In her State of the State Address Gov. Hochul called for more housing

And we support this action! There is a homelessness crisis and her plan offers several solutions which have merit–such as converting unused office and hotel space to residential use. We love Adaptive Reuse, and we can fully support this part of her plan!

However, as we, along with our colleagues at FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, the Historic Districts Council, The New York Landmarks Conservancy, and Municipal Art Society point out in our joint letter, we can’t take CHANCES with the COMMUNITY.

BUT Please Don’t Raise the Cap!

As has been proposed many times before, State lawmakers jockey and trade for funding with New York City’s light and air. The current proposal to raise the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Cap of the Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) is tucked into the budget as a line item. If this survives the final budget vote, it means added residential density on a given tax lot. The theory is that if developers can build more, somehow the private sector will be motivated to generate additional affordable housing. But we have years of evidence from policies that rely on private developers that proves the opposite. In fact these giveaways further reduce affordability by destroying older, often more affordable housing stock. Any replacement development not only further lifts the neighborhood comparable costs, but if/when affordable units are even provided (and at specific rates of area median income, and for limited periods), they are mere tokenism to addressing the affordability issue which their very redevelopment has further exasperated!

How does this impact the UWS? 

The UWS is already home to Lincoln Square–the neighborhood with the greatest vacancy in all of New York City according to the 2020 census. What does this mean? There is no shortage of housing–just not the right types of housing that people want, need and can afford.
Raising the FAR Cap will most greatly impact our avenues zoned R10. Will this create more affordability? Not as currently proposed in the budget. Keep in mind, Billionaire’s Row was built As-of-Right within the existing FAR Cap and offers zero units of affordable housing. Is it in anyone’s interest from housing advocates, to environmentalists to those concerned with public safety to further facilitate even greater density in the second densest community in America?
Simply put, NOT A CHANCE. Thanks to our colleagues at FRIENDS, you can:

EMAIL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES HERE

Ask them to work for you, and New York City and fight raising the FAR Cap!
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