Year in Review: DCP Enacts Historic City of Yes Initiatives, Advances Ambitious Neighborhood Plans, and More in 2024

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For Immediate Release

December 20, 2024

Contacts:

Casey Berkovitz, Joe Marvilli – press@planning.nyc.gov (212) 720-3471

Year in Review: Department of City Planning Enacts Historic City of Yes Initiatives, Advances Ambitious Neighborhood Plans, and More in 2024

2024 Saw the Approval of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and Economic Opportunity, Most Significant Update to City’s Zoning Since 1961

Neighborhood Plans Throughout New York City Moved Forward, Including the Adoption of the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan, Bringing Homes and Jobs to the East Bronx

NEW YORK – Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick today released a list of momentous wins and milestones achieved over the past 12 months that will improve the lives of New Yorkers for years to come. In 2024, DCP enacted the most significant update to the city’s Zoning Resolution in over 60 years, through City of Yes for Economic Opportunity and City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. These historic citywide initiatives will generate economic success across the five boroughs, and alleviate New York City’s housing crisis by allowing for a little more housing in every neighborhood.

As City of Yes moved through public review, DCP also implemented the Bronx Metro-North Station Area plan to encourage housing and economic growth around new rail stations, and advanced neighborhood plans to bring much-needed homes, jobs, and infrastructure improvements to communities in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

“From day one, our administration has focused on creating a safer, more affordable New York City. In 2024, we continued to deliver on that vision and ‘Get Stuff Done’ for working-class New Yorkers,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Thanks to our extraordinary public servants, America’s safest big city got even safer this year, with overall crime down and thousands of illegal guns, mopeds, and ghost cars taken off city streets. We passed historic legislation to turn New York into a ‘City of Yes,’ shattered affordable housing records once again, and put billions of dollars back into New Yorkers’ pockets. We broke records for the most jobs and small businesses in city history and moved millions of trash bags off our sidewalks and into containers. But we know that there is even more we can do to continue to uplift working-class families. As we look to the future, our administration remains committed to keeping New Yorkers safe and making our city more affordable for the millions of New Yorkers who call our city home.”

“Thanks to City of Yes and other bold planning initiatives, future New Yorkers will look back at this year as the moment that we turned the tide on housing and set our city on a more affordable, prosperous, and sustainable path," said Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick.

Highlights from the third year of the Adams administration include:

Passing the most significant pro-housing reform in New York City history: The City Council’s approval of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity will allow for a little more housing in every neighborhood through a suite of historic zoning updates. These include legalizing small accessory dwelling units (ADU), permitting three-, four-, and five-story apartment buildings near transit and along commercial corridors, encouraging more income-restricted affordable housing citywide, rolling back parking mandates, and more. The initiative, as adopted, is expected to enable 82,000 new homes over the next 15 years and comes with $5 billion for critical infrastructure and housing.

Updating zoning to help small businesses open and thrive: DCP celebrated the City Council’s approval of City of Yes for Economic Opportunity, a series of changes to update zoning for a modern economy that will bolster the city’s industrial sector, revitalize commercial corridors, foster vibrant streetscapes, and boost growing industries, such as life sciences, nightlife, amusements, and urban agriculture.

Leveraging new Metro-North stations to create thousands of new homes and jobs: Adopted in August, the once-in-a-lifetime Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan will complement new Metro-North stations coming to the Bronx with approximately 7,000 homes, including permanently income-restricted affordable homes, as well as 10,000 permanent jobs, improved public spaces, and enhanced transit access to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Kicking off public review on the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan: This community-led proposal aims to bring around 4,600 new homes and income-restricted homes, 2,800 permanent new jobs, and community investments to a 21-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue, including neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, where restrictive zoning has prevented residential development and job growth. This plan is moving through public review, and has received conditional favorable recommendations from Brooklyn Community Boards 3 and 8.

Revealing details on the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan: DCP’s draft plan for Midtown South would map new high-density residential districts to generate around 9,700 homes, up to 2,800 of them permanently income-restricted, across 42 blocks where housing today is not permitted. By expanding housing, bolstering economic activity, and enlivening the public realm, this plan will help to foster vibrant, 24/7 mixed-use neighborhoods in this part of Manhattan. This plan is currently finalizing environmental review and will certify to begin public review in early 2025.

Moving full-steam ahead on the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan: Developed through sustained community engagement, DCP’s draft zoning proposal for the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan would bring thousands of new homes and income-restricted homes as well as considerable commercial and industrial space to this vital Queens neighborhood. The plan also includes infrastructure investments, improved transit access and open space, job training, and more. This plan is currently in environmental review and will complete public review in 2025.

Advancing the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan towards public review: Building on extensive public outreach, DCP’s draft proposal for the Long Island City Neighborhood Plan would facilitate the creation of around 14,000 new homes, including at least 4,000 income-restricted affordable homes, allow for more than three million square feet of new commercial space, and improve waterfront access and the public realm. This plan is currently in environmental review and will complete public review in 2025.

Implementing ‘Green Fast Track’: Now in effect, the ‘Green Fast Track for Housing’ is a streamlined environmental review process for small- and medium-sized housing projects that use all-electric heating. The changes will cut up to two years and $100,000 of red tape for these projects, getting more homes built faster and helping to address our housing and climate crises.

Launching the New York City Industrial Plan: This comprehensive framework looks to support the development of a modern, sustainable industrial economy that provides good-paying jobs for New Yorkers. After garnering feedback from New Yorkers and industrial businesses, the city will prepare a final version of the plan by the end of 2025.

Naming a new leadership team for DCP’s Queens office: DCP announced the appointment of Lin Zeng and Kathi Ko to respectively serve as Director and Deputy Director of the agency’s Queens Office, whose work program includes advancing the Long Island City and Jamaica Neighborhood Plans.

Publishing the Principles of Good Urban Design: With the release of this award-winning guidebook, New Yorkers from all walks of life will be better able to put the Principles of Good Urban Design into action in their own communities, whether they’re planners, developers, civic leaders, or any New Yorker who wants to help shape the future of their neighborhood.

Updating Population Factfinder with 2020 census race and ethnicity data: Further enhancing DCP’s renowned Population Factfinder tool, this detailed race and ethnicity data for all groups was published by the U.S. Census Bureau for the first time and more extensively reveals the breadth of New York City’s diversity.

Releasing groundbreaking new data on small business growth: This analysis from DCP shows a notable reduction in storefront vacancies across the city, with roughly one in three storefront businesses opening since 2020. Policies like public realm improvements, support for local nonprofits, and less red tape for entrepreneurs have helped bolster the city’s economic recovery.

Congratulating this year’s youth engagement curriculum graduates: DCP applauded the 45 high school seniors from The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology in Mott Haven, the Bronx, who graduated from our youth engagement curriculum course, which teaches young people about planning concepts to help them become civic leaders and advocates in their communities.

Debuting new online platform to help Community Boards share funding priorities: This new tool makes it easier than ever for Community Boards to submit their budget requests through the Community District Needs process, which helps ensure responsive neighborhood and infrastructure planning and equitable and efficient delivery of services to communities.

Department of City Planning

The Department of City Planning (DCP) plans for the strategic growth and development of the City through ground-up planning with communities, the development of land use policies and zoning regulations applicable citywide, and its contribution to the preparation of the City’s 10-year Capital Strategy. DCP promotes housing production and affordability, fosters economic development and coordinated investments in infrastructure and services, and supports resilient, sustainable communities across the five boroughs for a more equitable New York City.

In addition, DCP supports the City Planning Commission in its annual review of approximately 450 land use applications for a variety of discretionary approvals. The Department also assists both government agencies and the public by advising on strategic and capital planning and providing policy analysis, technical assistance and data relating to housing, transportation, community facilities, demography, zoning, urban design, waterfront areas and public open space.