CHPC

February 17, 2017

More basement apartments would help ease the city’s housing crisis, says new study

A study released Thursday by the Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC) suggests that Mayor Bill de Blasio's initiatives to ease the city's housing woes should include a program that would convert the 38,000 or so basements in the city's single-family homes without having to make big changes to city or state laws. As Crain's reports, the study is part of the CHPC’s Making Room initiative that explores how alternative housing typologies can better meet the needs of New York’s diverse households. The council introduced the study by stating their belief that "based on the findings we present here, that a basement conversion program in New York City would be an efficient and exciting way to add residential density and expand housing choices in our expensive and highly constrained urban market."
Find out more