{"id":313027,"date":"2026-08-04T00:56:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313027\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T00:56:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:56:27","slug":"mamdani-breaks-ground-on-50k-affordable-homes-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/313027\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani breaks ground on 50K affordable homes in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed three executive orders to fulfill his housing agenda, including the development of the Land Inventory Fast Track<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LIFT is described as a \u201cmulti-agency effort to identify city-controlled land that is suitable for housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exactly eight months later, the mayor has broken ground on his large-scale affordable housing project<\/a>, which will ultimately utilize more than 100 city-owned sites to build an estimated 50,000 new affordable homes for New Yorkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with the ground-breaking is a new interactive tracking tool, aptly called the LIFT Tracker<\/a>, which is a map available to any member of the public, showing real-time progress on these housing projects and available land across the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"MapScreenshot via The Office of the NYC Mayor<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many New Yorkers are being priced out of their homes. We have a responsibility to use every tool we have to build the affordable housing our city needs,\u201d Mamdani said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe LIFT tracker brings transparency to that work and makes clear that City-owned land is not sitting idle \u2014 it is becoming homes, libraries and community space across the five boroughs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to supporting Mamdani\u2019s \u201cBlock by Block\u201d housing plan<\/a>, which charts a path to creating 200,000 new affordable homes over the next decade, LIFT also highlights opportunities to build public amenities, like libraries and other neighborhood services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s office said it will \u201cmaintain an aggressive pace,\u201d issuing requests for proposals to develop housing on five or more new city-owned sites each year during his time in office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A recently adopted city budget<\/a> makes this effort possible; It invests a historic $22 billion in affordable housing over the next five years, including $5 billion in capital funding for affordable housing over the next two years, according to the mayor\u2019s office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani charged us with exploring how we can best use city-owned land to deliver the housing that New Yorkers need \u2014 and we are delivering,\u201d Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning, said in a press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have already taken tangible steps forward on more than a dozen projects on public land that will create more than 5,000 new homes, and we are bringing unprecedented public transparency and engagement into this project with the release of the new LIFT tracker. We\u2019ll continue our work to advance housing on public sites across the five boroughs, using every tool at our disposal to speed up these projects and identify creative ways to maximize our resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ABozorg speaks in Astoria, Queens in May 2026. Ed Reed\/Mayoral Photography Office<\/p>\n

One such project is The Orion<\/a>, a new development in Hunter\u2019s Point South, a long-vacant Queens site. The mixed-use building will include affordable housing, a daycare center, workforce development support, an indoor community pool, and commercial retail space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the mayor\u2019s office, it will provide approximately 1,000 new homes in the area, 650 of which will be income-restricted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our city in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis, The Orion \u2026 is exactly the kind of investment we need in neighborhoods like Long Island City, where the cost of living continues to rise,\u201d Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must leave no stone unturned as we seek to increase our city\u2019s housing supply, and I am thrilled that this long-vacant lot will be turned into beautiful new homes for hundreds of Queens families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoMamdani and a Queens resident discuss housing in March 2026. Ed Reed\/Mayoral Photography Office<\/p>\n

On the morning of August 3, Mamdani joined partners and members of the press to speak at a groundbreaking ceremony<\/a> of another new project, Casanova Residence<\/a> in the Bronx.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a 100% affordable housing project that will transform the lives of hundreds of New Yorkers here in the Bronx,\u201d Mamdani said, later noting the \u201cintentional city government disinvestment\u201d of the Hunts Point community, which he called \u201cneglect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of this neighborhood refused to let destruction become their norm,\u201d he rallied. \u201cThe livable, walkable streets where we stand today are proof of residents coming together \u2026 to demand something better.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now, Mamdani promised, it\u2019s time for the city to deliver, with the new development featuring 96 affordable homes, 58 units for those with a history of homelessness, case management, financial literacy and work training courses, legal referrals, and more supportive services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents will also have free broadband internet access in the building, on-site laundry, a fitness center, and more community spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is just one example of our broader efforts to rewrite the relationship between city government and the people of the Bronx,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand here today with a commitment to bring that era of disinvestment to an end. This groundbreaking here at Casanova Residences stands as proof of what this commitment will look like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

You may also like: Mamdani promised public grocery stores. Now he’s opening NYC’s first city-funded pet food pantry, too<\/a><\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

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