When the Bloomberg administration started talking about remaking the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront into a blossoming residential district, local community groups pleaded for something in return: new affordable housing for an area in desperate need of it. Specifically, they wanted "inclusionary zoning"--a binding commitment that a substantial portion of the new construction would be within the financial means of the neighborhood's longtime residents. (Median income for renters: about $27,000.)
City Limits Magazine
What a difference a year, a new city housing commissioner and a well-organized phalanx of community advocates makes. This fall, City Planning and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced two new inclusionary zoning efforts-one for the northwest Brooklyn riverfront and one for Manhattan's Far West Side. Both would reward developers who include a certain number of apartments at reduced prices with the chance to build taller--and therefore more lucrative--buildings. The commitment is a breakthrough, putting New York among the hundreds of cities nationwide that have adopted substantial inclusionary zoning programs.
But it's not over yet. The zoning changes still have to be approved by the City Council, and Councilmember David Yassky, who represents the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, is leading the charge to insist that the city, property developers or both commit to producing a significant amount of affordable housing. Community advocates are pushing the issue even further. Their bottom line is that building new affordable housing should not be a choice for developers in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and the new West Side, but a flat-out requirement.
That's how it usually works. "A lot of cities did it on a voluntary basis as a starting point," says Douglas R. Porter, author of a recent Urban Land Institute book, sponsored by the Ford Foundation, surveying 15 inclusionary zoning programs nationwide. The track record of such efforts, he concludes, is not impressive. "Until you get to the mandated stage," says Porter, "it doesn't work."
Yassky has a majority of the City Council on his side--all he needs in order to sit down at the bargaining table with housing and planning officials and work out a deal they can all get behind. He has spoken in favor of mandates as one option, yet he has also hinted that he'll accept an effective incentive program. "I'm very focused on the end product," says Yassky. "Any way to get there is fine by me."
Real estate developers hold some high-value cards, too. The entire venture, after all, depends on someone's willingness to produce and finance the development. Housing construction in New York is already outrageously expensive, and some builders contend that additional obligations could make it difficult for them to obtain financing. They also point out that the real estate market is extremely sensitive to changing market conditions. Will rising interest rates be prohibitive? How about the cost of labor and materials, which are also escalating?
