New York

With ‘City of Yes,’ New York Finally Gets Real About the Housing Crisis

Published

6 months ago

January 19, 2025

With ‘City of Yes,’ New York Finally Gets Real About the Housing Crisis

For decades now, progress in solving New York’s housing crisis has stagnated amid the contest between two dominant visions: one that would have the city build up and up and up as if it were Hong Kong, and another that would privilege intimate scale — in some parts of the city meaning the charming traditions of European urbanism and in other parts, farther from the center, meaning the traditions of Levittown. Binary solutions nearly always present a trap. But last month the city took a historic step toward breaking out of it. After 175 community board meetings and two public hearings, each of which unfolded over nearly 15 hours, the City Council passed the most extensive set of zoning changes in more than 60 years.

The Zoning Resolution of 1961 radically altered the contours of the city in a way that was described in one academic analysis as reflecting “a disdain for the existing built form.” Famously labyrinthine, the codes, in the simplest understanding, prioritized high-rise office buildings over housing as the city’s population went into decline. The new rules — packaged as City of Yes for Housing Opportunity — roll back arcane restrictions that have long stifled housing supply in an era of staggering demand, and they have come about largely under the radar of New Yorkers, a vast majority of whom do not immerse themselves in the wonkier corners of planning and policy.

City of Yes does not — and isn’t intended to — resolutely end the city’s housing emergencies, which policymakers have estimated would require 500,000 additional units of housing. But it represents a vital new approach, one that shifts the focus away from the current paradigm, where the answer seems to consistently and tenaciously lie in building glass towers in high-density neighborhoods in Manhattan, northern Brooklyn or the waterfront in Queens and making some percentage of them “affordable,” a term subject to multiple interpretations. Again and again, this model tends to invite fierce community opposition — as it has with proposed projects across from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and in Gowanus — that plays out over years and mountains of litigation.

The guiding principle behind City of Yes is to distribute the responsibility of creating housing more evenly, essentially extending it to every neighborhood in the city. Say you are a homeowner with an underused backyard. Under certain conditions, you can now build or repurpose a structure of up to 800 square feet to rent out long term (Airbnb use is not approved) or generously hand over to your aging parents. The crux of the plan, though, is an emphasis on modest structures of five or six stories rather than 30.

This is meant to address what urban planners characterize as “the missing middle,” the void of a certain housing style that cities across the country are now trying to fill. Zoning changes do not mandate where and how much housing ought to be built; they open up (or foreclose) possibility. In this case, they unlock a catalog of opportunities to facilitate development; converting office buildings to apartment buildings around the city, long suggested as a way to create housing, now has a much easier path.

According to the calculations of the city’s planning department, City of Yes will create more homes accessible to those at lower income levels over the next 15 years than all of the city’s other inclusionary housing programs since they first came into being in the mid-1980s. The plan further incentivizes development of all types of housing by relaxing — and in some places eliminating — the expensive requirement that a certain number of parking spaces be allotted for new apartment complexes. It is a requirement that urban planners and ordinary car antagonists have complained about for decades.

In all, City of Yes is expected to produce 80,000 new units of housing, which might seem unimpressive, given the need. But this amounts to many, many more homes than previous amendments to the zoning code have produced. This goal is to be met in part with the help of a new, state-sponsored tax incentive and a $5 billion contribution of additional city and state funds, for which the City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams, fought vigorously.

“City of Yes highlighted what municipal-led initiatives can achieve,” said Annemarie Gray, who used to work in planning and housing policy for the city under the de Blasio and Adams administrations and now serves as the executive director of Open New York, a nonprofit that supports housing expansion. But what is necessary going forward, in her view, are aggressive measures taken at the level of the governor’s office and the State Legislature. Some of this would involve changing certain zoning codes outside the city, especially near commuter rail lines, to accommodate apartment buildings.

Despite the obvious need, recent efforts to increase housing density in New York’s commuter suburbs have failed. Assemblyman Robert Carroll, who represents Park Slope and other adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods, told me that “during the last two years, we have been unable to convince a single suburban county to build more housing.”

Recently, Mr. Carroll has taken the side of “the missing middle” for a site in Windsor Terrace, in his district, where the Arrow Linen and Uniform Supply Company has stood since 1947. In conjunction with a developer, the longtime owner would like to turn it into a 13-story apartment complex, in a plan ginned up well before City of Yes was passed. Mr. Carroll and many members of the community are pushing for something closer to seven or nine stories with more affordable units than have been proposed.

In an article in City Limits last year, Zellnor Myrie, a state senator who has since announced a run for mayor, wrote that between 2010 and 2020, parts of his district, which includes lower-income neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn, added 7,400 new housing units, while in Windsor Terrace, that figure stood at 268. In six of those years, he wrote, the neighborhood actually suffered a net loss of housing.

What is striking about the debate, no matter how contentious, is the shape it has taken and that such a message has really resonated. “The push to build housing in neighborhoods that haven’t is very strong,” Shahana Hanif, the local councilwoman for Windsor Terrace, who now has the most significant say in the fate of the project, told me. Many people who live in the neighborhood, which has plenty of single-family houses owned by gentrifiers, have argued for a development entirely made up of affordable apartments. The tension has not been between those who want all and those who want nothing.

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New York

Video: Inside Rikers Island: A Suicide Attempt as Guards Stand By

Published

2 days ago

July 14, 2025

Press Room

Video: Inside Rikers Island: A Suicide Attempt as Guards Stand By

This is the inside of a psychiatric unit on Rikers Island. It’s the morning of Aug. 25, 2022. And soon, this inmate, Michael Nieves, will attempt to commit suicide by cutting his own throat. He’ll bleed out for 10 minutes as officers stand by and wait for medical help. But Michael Nieves is just one of many cases of preventable harm on Rikers Island that ultimately led a federal judge to strip control of the jail from the City of New York in May. Soon, an independent manager will be appointed. After almost three years of filing Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits, The New York Times has now obtained videos of incidents that contributed to this decision, including that of Nieves. They take us inside Rikers, a place rarely seen by the public, and show serious lapses in the care of inmates. A long-serving member of an independent oversight body, who we’ll hear from later, told us that the case of Michael Nieves is characteristic of the problems inside the jail. Here’s what happened. It’s around 11:30 a.m., and a search of Michael Nieves’s cell fails to turn up a shaving razor he was given to use in the shower that morning. Capt. Mary Tinsley, the supervisor in charge, instructs Officer Beethoven Joseph, whose body camera footage we see here, to take Nieves for a body scan to see if he is hiding the razor. But Tinsley grows impatient with Nieves. Officers close the door and walk away. This is one of a series of mistakes that play out. These officers are trained to work with severely mentally ill detainees like Nieves, a once-gifted student who was later diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia disorders. Like most inmates on Rikers, Nieves was awaiting trial and had not yet been convicted of a crime. He was arrested on burglary and arson charges in 2019, but was deemed unfit to stand trial and held in forensic psychiatric facilities before being sent back to Rikers. Nieves had a long history of suicide attempts. And even though officers suspect he has the razor, he is left alone for 12 minutes while they search the cell of another inmate. Then Joseph returns, followed by Tinsley. She radios for help. The scene is disturbing, but we’re showing it briefly to illustrate what the officers could see. Nieves has cut his neck and is bleeding heavily onto the floor. Pressure needs to be applied to the wound immediately, and he needs to get to a hospital. At first, Nieves doesn’t respond. And the officers and Captain Tinsley don’t intervene. Officer Joseph faces a complex situation. Jail guidelines do not clearly say he should treat a severely bleeding wound. And officers are advised to use caution when they might be lured into danger. But state law does require him to render care in life-threatening situations. It’s unclear if he recognizes it as such. No one enters the cell. Instead, they offer Nieves a piece of clothing. Five minutes have passed. Officer Joseph asks about the bleeding. Eight minutes have passed. Nieves slides down to the floor. Officer Joseph shows concern, but remains by the door. After 10 minutes, the medics arrive on the ward and enter the cell. But there’s been a communication breakdown. The medics aren’t aware that Nieves is bleeding profusely, and they don’t have the right supplies. As they spring into action, the medics berate the correction officers. As medics render aid, Officer Joseph goes to review his notes and talks with another staff member. About an hour after Nieves was found bleeding, over a dozen medics, staff, and E.M.T.s are treating him on site. Shortly after, he was taken to a nearby hospital, declared brain dead and removed from life support five days later. “This was preventable.” Dr. Robert Cohen is a member of the Board of Correction, which monitors Rikers, and agreed to speak about the jail and the Nieves case in a personal capacity, not on behalf of the board. He retired shortly after this interview. “He should not have been left alone once they believed that he was in possession of a razor. By policy, he should have been taken immediately to the body scanner.” “He was bleeding to death. The correction officer should have gone into the room, assessed what was going on and should have applied pressure to the area where the blood was coming from.” A city medical examiner found that the officer’s inaction contributed to Nieves’s death, but that he could have died even with emergency aid. The state attorney general’s office therefore declined to charge the officers. Their report also found that the officers lacked clear protocols and might not have had training on severely bleeding wounds. It recommended that officers be required and trained to act in these situations in the future. Dr. Cohen says that what happened to Nieves is characteristic of chronic problems inside Rikers. “Since I’ve been on the board, these deaths have happened multiple times. Jason Echevarria swallowed a number of soap balls. He was screaming all night long. Jerome Murdough was put in a cell where there was a heating malfunction, baked to death. Mercado had diabetes. He was trying to get help. He never received insulin. Nicholas Feliciano hung himself. Seven officers were completely aware of this, and they did nothing — 7 minutes and 51 seconds passed. He did not die, but he has severe brain damage.” Nieves’s death occurred two years into the Covid pandemic, a time when Rikers was facing acute challenges and a staffing crisis that watchdogs say led to a spike in preventable deaths. “Many deaths over the past five years and the reports of deteriorating conditions were instrumental in moving us to the point right now where the judge is going to take over the island with an independent manager.” But even after that happens, New York’s next mayor will be tasked with trying to close Rikers. The original plan was to replace it with smaller jails and in four New York City boroughs by 2026. But after years of delays, here’s what those sites look like today. They’re nowhere near done. Oversight bodies, and even the former Manhattan U.S. attorney, have said that Rikers remains unsafe for detainees. The Department of Correction told The Times that a new medical emergencies curriculum is still being developed. A spokesperson for the Correction Officers Union said they followed regulations and have been vindicated. And the Captain’s Union, which represented Captain Tinsley, said she also followed protocol. Nieves was one of three brothers. His family is now suing the city.

New York

At a Small School in the Bronx, Classical Music Thrives

Published

1 week ago

July 7, 2025

Press Room

At a Small School in the Bronx, Classical Music Thrives

On a recent afternoon, an ensemble of serious young musicians gathered to practice “Fuga con Pajarillo,” a piece by Aldemaro Romero that combines Western concert hall traditions with Venezuelan folk music. The strings soared dramatically, building against a syncopated beat, like a complex dance.

Two hours later, they were exhausted — and exhilarated.

New York

How NYC Neighborhoods Voted in the 2025 Mayoral Primary: Map

Published

3 weeks ago

June 25, 2025

Press Room

How NYC Neighborhoods Voted in the 2025 Mayoral Primary: Map

The candidate leading each neighborhood in the first round

Queens

Brooklyn

Bronx

Manhattan

Staten
Island

Zohran Mamdani, an upstart state assemblyman from Queens, was on the brink of winning Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. While results were not yet final, Mr. Mamdani leaped ahead of a crowded field thanks to a surge of turnout in gentrifying neighborhoods, and strong support from Asian and Hispanic enclaves.

Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, also ran up large vote tallies in the affluent brownstone-lined blocks of Brooklyn, in the diverse blocks of Upper Manhattan and in areas with substantial South Asian populations in Queens.

His main rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, had hoped to reassemble Mayor Eric Adams’s winning 2021 coalition of Black, Hispanic and Orthodox Jewish voters, but instead lost ground in some of those communities.

Neighborhoods where Eric Adams won

The areas where the current mayor won in the 2021 Democratic primary are outlined.

Queens

Brooklyn

Bronx

Manhattan

Staten
Island

Mr. Mamdani, who campaigned on addressing New York’s affordability crisis, performed stronger than his rivals in areas where a majority of residents are college graduates, as well as in middle-income and higher-income neighborhoods. He won most areas with a majority of Asian residents and was modestly outpacing Mr. Cuomo in majority Hispanic areas.

Mr. Cuomo, 67, had more support in areas with a majority of Black residents and in areas where a majority of residents are low-income. There were some exceptions, most notably Mr. Cuomo’s strong performance on the Upper West and East Sides in Manhattan, where Mr. Mamdani struggled to win over an older, wealthier electorate, which includes a sizable segment of Jewish voters.

How candidates fared with groups of voters

Based on results in precincts where each group is a majority.

Precincts with…	Andrew Cuomo	Zohran Mamdani	Brad Lander
Higher income residents 24% of precincts Advertisement	30%	42%	20%
Middle income residents 49% of precincts	37%	47%	7%
Lower income residents Advertisement 24% of precincts	49%	38%	3%
More college graduates 27% of precincts	28%	45%	19%
More white residents 29% of precincts	34%	39%	19%
More Hispanic residents 16% of precincts Advertisement	41%	48%	4%
More Black residents 15% of precincts	51%	34%	3%
More Asian residents Advertisement 4% of precincts	36%	52%	5%
More renters 70% of precincts	33%	47%	11%

Mr. Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, won the largest vote share in gentrifying neighborhoods like Ridgewood in Queens and Greenpoint in Brooklyn that are home to groups of young, left-leaning voters. Voters in Jamaica Hills, a Queens neighborhood home to a sizable South Asian population, also chose Mr. Mamdani by a large margin.

Mr. Cuomo’s efforts to court the Orthodox Jewish vote paid off. Borough Park and Midwood in Brooklyn were two of his top-performing neighborhoods. He also won large margins in the less dense, coastal communities of Far Rockaway and Bayswater in Queens, far from Manhattan.

Brad Lander, the city comptroller, was in third place overall. The cluster of neighborhoods in Brooklyn where Mr. Lander fared the best — which include Park Slope, Cobble Hill and Windsor Terrace — are all neighborhoods where Mr. Mamdani won most of the votes. That could ultimately benefit Mr. Mamdani under the city’s ranked-choice voting system, because the two men cross-endorsed each other and encouraged their supporters to rank them both.

The system allowed voters to list up to five candidates on their ballots. If their top choices are eliminated, their votes will be transferred to candidates who are lower on their ballots next Tuesday.

Neighborhood	Pct.	Votes
Ridgewood, Queens	80%	7,030
Bushwick, Brooklyn	79%	14,164
East Williamsburg, Brooklyn	75%	2,586
Jamaica Hills, Queens	74%	1,458
Greenpoint, Brooklyn	72%	7,583

Neighborhood	Pct.	Votes
Borough Park, Brooklyn	80%	6,577
Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn	76%	236
Midwood, Brooklyn	72%	9,160
Far Rockaway, Queens	72%	2,489
Bayswater, Queens	72%	522

Neighborhood	Pct.	Votes
Park Slope, Brooklyn	35%	7,330
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn	34%	1,689
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn	32%	1,199
Columbia St. Waterfront District, Brooklyn	31%	355
South Slope, Brooklyn	30%	632

Neighborhood	Pct.	Votes
Springfield Gardens, Queens	17%	891
Laurelton, Queens	16%	506
St. Albans, Queens	15%	828
Jamaica, Queens	14%	1,381
Cambria Heights, Queens	14%	425

Assuming he prevails in the primary, Mr. Mamdani will face a general election in November that has the potential to be unusually competitive. Mr. Adams is seeking a second term, this time as an independent. Curtis Sliwa, a Republican, will be on the ballot, along with Jim Walden, a lawyer and independent. Mr. Cuomo also still has the option to pursue a third-party fall campaign.