Starting Jan. 1 next year, New York City will cut the rezoning review period from 210 days to 90 in 12 community districts that have built almost no affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents. The districts include Bayside, Auburndale and Douglaston (Queens Community District 11), all areas with large Korean American populations, as well as Bay Ridge in Brooklyn and the Upper West Side and Upper East Side in Manhattan. Over the past five years, these 12 districts built just 1.1% of the 63,870 affordable homes citywide. Environmental review and landmark protections remain unchanged, and the community board and borough president comment steps are preserved.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on the 1st designated 12 districts that have built almost no affordable housing as targets for a "fast track." Affordable housing refers to apartments offered at below-market rents to low- and middle-income households that meet income requirements. Starting Jan. 1 next year, the public review period for rezoning applications to build affordable housing in these areas will be shortened from about 210 days to 90.
Bayside, Home to Many Korean Americans, Is on the List
Five districts in Queens were designated: Auburndale, Bayside and Douglaston (Community District 11), where many Korean Americans live; Corona and Elmhurst (CD 4); Ridgewood, Maspeth and Middle Village (CD 5); South Ozone Park and Howard Beach (CD 10); and Queens Village, Bellerose and Rosedale (CD 13).
In Brooklyn, three districts were chosen: Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights (CD 10), Borough Park and Kensington (CD 12), and Canarsie and Flatlands (CD 18). In Manhattan, the list includes the Upper West Side (CD 7) and the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island (CD 8). In Staten Island, it includes Mid-Island (CD 2) and the South Shore (CD 3). Queens Community District 7, which includes Flushing, was not on the list.
Neighborhoods That Built Just 1.1% in Five Years
The selection criteria follow a formula the city set last April, which compared the amount of affordable housing produced in each community district with its existing housing stock. Under that measure, these 12 districts built just 1.1% of the 63,870 new affordable homes created citywide over the past five years. That works out to an average of about 12 homes per district per year, and four districts built fewer than 10 homes over the entire five years.
The program is based on a City Charter amendment approved by voters last November. Intended to correct the imbalance in which affordable housing is concentrated in certain neighborhoods, it requires the districts with the least production to be reselected every five years. The next reselection is in October 2031.
What Gets Faster, and What Stays the Same
What speeds up is the public review process for rezoning, known as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). The steps in which community boards and borough presidents give their input remain, but the overall timeline is compressed to 90 days. Environmental impact review and landmark protections do not change. In other words, no rule that blocked construction is being removed; rather, a proposal to build affordable housing will get a decision four months sooner.
Mayor Mamdani has set a goal of building 200,000 new affordable homes and preserving another 200,000 over 10 years. The fast track is a tool to draw that supply into neighborhoods that have so far stayed on the sidelines. The mayor said, "Every neighborhood must be part of building more housing," and the Department of City Planning described it as a new tool for correcting disparities between districts.
Bayside and Douglaston, where single-family homes predominate, have long seen strong opposition to high-density development. The designation does not mean any particular site will be developed right away, but once a rezoning proposal that includes affordable housing is filed, a decision will come much faster than before. It is a change that is likely to divide homeowners and renters. The Department of City Planning plans to hold an online information session on Dec. 3 to explain the process.