Policy

NYC sees 23 percent more new homes in first year of City of Yes

Credit: Daniel Lee on Unsplash

December 5, 2025

NYC sees 23 percent more new homes in first year of City of Yes

By Aaron Ginsburg

Housing production in New York City rose 23 percent in the first 10 months of 2025, since the passage of Mayor Eric Adams’ "City of Yes" housing plan, according to city data. Coinciding with the first anniversary of the plan's passage on Friday, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of City Planning Commissioner Dan Garodnick released new statistics showing that the city has permitted roughly 17,600 new homes through late October, a 22.8 percent increase from the same period in 2024. Key reforms under the plan include the legalization of accessory dwelling units, affordable housing bonuses, new zoning districts, reduced parking mandates, and more.
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Prospect Park will get Brooklyn’s first ‘Bluebelt’ to protect area from flooding

Images courtesy of NYC DEP

December 4, 2025

Prospect Park will get Brooklyn’s first ‘Bluebelt’ to protect area from flooding

By Aaron Ginsburg

To protect Prospect Park and nearby Brooklyn neighborhoods from flooding, New York City will spend $68 million on new infrastructure, including the borough’s first Bluebelt. Announced on Wednesday, the investment will fund nature-based solutions—like enhanced lakes and wetlands—to better manage extreme rainfall fueled by climate change. The project will safeguard the Prospect Park Zoo, which closed for eight months in 2023 due to flood damage, and protect surrounding neighborhoods from future flooding.
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See plan for 27-story rental tower above historic Fort Greene church

Proposed view looking west. Credit: FXCollaborative

December 3, 2025

See plan for 27-story rental tower above historic Fort Greene church

By Aaron Ginsburg

A developer is looking to build an apartment tower on top of a historic Fort Greene church. Strekte presented a proposal to the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday for a 27-story tower above the landmarked Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church. During the hearing, the commission reviewed plans to restore the facade of the church at 144 St. Felix Street and perform demolitions necessary to construct a 27-story tower above it. After extensive public feedback, including concerns from neighboring One Hanson Place condo residents about blocked views, the LPC asked the development team to return at a later date once it had reviewed the points raised during the testimony.
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NYC selects vendor for 500 secure bike storage hubs

Credit: Tranzito

December 2, 2025

NYC selects vendor for 500 secure bike storage hubs

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City has selected a vendor to install secure bike storage hubs at 500 locations across the five boroughs. The Department of Transportation on Monday announced that it chose Tranzito to create and operate a citywide network of secure bike parking structures, offering cyclists who lack in-home storage a safe place to keep their bicycles. The selection follows a 2024 request for proposals, and the city expects to award a five-year operating contract, with officials set to reveal additional designs and locations at a later date.
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Starbucks to pay $39 million in historic settlement over violation of NYC labor law

Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash

December 2, 2025

Starbucks to pay $39 million in historic settlement over violation of NYC labor law

By Michelle Cohen

Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga announced on Monday a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks over violations of New York City’s law that guarantees fair working conditions. According to city officials, the resolution was the largest worker protection settlement in the city’s history. Starbucks agreed to the settlement after an investigation by DCWP showed the company had denied thousands of workers the legal right to stable schedules as well as the right to pick up additional hours, arbitrarily cutting schedules to prioritize their own bottom line over workers’ rights.
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Policy

New York board recommends gaming licenses for all 3 NYC casinos

(L) Metropolitan Park. Credit: SHoP Architects, Field Operations; (M) Bally’s Bronx casino. Credit: Bally’s Bronx; (R) Resorts World NYC. Credit: Resorts World NYC

December 1, 2025

New York board recommends gaming licenses for all 3 NYC casinos

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City will get three casinos after a state commission on Monday recommended gaming licenses for all remaining bids. The Gaming Facility Location Board voted in support of licenses for Metropolitan Park across from Citi Field, Resorts World NYC at the Aqueduct Racetrack, and Bally's Bronx casino in Ferry Point Park. The state's gaming commission will have a final vote at the end of the month, but is expected to follow the board's recommendations.
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Policy

New bill would revive single-room occupancy apartments in NYC

An SRO in the famous Chelsea Hotel, featured in a 2018 6sqft story. Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

November 26, 2025

New bill would revive single-room occupancy apartments in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

Looking for new ways to tackle the city’s housing shortage, a New York City Council member is calling for the return of single-room occupancy units (SROs). Council Member Erik Bottcher on Tuesday introduced legislation backed by the Department of Buildings that would allow the construction of SROs as small as 100 square feet for the first time in decades. The city once had as many as 100,000 SROs, but their numbers began declining in the 1950s as new laws restricted their construction and encouraged conversions, driven by stigma that linked the housing type to poverty and crime, according to the New York Times.
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Victorian Flatbush gains two new historic districts

The Ditmas Park West Historic District. Credit: Landmarks Preservation Commission

November 25, 2025

Victorian Flatbush gains two new historic districts

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's newest historic districts are two well-preserved areas of homes in suburban Flatbush. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West Historic Districts, which together include 247 freestanding homes built between 1894 and 1910, showcasing early 20th-century suburban architecture in the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, or a mixture of the two. The most recent iteration of the districts includes minor boundary adjustments that exclude homes that do not share the same historic integrity as the rest of the district.
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2,500 new homes proposed for New York Wheel site on Staten Island

All renderings courtesy of FXCollaborative

November 24, 2025

2,500 new homes proposed for New York Wheel site on Staten Island

By Aaron Ginsburg

Up to 2,500 new homes could come to Staten Island’s North Shore under a new city plan to finally reimagine the long-vacant New York Wheel site. Last week, the city's Economic Development Corporation revealed a plan to transform two sites in St. George, the Empire Outlets retail complex and the former site of a planned Ferris Wheel, into a mixed-use waterfront neighborhood with thousands of apartments, open space, retail, and community amenities. The plan would mark the long-awaited next chapter for the property, once slated to host the world’s tallest Ferris wheel before the project was scrapped in 2018.
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Plan for 2,000+ homes at vacant Creedmoor campus in Queens approved

Creedmoor campus. Photo by Jim.henderson via WikiCommons

November 20, 2025

Plan for 2,000+ homes at vacant Creedmoor campus in Queens approved

By Aaron Ginsburg

A plan to bring more than 2,000 new homes to the underutilized Creedmoor Psychiatric Center campus in eastern Queens won approval this week. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced that the Public Authorities Control Board approved the general project plan for the Creedmoor Mixed-Use Project, clearing the way to turn nearly 50 acres of vacant state land into a mixed-use community with housing, open space, retail, childcare, and senior services. The project includes a total of 2,022 units, with more than 950 affordable rentals and over 1,000 affordable and market-rate homes for ownership.
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Popular Articles

Eliot Spitzer’s planned Fifth Avenue condo tower gets height boost

All renderings courtesy of Spitzer Enterprises

November 19, 2025

Eliot Spitzer’s planned Fifth Avenue condo tower gets height boost

By Aaron Ginsburg

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed Upper East Side condo project, which would replace a 1970s-era rental building with 26 luxury residences, just got a slight height boost. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Spitzer's proposal to raise his planned development at 985 Fifth Avenue from 19 to 20 stories using City of Yes zoning reforms, replacing a 25-story rental building approved for demolition in 2023. Other approved changes include a textured limestone facade, a rear yard extension, and the removal of an adjacent public plaza.
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NYC unveils designs for revamped sidewalk sheds

Renderings courtesy of PAU

November 19, 2025

NYC unveils designs for revamped sidewalk sheds

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City officials are reimagining sidewalk sheds and street scaffolding, transforming these necessary but unsightly structures into safer, lighter, and more flexible structures. On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled six innovative designs by Arup and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) that enhance circulation, improve aesthetics, and let in more natural light, all while continuing to protect New Yorkers. The new sheds, which eliminate the X-shaped bars and other confining elements of current models, could be installed on city sidewalks as early as next year.
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Policy

Council kills bill banning horse-drawn carriages in NYC

Credit: Igor Wang on Unsplash

November 17, 2025

Council kills bill banning horse-drawn carriages in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

A City Council bill to phase out New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry has stalled after a committee voted against advancing it to a full Council vote. On Friday, the Council’s Committee on Health voted 1–4, with two abstentions, to block Ryder’s Law, sponsored by Council Member Robert Holden. The bill would end the city’s carriage horse industry by 2026 and help drivers transition to other jobs. Opponents, siding with the Transport Workers Union International (TWU), which represents carriage drivers, called the bill “ill-conceived and silly.”
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PATH to get major service boost, but fare will reach $4 by 2029

Credit: LunchboxLarry on Flickr

November 14, 2025

PATH to get major service boost, but fare will reach $4 by 2029

By Aaron Ginsburg

For the first time in 25 years, all PATH lines will operate seven days a week, one of the largest service increases in its history. To help pay for the system improvements, fares are expected to rise to $4 by 2029. On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released its proposed $45 billion 2026–2035 Capital Plan, which outlines major service upgrades between Manhattan and New Jersey. Improvements include eliminating transfers between Hoboken and the World Trade Center by mid-2026 and increasing weekend service. To fund the plan, the agency is proposing a 33 percent fare increase from the current $3 base fare, rising in 25-cent increments starting next summer and reaching $4 in 2029.
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Turning cubicles to condos: The pros and cons of office-to-residential conversions in NYC

SoMA at 25 Water Street is the largest office-to-residential conversion in the U.S. to date. Rendering courtesy of Streetsense

November 13, 2025

Turning cubicles to condos: The pros and cons of office-to-residential conversions in NYC

Across New York City’s five boroughs, office space occupies 730 million square feet (600 million of which is in Manhattan), according to CoStar data obtained by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. This is the most of any North American city; runner-up Los Angeles has only 432 million square feet of office space. So, it’s no wonder that the conversation around post-Covid commercial real estate vacancies is such a hot-button issue, especially considering that Manhattan’s residential vacancy rate is just 1.2 percent.
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14,700 homes planned for Long Island City after Council approves largest rezoning in 25 years

Credit: Ruoyu Li on Unsplash

November 13, 2025

14,700 homes planned for Long Island City after Council approves largest rezoning in 25 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the city’s largest neighborhood rezoning in 25 years. The OneLIC Neighborhood Plan rezones 54 blocks of a largely industrial area of Long Island City to allow for 14,700 new homes, including 4,350 permanently affordable units. The plan will create a continuous public waterfront from Gantry Plaza State Park to Queensbridge Park and includes $2 billion in city commitments, unlocking more than 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space and significant public-realm upgrades.
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Adams to designate Elizabeth Street Garden as official NYC park to block housing project

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

November 13, 2025

Adams to designate Elizabeth Street Garden as official NYC park to block housing project

By Devin Gannon

To prevent Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani from turning Nolita's Elizabeth Street Garden into senior housing as first intended over a decade ago, Mayor Eric Adams is designating the one-acre green space as official city parkland. As first reported by Gothamist, Adams is transferring ownership of the lot to the Parks Department, which would require any development on the site to be approved by the state legislature. The move comes less than two months before Mamdani, who said he would build affordable housing at the site, takes office.
details here

Policy

New legislation would pave the way for more affordable artist housing in NYC

Credit: Jeffrey Blum on Unsplash

November 12, 2025

New legislation would pave the way for more affordable artist housing in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

Legislation introduced this week would pave the way for more affordable artist housing in New York City. Announced on Wednesday by Manhattan Council Members Keith Powers and Erik Bottcher, the legislation would amend the city’s administrative code to clarify that housing programs offering preference to artists do not violate human rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on occupation. The legislation aims to create more housing opportunities for artists, many of whom earn well below the city’s average rent thresholds, in the nation's cultural capital, as first reported by Gothamist.
details here

NYC releases rules for legalizing basement and cellar apartments

Heavy rains caused flooding in Sept. 2023. Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

November 12, 2025

NYC releases rules for legalizing basement and cellar apartments

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City has released proposed rules to legalize the thousands of illegal basement and cellar apartments found across the five boroughs. The Department of Buildings and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development on Monday published draft guidelines to launch a basement apartment legalization pilot program for qualifying one- and two-family homes citywide. The initiative would allow eligible tenants to remain in their basement or cellar units while landlords bring the spaces up to code, helping small homeowners convert illegal dwellings into legal accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
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Policy

NYC Ferry unveils new routes, including connection between Brooklyn and Staten Island

Credit: PunkToad on Flickr

November 11, 2025

NYC Ferry unveils new routes, including connection between Brooklyn and Staten Island

By Aaron Ginsburg

Next month, New York City ferry riders will be able to take new direct routes between the Bronx and the Rockaways, and Staten Island and Brooklyn. On Monday, the city’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced that the new service will launch on December 8, addressing long-standing gaps in the ferry network after years of advocacy from Brooklyn and Staten Island officials for direct service between the two boroughs. Another new route will link Throgs Neck to the Rockaways, offering a two-hour trip from the Bronx to the beach.
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Holiday open streets will return to Fifth Avenue for just one Sunday

Credit: Fifth Avenue Association

November 10, 2025

Holiday open streets will return to Fifth Avenue for just one Sunday

By Aaron Ginsburg

A large stretch of Fifth Avenue will once again be closed to vehicles for the holidays—but just for one day. The Fifth Avenue Association announced that Holiday Open Streets will return on Sunday, December 14, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., turning the iconic corridor between 47th and 57th Streets into a pedestrian-centric, holiday-themed promenade. The event, held across three Sundays in 2022 and 2023, was reduced to a single day in 2024, and will remain so in 2025 due to “logistical challenges” tied to increased security at Trump Tower, according to Gothamist.
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JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports affected by FAA cuts

LaGuardia Terminal B. Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

November 7, 2025

JFK, LaGuardia, Newark airports affected by FAA cuts

By Aaron Ginsburg

Flights at New York City and New Jersey’s major airports will be reduced starting Friday due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. This week, President Donald Trump's administration announced plans to cut air traffic at 40 of the country's busiest airports, including New York City's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as at Newark Liberty and Teterboro airports in New Jersey, by 10 percent. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive, airlines will be required to cut scheduled flights by 4 percent starting Friday, increasing to 6 percent by Tuesday, 8 percent by Thursday, and the full 10 percent by Friday, November 14.
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15 NYC food banks and soup kitchens accepting donations this holiday season

Photo courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

November 7, 2025

15 NYC food banks and soup kitchens accepting donations this holiday season

Throughout the day, I’ll think about what I’m going to have for my next meal. Maybe I’ll step out and grab a salad for lunch, and then choose a fun recipe to make for dinner. And I’m the first to admit that I can easily lose sight of the number of people who don’t have that luxury. Instead of arguing with their partner about whether to order pizza or Thai, they’re worrying if they can afford to buy food for their family's dinner. To put this in perspective, the New York City Council reports that New York City’s poverty rate is nearly twice the national average—23 percent compared to 12 percent. The most recent data shows that 20 percent of NYC residents are enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), a number that jumps to over 40 percent in the Bronx. This means that nearly 1.8 million residents of the five boroughs were affected by the Trump Administration’s refusal to release federal SNAP funds last month. If you’re wondering how you can help, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest NYC food banks, pantries, and soup kitchens accepting donations to support New Yorkers now, as well as throughout the holiday season.
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New Yorkers vote to pass housing ballot proposals

Credit: Open Journalism Network by InOldNews on Flickr

November 5, 2025

New Yorkers vote to pass housing ballot proposals

By Aaron Ginsburg

New Yorkers voted to approve several housing ballot questions as part of this year’s general election. After turning out in record numbers on Tuesday, voters elected Zohran Mamdani as the city’s next mayor and voted yes on four proposals aimed at redesigning the process for building more housing across the five boroughs, as the city faces a housing shortage and affordability crisis.
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MTA boosts weekday service on A and L subway lines

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

November 4, 2025

MTA boosts weekday service on A and L subway lines

By Aaron Ginsburg

A and L line riders should see shorter wait times as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority boosted weekday service on Monday. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the upgraded service, providing more frequent trains and shorter waits for the more than 100,000 weekday riders of both lines.
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