A 15-35 losing record sounds pretty bad, but as far as Community Board support for pro-housing initiatives goes, it’s practically a win. That’s the current status of Mayor Adams’ City of Yes housing proposal , which would among other things allow larger housing developments that include affordable housing, eliminate parking requirements, and take other common-sense steps to build out more housing in a parched NYC. Four borough presidents are now also on board, but the actual determinative vote will come later this year with a vote by the City Council.
This is as good a test as any in recent memory for how New York’s progressive legislators respond to a real and concrete opportunity to carry out their ideals. Unfortunately, the conventional wisdom in some circles has long been that additional housing construction gentrifies neighborhoods by bringing new people and pushing local residents out. Decades out from that perception, there are piles of evidence showing the opposite is true.
In areas of high demand, as all of New York City essentially is, building more housing across income strata — from affordable through luxury, with the right mix dependent on the surrounding neighborhood — lets people find new places to live instead of competing for the artificially low supply. Plenty of economic dynamics are more complicated than the base supply-and-demand model that everyone learns in grade school, but there’s a reason that this is the default observation of markets..