, which requires several layers of view and often requires years to complete.
In addition, in 12 regions of public councils, which over the past five years have created the least affordable housing, projects instead will advance with the approval of the city planning commission, ensuring impulse, not expecting additional actions of the council.
The scale of the problem is overwhelming. In the period from 2014 to 2024, about 20,000 units of affordable housing passed through Ulurp. Many of these projects took several years to go through the process before the construction could even start. During this time, the rent has grown, construction costs have become aggravated, and the inhabitants of New York were left without houses that they could afford. It is simply unacceptable.
Question 2 will violate this cycle of delays and inaction, having established clear dates and reducing political narrow places, allowing you to deliver affordable housing when it is most necessary, and not over the years too late or even worse, not at all.
Reforms also consider a long -standing imbalance created by the “respect of the members”, the practice of the Council to deposit local members on land use. Although this can bring valuable contributions of communities, he also gave very uneven results.
Over the past 11 years, the 10 districts of the Council set more than 4,000 accessible houses, and three exceed 7000. Nevertheless, 10 other areas produced less than 300 units, and five – less than 100. In general, only 10 districts occurred More than half of the city’s affordable housingThe Pole 2 Pole will guarantee that each area helps to satisfy the needs of housing housing, more rightly distributing affordable houses in five areas.
Question 4 adds another guarantee by creating an appellation council for affordable housing, consisting of the mayor, the president of the district and a member of the city council. With two votes, the board can cancel the decisions of the Council that block or significantly weaken projects of affordable housing. This holds the advice in this process, ensuring that local policy does not interfere with the houses of the residents of New York.
In addition, question 3 will accelerate permission for small housing and infrastructure projects, cutting the red tape, which too often slows down even modest events. And question 5 modernizes urban planning, requiring a comprehensive digital mapping system. Together, questions from 2 to 5 form a balanced package of reform, which makes housing permissions faster and fair at the time when they need the most.
It is important to note that although they will make critical improvements for the current housing system, these reforms will not dismantle it. The approval process for large local pepponzons, such as Goavanus or Midtown South, and for most market development will remain unchanged. What is the question 4 is necessary in reverse. The Council on the same will be able to agree on improvements and provide public benefits, but it will no longer delay affordable housing for an indefinite period.
These measures also do not reduce the wider role of the Council in increasing accessibility. In recent years, the Council has gone beyond the agenda of the mayor, missing the frame of fair housing, increasing capital financing for housing, expanding assistance in CityFheps rental and supporting the city and for changes in zoning housing opportunities. These legislative and budget powers remain untouched.
Ultimately, the problem is directly in land use. When the 1989 Hartius Commission gave the Council a role in Ulurp, it was supposed to be an exception, not a rule. Over time, it became the point of view where projects are postponed, unwound or directly blocked. This obstruction is one of the reasons why New York is now facing Historically low vacancies rental level of only 1.4% And why are the families of the working class more and more often go beyond the areas.
If New York is seriously referring to the solution of our housing crisis, we must modernize our approval process. Residents of New York can stop delays and distribute affordable housing more fairly throughout the city, voting “yes” on issues 2, 3, 4 and 5.
It's time to choose progress over the dead end.
Payment He is the executive director New York Housing ConferenceField
