City Planning Hears Application for Affordable Housing for Seniors and New Venue for Church in Soundview

The new building will enable the church to provide more services to the local community. On June 8, 2022, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for an application for a mixed use residential and community facility building at 1810 Randall Avenue in the Soundview section of the Bronx. The building, Casa de la Fe, will also hold a church. The applicants are the church, the Second Pentecostal Church of God La Hermosa, and <Read More>


Mayor Announces Proposed Zoning Changes to Affordable Housing, Small Business Restrictions and Sustainability

The zoning text amendments are in development and will be drafted with input from stakeholders before undergoing public review later this year. On June 1, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan for a series of new zoning text amendments and programs aimed at removing obstacles for the recovery of small businesses, increased affordable housing, and the expansion of green technology to promote sustainability. The three zoning text amendments – the Zoning for Economic Opportunity, … <Read More>


City Council Votes to Create Task Force to Study Conversion of Vacant or Unviable Office Space for Other Uses

A switch to remote work for many companies has left more office space vacant, and possibly available for different uses. On December 15, 2021, the City Council voted to approve Int. 2246-A, which creates a task force to study the potential of conversion of vacant and/or commercially unviable office space for different uses. The bill aims to address questions about how to best handle changing uses of office space for businesses, many of whom have <Read More>


State Legislature Passes Law to Fund Hotel and Office Conversion to Affordable Housing

The properties will be owned, operated and managed by selected nonprofit organizations. On June 9, 2020, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act. The Bill, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, allows New York State to partner with nonprofit organizations to finance the acquisition and conversion of distressed hotels and commercial office space into affordable housing.


NYC Mayoral Candidates Land Use Policy Recap

The Mayoral Election will help shape the City’s land use and housing policymaking decisions. Between now and June 20th, early voting is available for the NYC Primary, in which New Yorkers will help decide who will be the next Mayor of New York City. Over the course of their campaigns, mayoral candidates have developed and shared their positions on a variety of land use and housing issues including developing affordable housing, handling the eviction and <Read More>


Reducing Racial Bias Embedded in Land Use Codes

Even though the Supreme Court struck down race-based land use controls over a hundred years ago in Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917) it has long been known that zoning continues to create or increase racial and economic segregation. Today communities across the U.S. are reexamining their zoning regulations to create more equal, equitable, inclusive, and resilient communities by removing requirements, limitations, or prohibitions that disproportionately and negatively impact individuals based on race … <Read More>