Ahead of the 2017 season, Johansen and his NYCFC teammates Jack Harrison and Ronald Matarrita earned U.S. green cards. Since the start of the 2017 season, he continued to remain on the substitute bench behind new signing Sean Johnson. After Johnson’ absent due to his international commitment at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Johansen made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against Minnesota United on 29 June 2017. In a follow–up match, he made another appearance for the club against Vancouver Whitecaps, as the club lost 3–2. Following Johnson’s return, Johansen returned back to the substitute bench for the rest of the 2017 season and he went on to make two appearances in all competitions. Following this, Johansen was released by NYCFC on 27 November 2017.