City Planning Approves Bronx River Rezoning for Affordable Housing

The City Planning Commission approved the development of a new 13-story building in Bronx River with 220 affordable housing units and retail space. On August 23, 2017, the New York City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application from the 1675 JV Associates, LLC for a zoning map and text amendment. The zoning map amendment will change the current residential district (R6) into a mixed-use district (R8A/C2-4), and the text amendment will establish … <Read More>


One Year Under Mandatory Rules Produces 4,700 Affordable Units

Mayor and City Council celebrate progress in production of affordable housing units since the passage of mandatory affordable rules one year ago. March 22, 2017, marked the one year anniversary of the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. The program, which requires developers to include permanently affordable housing whenever a special permit or a rezoning significantly increases the underlying potential residential floor area, has received both praise and chastisement from advocates and Council Members.


CityLand’s Top Ten Stories of 2016

ethics-headerWelcome to CityLand‘s fifth annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected a range of our most popular and prominent stories, and guest commentaries concerning New York City land use in 2016. Our fifth year as an online publication was marked by the fight to pass the Mayor’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan, proposed reforms to the building code to prevent illegal home conversions, and capped by the passage of state laws prohibiting … <Read More>


City Council no Longer a Rubber Stamp on Zoning Proposals

Panel of City Officials and industry leaders discussed NYC zoning and recent developments like Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability. On November 30, 2016, the Center for Real Estate Studies hosted a the breakfast forum, “Celebrating 100 Years of NYC Zoning: Setting the Future Agenda for Developers and Policy Makers.” Ross Moskowitz, a Partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, moderated a panel consisting of Commissioner Vicki Been, from the Department … <Read More>


City Council Rejects Proposed Rezoning of Inwood Site Needed for New Development with 50 Percent Affordable Housing

City Council rejected the first private application of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. On August 16, 2016, the City Council rejected a proposal to rezone a large corner lot in order to construct a new mixed-use development located at 4650 Broadway in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. Currently a two-story commercial building operating as a parking garage and U-Haul truck rental facility occupies the site. The original proposal from the developer, Acadia Sherman Avenue LLC, was to build a … <Read More>


Say Hello to Mandatory Inclusionary Housing!

Almost 55 percent of all renter households in New York City now pay more than 30 percent of their income towards housing costs, an increase of 11 percent since 2000. As a consequence, the City Planning Commission found that “many of the city’s neighborhoods are becoming less economically diverse, which poses a threat to the city’s economic competitiveness as well as to the opportunities available to lower-income New Yorkers.”

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing is one of … <Read More>