STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week announced a new initiative aimed at accelerating the development of affordable housing on city-owned property across the five boroughs.
The program, called Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, establishes a pre-qualified roster of developers that will reduce pre-development time for new projects from 18 months to 10 months, Mamdani explained during a press conference in Bed- Stuy Brooklyn.
The initiative promises to deliver 1,000 new units across New York City while cutting construction timelines by up to two and a half years. Mamdani on Tuesday outlined construction projects in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The new tool, however, could in theory be used at a site anywhere in the city, including on Staten Island.
Mamdani said that combined with referendums passed last year, the plan streamlines the city’s affordable housing pipeline.
He went on to frame the program as a response to displacement pressures facing New Yorkers, particularly Black residents. City data underscores the concern, showing the population of Black children and teenagers declined 19% from 2010 to 2019.
Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg, executive director of Housing and Planning, said the announcement Tuesday is just “one component of the work we’re doing to deliver more housing faster.”
“Soon, we’re not only going to be developing this list of pre-qualified partners, but we’re going to be building hundreds of affordable homes on lots like the ones we’re standing on today,” said Bozorg.
Efforts to speed up the affordable housing process are made easier by former Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes rezoning win, which was a controversial topic on Staten Island.
Under Adams’ administration, the city approved 232 new affordable housing units and a new supermarket for Tompkinsville as a key component of the North Shore Action Plan.
S.I. housing proposals draw controversy
Last month, The Center for an Urban Future called on Mamdani to convert underutilized parking lots and vacant spaces at College of Staten Island, and other city campuses, into affordable housing.
The mayor’s Land Inventory Fast Track Task Force — formed in January by way of an executive order — continues to coordinate with CUNY on ways to use city-owned land where appropriate to advance the construction of affordable housing.
The project could generate between $30 million and $55 million annually for the city and City University of New York campuses, the non-profit estimated.
The proposal was met with pushback by some borough officials.
“We’re here today to say it’s a really bad and it’s a really dumb idea. It will hurt the students. It will hurt the faculty. It will just hurt the flow,” said Borough President Vito Fossella, a Republican, who called a press conference with other elected leaders.
Borough President Vito Fossella joined College of Staten Island Professor Jonathan R. Peters to oppose a proposal that could eliminate hundreds of parking spots on a campus where spaces are already limited outside the Willowbrook CUNY campus on Wednesday, Feb. 18.(Staten Island Advance/SILive.com|Nicolette Cavallaro)
“Let’s take away hundreds or who knows how many parking spots, which would only compromise the quality of life for the students and the faculty and College of Staten Island,” Fossella continued.
Council Minority Leader David Carr, a Republican who represents the Mid-Island and Brooklyn, also stated his disapproval for the idea.
“You’ll have to excuse me if I’m a little skeptical, when a ‘think tank’ whose board is filled with real estate developers and investors is proposing we seize property specifically preserved for affordable public education for everyone, in order to build more housing.”
Mayor walks back housing promise
Mamdani’s announcement Tuesday comes after he’s backed off a campaign promise regarding affordable housing, as the city faces a multi-billion dollar budget gap, ABC7 reported.
Mamdani is now appealing a court order that would force the city to expand its rent voucher program, an expensive plan meant to help low-income New Yorkers pay for housing. The court challenge was started by Adams and now continued by Mamdani.
When asked about the reversal in policy Tuesday at the press conference, Mamdani pointed to a budget deficit the city hasn’t seen in about 20 years.
“If the city were to drop its appeal, we are speaking about an expansion that would then cost over $4 billion in the next few years alone,” said the mayor.
“I am deeply committed to ending the homelessness crisis in the city … and also, I’m committed to doing so in a manner that is sustainable for both the medium and the long term. We continue to have those conversations with the Council about how we can chart exactly that course.”