New York City affordable home developers facing frustrations with long waiting times for the approval process just got some good news. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a new program, Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, which will cut the time needed to review pre-development Request for Proposals and allow affordable projects on city-owned land to hit the market much quicker.
The new initiative aims to cut the process by eight months and reduce the typical time needed to select an affordable housing developer by almost half. The Housing Preservation and Development will pre-qualify affordable housing constructors to support the speedier timetable.
According to the Mamdani administration, the program applies to "certain projects," with a focus on women-owned businesses, minority and non-profit organizations. For those who qualify, the HPD will release Request for Qualifications (RFQ) due May 8th.
The city announced that the Neighborhood Builders process will be used at the following locations so far: 784-800 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, 109-43 Farmers Boulevard in Queens and 1337 Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. These three sites are expected to result in as many as 300 new affordable homes in NYC.
The Neighborhood Builders Fast Track is estimated over the next two years to advance the development of up to 1,000 new homes.
"New York City needs more affordable housing, built faster and at lower cost — and HPD is not waiting to deliver it," Dina Levy, HPD commissioner, said in a statement.
"The Neighborhood Builders Fast Track will reduce costs, speed up timelines, and maximize affordability. Public land is a public good — and we will not let city-owned sites sit idle while New Yorkers struggle to find an affordable home."
While Mamdani campaigned on making the cost of living more affordable and freezing rents, he also endorsed a ballot proposal last November to fast-track affordable housing applications, which NYC voters passed overwhelmingly. This led to the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure, which takes the review process down to 90 days.
Overall, the new Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, coupled with the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure, will cut the pre-development process by two years, according to the Mamdani administration.
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