Marte Is Sole “No” in Manhattan as “City of Yes” Gets City Council Approval
The approval of the housing zoning overhaul paves the way for the construction of 82,000 new housing units in NYC over the next fifteen years, Mayor Eric Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said.
| 09 Dec 2024 | 06:43
City Planning Commissioner Dan Garodnick (right) and Mayor Eric Adams Adams, at a September 2023 presser, outlining a sweeping zoning overhaul that finally passed the City Council on Dec. 5, 2024. (
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City Councilmember Christopher Marte, who represents Lower Manhattan, was the only politician from the borough to vote against the “City of Yes” housing overhaul. He believes it will not adequately mandate affordable construction. (
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City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (at podium), who struck a deal with Mayor Eric Adams to get the “City of Yes” passed, leading a rally promoting it at the City Hall rotunda on Dec. 3. It was approved by the full City Council on Dec. 5.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Eric Adams celebrating the passage of the “City of Yes” zoning overhaul, which is projected to create 82,000 new units over the next 15 years. (
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The New York City Council approved the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” zoning package by vote of 30-21 on Dec. 5, setting up the projected citywide construction of 82,000 new housing units over the next fifteen years.
City Councilmember Christopher Marte, who represents Lower Manhattan, differed from the rest of his colleagues in the borough by voting “no.” He’s argued for months that the “City of Yes” will end up being a developer boondoggle that won’t adequately mandate affordable construction. After the bill passed, he said that it will “cast a long shadow over the city.”
Proponents of the “City of Yes” zoning changes say that they will incentivize developers to construct “a little bit more affordable housing” in every NYC neighborhood, thereby chipping away at a dangerously and historically low apartment vacancy rate of 1.4 percent.
One headline change that will affect Manhattan–which is essentially classified as a “high-density” area under the package–will be the adoption of something known as Universal Affordability Preference (UAP), which gives developers the option of tacking on 20 percent more units per building as long as they’re permanently affordable. New high-density zoning districts, oriented around “high-demand central areas” near Manhattan transit hubs, will also reportedly see an uptick in affordable housing construction.
The universal abolition of parking minimums, which forces developers to build a certain amount of parking spaces in every new building, was scaled back somewhat due to opposition from certain outer-borough politicians. Manhattan already lacks such minimums below 96th St., although they will be cut back by 50 percent in the neighborhoods of Inwood and Washington Heights.
Mayor Eric Adams, who has made the package one of the signature initiatives of his administration, hailed its passage in a statement: “Today is a historic day in New York City, but, more importantly, for working-class New Yorkers...“I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to come together and collaborate on this landmark legislation, especially City Council Speaker Adams and Governor Hochul, the City Hall and agency teams that kept this plan moving forward no matter what, the advocates who knew we had to get this done, and everyday New Yorkers who made their voices heard. “
“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,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams secured $5 billion dollars in additional funding as part of a deal that guaranteed the package’s passage, which will go towards constructing additional affordable units. It will also be used to shore up city infrastructure.
”By taking a major step to address the housing shortage, while supporting existing homeowners and tenants, making housing more affordable, expanding homeownership opportunities, and strengthening the infrastructure of neighborhoods, we are advancing a safer and stronger city,” Speaker Adams said in a statement.
Dan Garodnick, who has been responsible for developing the “City of Yes” as NYC’s Department of City Planning Commissioner, also expressed gratitude for its success: “New York City’s housing crisis has persisted for so long that many assume high rents, scarce housing, and landlords holding all the cards are just a fact of life. But these outcomes are the result of policy choices, and today, we are officially choosing a new path.”