ALT Op-Ed | The Bronx needs fair housing and City of Yes can help By Brenda Rosen Posted on August 7, 2024

ALT The root of this crisis is supply. We aren’t building enough housing to keep up with demand or with New Yorkers’ diverse housing needs. In the Bronx, where the top-producing housing district over the past decade is located, the contrast in affordable housing production across neighborhoods is especially striking. In the top third of districts where new affordable housing was built, an average of 72 percent of residents are Black or Latinx, whereas in the bottom third of districts, only 35 percent of residents are Black or Latinx. This disparity underscores the need for equitable solutions to our housing crisis. While there is no single quick fix to tackle our housing and affordability crisis head-on, zoning reforms like the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity can ease barriers to adding more housing, especially more affordable housing, across all neighborhoods. These long-overdue updates to our zoning code reflect the needs of New York today. Small-scale, common-sense reforms would en

ALT We need to add housing at this scale in every neighborhood, and City of Yes can help us do that. Small tweaks to the city’s zoning code – like removing parking minimums to make more space for housing or giving developers that commit to building affordable housing a density bonus – can support the creation of over 150,000 new units of housing across the city over the next 15 years. Lifting parking mandates can also reduce construction costs, freeing up resources to create more affordable housing options. For every 1.2 parking spaces constructed, New York could instead add one studio apartment, directly addressing the city’s housing shortage. New York City’s housing crisis demands bold and equitable solutions. The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is a critical step in the right direction. It’s time for every neighborhood to contribute to the solution and embrace the growth and diversity that new housing brings. Together, we can build a more inclusive and affordable New York for all.