A new NYC policy rebalances zoning powers in 12 city districts

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is about to show what a voter-approved shift in zoning authority could mean for affordable housing development in 12 of the city’s neighborhoods. Voters who elected him also approved an alternative approval route that removes the City Council from a slate of affordable housing decisions. Starting Jan. 1, qualifying rezonings will follow a 90-day review ending with the City Planning Commission, without a Council vote, for the next five years. Across the country, state lawmakers have used zoning preemption to loosen local officials’ grip on housing development. New York City’s voter-approved change offers another approach to overcoming local barriers to housing production. Rarely, however, has preemption gone to a statewide vote of the people. In a statewide first, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to reduce minimum lot sizes to improve housing affordability. The 12 New York City neighborhoods rank among the lowest producers of affordable housing units across the city. Of those, four are at the bottom of the city’s 59 community districts, producing less than 10 affordable homes in five years. Other districts have created eight times as many a...