City Council Overwhelmingly Approves Mayor’s Controversial Zoning Changes

The City Council voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday, March 22 in favor of two controversial zoning changes proposed by the mayor to spur the construction of affordable housing.

The proposals, Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), loosen zoning laws in some neighborhoods for developers who build affordable housing for seniors or low- and middle-income tenants. The changes are key parts of the Mayor’s plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years.

The vote was 40 yes, 6 no, and 1 abstention for ZQA and 42 yes, 5 no for MIH.

Community boards, civic groups, and affordable housing advocates expressed concerns about the proposals when they were introduced last year — arguing the plan left out the most needy New Yorkers while allowing developers to run roughshod over their communities. However, the plans won approval last week from the City Council after key changes were made to the laws.

As noted by Gothamist, Councilmember Laurie Cumbo voted yes to the housing plan, stating that  “this is only a step. We cannot let good be the enemy of perfect,” she said, adding, “We have to make sure we do not compromise the safety of people in public. We must conduct ourselves in a way that is safe.”

The City Council also tweaked some of the height requirements in order to preserve the character of their neighborhoods. However, the biggest change, which ultimately won over some of the affordable housing groups who opposed the plan, were changes to MIH that made the new housing stock more accessible for lower income neighbors.

They added an option for developers to set aside up to 20 percent of housing to those making 40 precent of area median income ($31,000 for a family of three). They also lowered the highest tier option from 120 precent of AMI to 115 percent.

De Blasio celebrated the passage of his proposals Tuesday.

“New York City is now one step closer to being a city where everyone can work and live,” the Mayor said in a statement. “Years from now, when working-class families and seniors are living soundly in their homes without fear of being priced out, we will look back on this as a pivotal moment when we turned the tide to keep our city a place for ALL New Yorkers.”

However, the approved plan still drew scorn from many advocacy groups. More than 40 organizations, representing tenants, workers and homeless urged the City Council to reject the plan. And a group of protestors had to be driven from from the Council chamber when they superglued their hands together while demonstrating against during Tuesday’s vote, the Daily News reports.

However, organizations like Real Affordability for All and AARP endorsed the Mayor’s plan — saying the changes were crucial to securing affordable housing for seniors and the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

In the end, ZQA passed the City Council 42-5, while MIH passed 40-6 with one abstention, according to the Daily News.