N.Y.C. Housing Plan Moves Forward With an Unexpected $5 Billion Boost

A major plan seeking to address New York City’s housing crisis won approval from a City Council committee in a key vote on Thursday, bolstered by an unexpected pledge of $5 billion in city and state funds for affordable housing and infrastructure projects.

The plan, known as City of Yes, is designed to ease restrictions that have made large-scale housing growth difficult, and represents the most significant overhaul of New York’s zoning regulations in decades. City officials estimate the changes could make way for 80,000 additional homes.

The plan was passed by the Council’s Land Use Committee in an 8-to-2 vote. The hearing was delayed for hours as opponents — including some council members who represent neighborhoods with more single-family homes — successfully fought to slightly water down some of the original proposal.

The plan that the committee approved still left most of the initiative’s key elements intact, but softened requirements over parking mandates and tightened the ways homeowners will be allowed to add apartments on their properties.

The plan — which now goes to the full Council for a vote on Dec. 5, where it is expected to pass — was a top priority for Mayor Eric Adams and has been seen as a key test of his influence after his indictment in September on federal corruption charges.

It was also an opportunity for the City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams, to assert her own influence by adding some of her housing priorities, including additional funding for affordable housing.