NEW YORK, NY — JUNE 24, 2024 — Regional Plan Association (RPA) released today a new report titled City of Yes and Missing Middle Housing which is the second in a series examining how policy-makers and housing advocates can conceive of and build “missing middle” density housing through zoning reforms such as those proposed by the New York City Department of City Planning under the Adams administration known as “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity.”
This latest report in RPA’s two-part series examines the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” program’s promotion of missing middle-density buildings and the role they could play in distributing housing production more equitably across the city. The first report, How Six Cities are Creating Missing Middle Housing An Introductory Review & Case Studies, laid out what “missing middle” density housing is, what it isn’t, and explores case studies of communities who have achieved it.
This second, NYC-focused report looks at the impact the Adams’ Administrations “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” zoning reform program would have on the region’s stock, and in so doing, builds upon recent analysis conducted by McKinsey & Company for RPA which found that the region is facing a deficit of approximately 540,000 housing units, a figure that could grow by almost double in 2035 if trends are not corrected.
Current zoning regulations in New York City limit the construction of housing in many neighborhoods, even in places with good transportation and access to jobs. Restrictive zoning includes prescriptive use groups and bulk regulations, as well as excessive parking requirements. Together, they pose significant obstacles to building housing, creating financial burdens, and hidden costs for renters and prospective homeowners. The citywide City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning proposal would address these challenges by enabling more homes across all five boroughs.
Other key findings from the analysis including:
The “City of Yes” initiative proposes to reintroduce middle-density buildings with Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in the outer boroughs, enabling Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), encouraging Town Centers, and eliminating parking minimums. Together, they represent a holistic and interconnected strategy to expand housing stock more equitably in every neighborhood.
Among the 314,000 parcels zoned as single-family dwellings, approximately 142,000 have appropriate dimensional characteristics for ADU construction or two-family dwelling units.
Recent RPA analysis shows how lifting parking requirements already serves as a critical element in boosting affordable housing production with the production of new affordable units increasing by 36% in the limited areas where parking requirements had been lifted, and units with the deepest affordability rose most precipitously, with a 64% increase in units for 50% AMI households and a 63% increase in units for 30% AMI households.
These summary points offer a high-level view at the in-depth analysis the RPA report provides and will be a critical resource for local officials, especially Community Boards, and residents to better understand current housing stock, the zoning limitations that restrict them, and the key opportunities to grow our housing stock by passing the zoning package as is to allow for “a little more housing in every neighborhood” throughout the five boroughs.
“Our research has shown that NYC’s low-density neighborhoods are producing less housing per capita than any major US city or part of the metro area,” said Howard Slatkin, Executive Director of Citizens Housing and Planning Council. “This has made low-density areas the surprise epicenter of our housing crunch, straining homeowners and renters alike. But as RPA’s newest reports reveal, reforms in other cities - and even our own older buildings! - offer lessons for how New York City too can add housing in harmony with low-scale neighborhoods.”
“We applaud RPA for their in-depth analysis on the impacts of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal and the ways it will enable missing middle housing citywide,” said Jesse Lazar, Executive Director of American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY). “Antiquated and restrictive zoning laws have plagued NYC for too long, and enabling tools like transit-oriented development, town center zoning, office to residential conversions, and more will create the housing our city desperately needs.”
“This essential report from the RPA demonstrates not only the benefits of missing middle housing, but also the consequences our region will face if we fail to build it, with housing costs rising another 25%” said Annemarie Gray, Executive Director of Open New York. “While over half of renters and 44% of homeowners are cost-burdened, we have systematically banned missing middle housing — the main form of housing in New York for over a hundred years. By simply enabling the construction of new missing middle housing in the 5 boroughs, we could create hundreds of thousands of new homes, bringing rents down to a more affordable level.”
“City of Yes (COY) for Housing Opportunity counters antiquated and restrictive zoning laws that are roadblocks to affordable housing production. It brings long-overdue equity to the housing landscape, particularly for the ‘missing middle,’ said Jolie Milstein, as President/CEO of NYSAFAH. “Allowing middle-density buildings with transit-oriented development in the outer boroughs, permitting Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), encouraging Town Centers, and ending parking minimums are vital to the housing continuum. This much-needed effort recognizes that there is no one size fits all housing strategy and ensures that new units are compatible with existing neighborhood character.”
For more information on RPA’s newest report, City of Yes and Missing Middle Housing, please visit https://rpa.org/work/reports/city-of-yes-and-missing-middle-housing
