As the city’s wide-ranging City of Yes housing initiative continues through public review, Bronx community boards appear to be largely rejecting the proposal.
According to information from the Department of City Planning (DCP), Bronx community boards 3, 4, 7 and 9 have voted “yes” to the proposal, while boards 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12 have all voted “no.” Community Board 1 has not yet submitted a vote.
Meanwhile, new data shows that some Bronx neighborhoods are far outpacing others in terms of affordable housing construction amid the city’s housing shortage.
The South Bronx — specifically District 17, represented by Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. — is the city’s No. 1 leader in affordable housing construction. His district has produced the highest number of affordable units in the past year and over the past 10 years, according to New York Housing Conference, a broad coalition of for-profit and nonprofit affordable housing stakeholders.
The city has made various efforts at engagement and outreach for its effort to “build a little more housing in every neighborhood” and level out the construction disparities.
And despite the pushback that City of Yes has seen from some neighborhoods, “inaction here is not an option,” said Dan Garodnick of DCP.
In an interview with the Bronx Times, Garodnick emphasized the “human consequences” of the city’s housing shortage: rents remain high for everyone, it is difficult to move around and too many New Yorkers do not have permanent homes at all.
High rents and housing scarcity are the direct result of local policies, according to Garodnick — and there is an urgent “need to connect those dots” so that residents understand how the problem might be alleviated, he said.
Any ambitious initiative like City of Yes brings criticism from all sides, ranging from those who think it should be a pilot program to those who think it doesn’t go far enough, said Garodnick.
“We’re going to strike a balance” and take public input seriously, he said.
Zoning is a tool that “sets boundaries of what is possible” — leaving it to planners and developers to ensure the responsibility of what is put in place, Garodnick said. He said there has been some “fearmongering” about the rezoning, but in his view, the proposal is “not a radical change” from what already exists in the city’s varied neighborhoods.
Housing tracker
The city’s distribution of new affordable housing has not been equal — and the newly-updated NYC Housing Tracker shows the public and council members “who’s saying yes to housing and who’s not,” said Rachel Fee, executive director of New York Housing Conference (NYHC).
In the Bronx, some council districts like Salamanca’s rank at or near the top of the city’s affordable housing production — and others, like Kristy Marmorato’s eastern District 13, rank near the bottom.
District 17 has added 5,916 units of affordable housing since 2014, far outpacing the city average of 1,557, while District 13 has produced only 104.
For the year 2023, with the citywide average at 279 units, District 17 still added 1,266. District 13 produced close to the average last year with 265.
Housing tracker information shows that Central Brooklyn and the South Bronx are shouldering most of the affordable housing burden.
“I think this data shows we can do better,” Fee told the Bronx Times.
The tracker, which is updated annually, is just one tool that residents and elected officials can use to inform funding and development decisions.
NYHC supports City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, said Fee. For those neighborhoods who push back against shelters, supportive housing and affordable housing, “You can’t have it both ways,” she said.
Who’s doing their fair share?
Salamanca Jr. told the Bronx Times that he has been “extremely open-minded” about housing development in his district — sometimes despite pushback from constituents who believe their area has already done enough.
From his stance as chair of the Land Use committee, Salamanca Jr. called out the east Bronx for NIMBYism — but said that City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which he generally supports, may “provide cover” for council members fearful of constituent backlash.
Still, Salamanca Jr. said his support for City of Yes is contingent on several factors, including a parking study. Parking is a great concern for his community because many households own at least one vehicle, Salamanca Jr. said.
A significant number of Bronxites — and New York City residents, in general — own cars, especially those in the outer boroughs. The northern Bronx has about 61% car ownership and the southern part of the borough has 32%. Citywide, 51% of New Yorkers surveyed have at least one vehicle in the household, according to the 2022 Citywide Mobility Survey.
The Metro-North expansion project and City of Yes rezoning, as well as other streetscape and safety improvements, all have the potential to take parking spaces off of streets, Salamanca Jr. said.
What happens next
The city is currently weighing possible changes to City of Yes for Housing Opportunity based on input from elected officials and the community, Garodnick said. In September, the City Planning Commission is expected to vote on the proposal. From there, City Council will hold a hearing and vote, which is expected before the end of the calendar year.
A frequently asked questions document can be found here.
See where Bronx council districts rank on affordable housing construction:
Council Member |
District | Neighborhoods | Citywide affordable housing rank (out of 51) |
Rafael Salamanca | 17 | Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Hunts Point, Longwood, North & South Brother Islands, Morrisania, Crotona Park East, Concourse-Concourse Village, West Farms, Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River | #1 |
Oswald Feliz | 15 | Morrisania, Claremont Village-Claremont (East), Crotona Park East, Crotona Park, Mount Eden-Claremont (West), Claremont Park, Mount Hope, Fordham Heights, West Farms, Tremont, Belmont, University Heights (North)-Fordham, Bedford Park, Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River, Pelham Parkway-Van Nest, Allerton, Bronx Park | #2 |
Diana Ayala | 8 | Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Concourse-Concourse Village, Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side-Yorkville, East Harlem (South), East Harlem (North), Randall’s Island | #3 |
Pierina Sanchez | 14 | University Heights (South)-Morris Heights, Mount Hope, Fordham Heights, University Heights (North)-Fordham, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge-Marble Hill | #11 |
Amanda Farias | 18 | Soundview-Bruckner, Soundview-Clason Point, Castle Hill-Unionport, Harding Park, Parkchester, Westchester Square | #14 |
Eric Dinowitz | 11 | Bedford Park, Norwood, Kingsbridge Heights-Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge, Riverdale-Spuyten Duyvil, Wakefield-Woodlawn, Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park | #17 |
Kevin Riley | 12 | Co-op City, Pelham Gardens, Allerton, Williamsbridge-Olinville, Eastchester-Edenwald-Baychester, Wakefield-Woodlawn, Pelham Bay Park | #30 |
Kristy Marmorato | 13 | West Farms, Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River, Castle Hill-Unionport, Westchester Square, Throgs Neck-Schuylerville, Pelham Bay-Country Club-City Island, Co-op City, Hart Island, Ferry Point Park-St. Raymond Cemetery, Pelham Parkway-Van Nest, Morris Park, Pelham Bay Park | #39 |
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes