Affordable Housing

NYC needs 700,000 new homes: See the unit target for every district

Photo by Joshua Armstrong on Unsplash

August 19, 2026

NYC needs 700,000 new homes: See the unit target for every district

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New York City must create roughly 700,000 new homes over the next decade to address its housing shortage, according to a draft city report. Released Wednesday, the Fair Housing Growth Strategy report is an analysis of the city’s housing crisis, mandated under a 2023 City Council bill that called for an assessment of the city’s overall need for new housing. The report finds that the city’s current shortage is among the worst in recorded history, with a rental vacancy rate of just 1.4 percent. Among apartments with asking rents below $1,100, fewer than 0.4 percent are available.
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New DSNY facility on Staten Island paves the way for 200+ affordable homes

All images courtesy of DSNY unless noted otherwise

August 19, 2026

New DSNY facility on Staten Island paves the way for 200+ affordable homes

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A new Department of Sanitation (DSNY) facility on Staten Island opened this week, paving the way for hundreds of new affordable homes. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced the opening of two new DSNY garages on a 13.55-acre site at Fresh Kills, once New York City’s largest garbage dump. The $230 million project replaces the old Jersey Street garage on the borough’s North Shore, which will be demolished and replaced with a mixed-use affordable housing complex featuring 232 homes, a grocery store, amenities, and open space.
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18-story Park Slope rental opens lottery for affordable apartments, from $992/month

Renderings courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

August 17, 2026

18-story Park Slope rental opens lottery for affordable apartments, from $992/month

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More than 60 mixed-income apartments are available at a new 18-story residential development on the border of Park Slope and Gowanus. Located at 74 St. Marks Place, aka 85 4th Avenue, Solace offers open-layout residences designed with wellness in mind, complemented by a full floor of health-focused amenities. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $992/month studios to $4,518/month two-bedrooms.
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New photos of Willets Point show off NYC’s largest all-affordable development in decades

Photos courtesy of Related Companies

August 6, 2026

New photos of Willets Point show off NYC’s largest all-affordable development in decades

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Willets Point, New York City’s largest new all-affordable housing development in decades, has welcomed its first residents. The first affordable homes at Willets Point Commons opened earlier this year, with 880 units across two buildings. Upon completion, the Willets Point development will bring an unprecedented 2,500 units of affordable, workforce, and moderate-income housing for individuals, families, and seniors to the former industrial Queens neighborhood. Located across from Citi Field, the development by Queens Development Group (QDG), a joint venture of Related Companies and Sterling Equities, is part of a growing community of retail and entertainment opportunities, including the city's first professional soccer stadium. New photos offer a first look at the new apartments and the suite of amenities available to residents.
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96 supportive and affordable homes coming to Hunts Point

Credit: The Doe Fund

August 4, 2026

96 supportive and affordable homes coming to Hunts Point

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A new housing development in Hunts Point will deliver 96 supportive and affordable homes for formerly unhoused New Yorkers. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday broke ground on the Doe Fund’s Casanova Residence at 658-674 Casanova Street in the Bronx. Of the 96 homes, 38 affordable units will be available through the city’s housing lottery system, while the remaining 58 units will be reserved for vulnerable populations.
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East New York affordable development opens lottery for 200+ units, from $830/month

Credit: Urban Architects Initiative

August 4, 2026

East New York affordable development opens lottery for 200+ units, from $830/month

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A housing lottery launched last week for 209 affordable apartments as part of a huge new mixed-use community taking shape in East New York. The available units at 882 Fountain Avenue are part of the second phase of the Alafia development, a new 27-acre neighborhood with thousands of apartments and health and wellness amenities. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 70 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $830/month studios to $2,745/month three-bedrooms.
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Lottery opens for 169 affordable apartments in Morris Heights, from $777/month

Rendering Courtesy of Marvel Architects

July 20, 2026

Lottery opens for 169 affordable apartments in Morris Heights, from $777/month

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Applications are currently being accepted for 169 affordable apartments in the Bronx. As part of the second phase of the two-building Starhill development in Morris Heights, 51 Featherbed Lane includes 244 residences, including 74 supportive housing units for formerly homeless individuals and families with on-site supportive services. New Yorkers earning 40, 50, and 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $777/month studios to $2,142/month three-bedrooms.
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See plan to add 1,100 apartments and new park across from the Intrepid Museum in Hell’s Kitchen

All renderings courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

July 15, 2026

See plan to add 1,100 apartments and new park across from the Intrepid Museum in Hell’s Kitchen

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Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the development team selected to transform a Hell's Kitchen parking lot used by the Intrepid Museum into a mixed-use development with more than 1,100 apartments. Gotham Organization, Fisher Brothers, and Mural Real Estate Group will turn the state-owned site at 621 West 45th Street into two connected skyscrapers with 1,127 homes, including about 338 affordable units, new facilities for the museum, and a public park that connects to the existing pedestrian bridge. The project stems from a request for proposals issued in February 2025 for one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels on Manhattan’s Far West Side.
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East Village parking lot to become 130-unit affordable housing project

Renderings courtesy of SLCE Architects

July 13, 2026

East Village parking lot to become 130-unit affordable housing project

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Plans to turn a police precinct parking lot in the East Village into a mixed-use affordable housing project moved forward on Monday. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced the selection of Spatial Equity, Housing Works, Cooper Square Committee, and This Land Is Ours Community Land Trust to redevelop 324 East 5th Street into The Aurea, a 131-unit mixed-use development with a senior center, community space, and parking facilities. Plans for new housing at the site have been in the works since the Soho Noho rezoning in 2021.
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Red Hook rental opens lottery for 239 affordable apartments, from $777/month

Credit: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

July 6, 2026

Red Hook rental opens lottery for 239 affordable apartments, from $777/month

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Want to live closer to IKEA? A housing lottery opened for 239 mixed-income apartments in a new three-building residential complex in the heart of Red Hook, Brooklyn. Rising eight stories at 498 Columbia Street, the building is the largest of Columbia Commons, the first modern large-scale residential development in the waterfront neighborhood, according to the New York Real Estate Journal. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, priced from $777/month studios to $2,668/month two-bedrooms.
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1,000-unit affordable and supportive housing project breaks ground in East Flatbush

Aerial rendering of Sparrow Square. Credit: Phillip Van Nostrand

June 18, 2026

1,000-unit affordable and supportive housing project breaks ground in East Flatbush

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Work on a major affordable and supportive housing project with roughly 1,000 new homes officially broke ground in East Flatbush this week. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the start of work on the first phase of Sparrow Square, a redevelopment of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center Campus, as part of the Vital Brooklyn initiative to build 4,000 affordable homes in Central Brooklyn. Designed by Adjaye Associates with Hill West Architects as architect of record, the first phase includes two 10-story buildings with 261 affordable apartments, including 117 supportive homes for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
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NYC launches program to preserve 39K supportive housing units

Credit: Matthew Moloney on Unsplash

June 17, 2026

NYC launches program to preserve 39K supportive housing units

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New York City has launched a program aimed at preserving existing supportive housing units for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. The Supportive Preservation Program (SPP), launched on Wednesday by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), will provide tax exemptions, below-market loans, and other financial assistance to ensure the long-term stability of supportive housing projects. The program is a key part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “Block by Block” housing plan, which seeks to preserve the city’s roughly 39,000 supportive homes.
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Murray Hill high-rise rental opens lottery for 40 affordable apartments, from $969/month

Credit: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

June 15, 2026

Murray Hill high-rise rental opens lottery for 40 affordable apartments, from $969/month

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Applications are currently being accepted for 40 mixed-income units at a new high-rise rental in Murray Hill. The Dian, located at 162 East 36th Street, is a 22-story luxury building with 160 apartments. Designed by Ismael Leyva Architects, the tower's design pays tribute to the city's Art Deco legacy with a facade of layered brick, limestone, and granite. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, priced from $969/month for a studio to $4,484/month for a two-bedroom.
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City Council unveils proposal to build affordable housing on top of libraries

Sunset Park Library and Apartments. Credit: Brooklyn Public Library

June 11, 2026

City Council unveils proposal to build affordable housing on top of libraries

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The New York City Council wants to build affordable housing on top of public libraries to ease the current housing crisis. Council Speaker Julie Menin on Thursday called on the Mamdani administration to invest $60 million to support the redevelopment of three initial library sites, one in each of the city’s three public library systems. The plan builds on the city's existing model of co-locating affordable housing and libraries, including Bensonhurst’s New Utrecht Library, which the city issued a request for proposals for just this week, as well as ongoing projects at Grand Concourse and on the Upper West Side. Similar projects in Sunset Park and Inwood opened in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
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Nearly 195,000 people slept in NYC shelters in 2025, the most ever

Credit: Felton Davis on Flickr

June 10, 2026

Nearly 195,000 people slept in NYC shelters in 2025, the most ever

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The number of New Yorkers sleeping in homeless shelters rose 27 percent under Mayor Eric Adams' four years in office, driven by overcrowded housing conditions and evictions, according to a new report. The Coalition for the Homeless released its annual "State of the Homeless" report, which found that the number of non-migrant New York City residents needing shelter grew by more than 12,000 between January 2022 and December 2025. Plus, last year, 194,531 individuals used the city's shelter system over the course of the year, the most in its history. The increase excludes asylum seekers and other new arrivals who entered the shelter system during that period.
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Plan to restore 1820s Lower East Side church and add 130 affordable homes advances

Credit: City Planning Commission

June 1, 2026

Plan to restore 1820s Lower East Side church and add 130 affordable homes advances

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A project to restore an 1820s-era Lower East Side church and build a mixed-use development with 130 affordable apartments next to it is moving ahead. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal on Friday recommended approval of a proposal to renovate St. Augustine's Chapel at 290 Henry Street and replace an existing two-story classroom annex with a 21-story mixed-use housing development. Now headed to the City Planning Commission for review, the development would include income-restricted apartments for families earning 50, 80, and 110 percent of the area median income, as well as some units for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
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Hochul signs reforms to New York’s environmental law to accelerate new housing development

“Let Them Build” rally in February. Photo credit: Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

May 27, 2026

Hochul signs reforms to New York’s environmental law to accelerate new housing development

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Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday signed legislation to reform the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), cutting red tape that critics say has long delayed housing development. The "common-sense" reforms, the most significant changes to SEQRA since its passage in 1975, are expected to accelerate the construction of new housing by up to two years. Hochul first unveiled the changes in February alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani and included it in her fiscal year 2027 budget.
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Mamdani releases blueprint to build 200,000 new affordable homes, target bad landlords

Photo by Michael Appleton/ Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

May 26, 2026

Mamdani releases blueprint to build 200,000 new affordable homes, target bad landlords

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday released a comprehensive plan to address the city's current housing crisis, detailing a goal to build 200,000 new affordable homes over the next decade, the most ambitious target by a New York City mayor ever. The housing plan, dubbed "Block by Block," says $22 billion in capital investments over five years will fund new affordable housing and help preserve another 200,000 existing homes. The report also details the expansion of tenant protections and homeownership opportunities, as well as the largest capital investment in NYCHA in recent history.
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Mott Haven affordable development approved after just 90 days, thanks to new expedited review

Renderings courtesy of STAT Architecture PC

May 21, 2026

Mott Haven affordable development approved after just 90 days, thanks to new expedited review

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An affordable housing project that would have taken seven months of review before being approved got the green light from the New York City Council this week after just 90 days. Thanks to the new Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP), a ballot measure approved by voters last November, 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven received the fastest land-use approval in decades. The project, which entered review in February, will transform a vacant city-owned lot into more than 80 apartments, a community theater, and public outdoor space, as 6sqft previously reported.
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NYC looks to rezone neighborhoods south of Prospect Park for new housing

McDonald Avenue and Church Avenue in Kensington. Photo by Nick Gulotta on Flickr

May 20, 2026

NYC looks to rezone neighborhoods south of Prospect Park for new housing

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The first rezoning proposal under Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration will target Brooklyn neighborhoods south of Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery. As first reported by Gothamist, the Department of City Planning on Wednesday kicked off the community planning process for updating zoning rules on commercial stretches of Coney Island Avenue and McDonald Avenue in Kensington and surrounding areas, to allow new housing to be built.
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First city-owned grocery store to open next year at mixed-use development in Hunts Point

Credit: WXY Studios

May 18, 2026

First city-owned grocery store to open next year at mixed-use development in Hunts Point

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday announced that New York City’s first city-owned grocery store will open next year at a new affordable housing development in the South Bronx. The store will be located at The Peninsula, a Bronx project transforming the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in Hunts Point into a mixed-use development with 740 affordable apartments. The announcement builds on Mamdani’s campaign pledge to open five city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough, and follows a plan announced last month for a store in East Harlem.
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300 affordable apartments available in Hunts Point, from $465/month

Credit: WXY Studios

May 18, 2026

300 affordable apartments available in Hunts Point, from $465/month

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A former juvenile jail in the Bronx that is being transformed into a mixed-use development opened a housing lottery last week for 303 low-income apartments. Phase two of The Peninsula, located at 1221 and 1225 Spofford Avenue in Hunts Point, brings deeply affordable homes to the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, which closed in 2011 following reports of abuse and poor conditions. The development is also getting New York City's first city-owned grocery store. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Monday that a 20,000-square-foot supermarket will open next year as one of five city-owned grocery stores opening in every borough. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $465/month studios to $2,936/month three-bedrooms.
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Lottery opens for 51 low-income units at Midtown East supportive housing project, from $1,122/month

Credit: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

May 5, 2026

Lottery opens for 51 low-income units at Midtown East supportive housing project, from $1,122/month

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A new 21-story Midtown East building combining affordable and supportive housing for unhoused women launched a lottery this week for 51 low-income apartments. Located at 225 East 45th Street, in between Grand Central and the United Nations headquarters, Willow Tree Residences has 130 residential apartments and shares the building with the New Providence Women’s Shelter, a 170-bed facility that offers on-site services. New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the studio apartments, priced at $1,122/month.
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Council proposes construction code updates to build 35,000 new homes on thousands of small lots across NYC

The project “System for Narrow Living”  by Only If Architecture was a finalist in the city’s 2019 competition “Big Ideas for Small Lots.” The design calls for a 4,900-square-foot building with seven units.

April 27, 2026

Council proposes construction code updates to build 35,000 new homes on thousands of small lots across NYC

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The New York City Council is advancing reforms that could unlock up to 35,000 new homes on small and oddly-shaped lots across the five boroughs. During an American Institute of Architects (AIA) luncheon on Friday, Council Speaker Julie Menin proposed changes to the city’s construction codes that would allow for new housing on roughly 3,000 tiny, underutilized lots without requiring lengthy zoning approvals. Menin also announced the creation of a new panel, the Council Advisory Group on Housing Affordability, to help guide the Council's policies addressing the city’s housing crisis.
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Lottery opens for 24 affordable co-ops in Hamilton Heights, starting at $100K

Streetview of 644 Riverside Drive © 2024 Google Maps

April 22, 2026

Lottery opens for 24 affordable co-ops in Hamilton Heights, starting at $100K

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In Hamilton Heights, a co-op building opened a lottery this week for affordable apartments available for purchase. On the corner of West 142nd Street and Riverside Drive, the pre-war building was acquired by the city in 2003 and sold to a nonprofit group to rehabilitate and turn it into affordable housing as part of the city's currently-paused Third Party Transfer (TPT) program. Earlier this month, a lottery opened for 24 units at 644 Riverside Drive, priced from $100,794 for a one-bedroom to $156,331 for a five-bedroom.
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