More affordable units are coming to New York City, as another portion of Mayor Eric Adams' broad housing plan has been green-lighted to address the crisis.
Specifically, the New York City Council has approved the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan redevelopment in Brooklyn, which calls for approximately 4,600 homes, with 1,900, or about 41 percent, set aside for moderate- and lower-income residents. The area covers 21 blocks of Atlantic Avenue, as well as streets including Nostrand Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue.
To make new housing possible in the neighborhood, the Council agreed to update the rezoning in the area. According to Adams' office, the zoning requirements have, for the most part, blocked new housing from being built in the region since the 1960s.
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Additionally, Adams' administration will spend $235 million to improve tenant protections, bolster traffic safety, and upgrade open space, amenities, and infrastructure under the initiative. Moreover, the plan will produce 800,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, commercial space, community facilities, and manufacturing businesses.
“This action will stimulate significant private investment and benefits for Brooklyn neighborhoods along this stretch of Atlantic Avenue," Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO at Partnership for New York City, said in a statement.
This marks the second neighborhood plan led by the New York City Department of City Planning that was proposed by the Mayor, according to Adams. In total, Adams has introduced five of these. If all are approved, they could combine to deliver more than 50,000 housing units over the next decade and a half to NYC.
It comes after the Empire State Development (ESD) Board of Directors approved an office-to-residential conversion plan at 5 Times Square in Manhattan last week. The project will transform the 38-story skyscraper into 1,250 new homes, with up to 313 units permanently designated as affordable housing, along with setting aside 37,000 square feet of space for retail. Previously, Adams called to build 100,000 new homes in Manhattan over the next 10 years.
Also last week, Adams announced that the city would up its investment to $400 million to redesign Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, a popular shopping and commercial hub that attracts tourists. The goal is to make the area more pedestrian-friendly by expanding the sidewalks by 46 percent.
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Anthony Russo
Anthony Russo has been contributing to GlobeSt. since July 2024. Along with CRE, his financial background expands to capital markets, the economy, and consumer issues. Previously, he has written for CapitalWatch and was a senior reporter for The US Sun.
