Council Member Robert Holden has reiterated his opposition to the proposed City of Yes zoning plan and heavily criticized the City Planning Commission (CPC) for their involvement.
On Thursday, Nov. 21, Mayor Eric Adams’ controversial reform plan progressed through the City Council after the CPC approved slight modifications.
The plan now includes a $5 billion commitment from the administration but still faces heavy backlash from some Council Members and residents of Queens.
Ahead of the full Council vote on Dec. 5, Holden has once again stated his strong objections to the plan and urged his colleagues to vote against it.
“The City Planning Commission, once tasked with preserving neighborhoods through downzoning, has instead chosen to do the bidding of developers. New Yorkers have made it clear: they reject the City of Yes and refuse to give developers a blank check to overdevelop our city. Council Members should shoot this terrible plan down and stand with our communities instead of siding with special interests,” he stated.
The plan was initially designed to produce 100,000 housing units over 15 years, but with last month’s changes, that number has been lowered to 80,000.
Mayor Adams will be hoping for a similar outcome as his ‘historic moment’ on Nov. 21, but he will face opposition in the vote.
“Nothing has been done like this in over half a century,” Adams said, after the approval of modifications. “This is an amazing benchmark that we are putting down in our commitment to deal with housing in our city.”
Council Member Joann Ariola is also strongly opposed to the plan and previously asked her colleagues to “find the same kind of strength to stand up for their constituents on December 5”.
Other modifications to the City of Yes plan include a change to the proposal to eliminate the mandate that new developments be constructed with a certain number of off-street parking spots. Council Members representing more car-dependent corners of the city opposed this measure.
The changes would mean that a system with three distinct zones would be instituted, so sections of the city that have ample access to public transit and low commute times would be completely exempted from the mandates. Those with transit access but greater car dependence would have a 50% requirement, and those where most residents drive would remain as they are now.
In addition, proposals known as ‘town-center zoning’ and ‘transit-oriented development’ also underwent changes. The measures would allow for the construction of three- to five-story buildings above storefronts and near train stations in lower-density areas. Now, developers would be restricted from building in some of the city’s lowest-density areas.
Despite any of these changes, Holden is adamant that Adam’s plan is a bad idea for the City, and a verdict on whether it goes ahead should not be far away.
