Adams unveils 'City of Yes' plan to spur new housing

Mayor Eric Adams unveiled an ambitious plan this fall to rewrite the city's zoning rules in an effort to spur the construction of new housing, a response to a severe shortage that has driven rents to punishing levels and made New York unaffordable for many.

The initiative, branded "City of Yes," aimed to remove obstacles to building homes across the five boroughs, allowing more apartments near transit, easing rules on converting offices to residences, legalising more accessory dwelling units and permitting a little more density in neighbourhoods that had long resisted growth.

Officials argued that decades of restrictive zoning and neighbourhood opposition had choked off housing production even as the population and demand grew, pushing up costs and worsening homelessness. The plan, they said, would allow "a little more housing in every neighbourhood."

The proposal set up a familiar battle. Housing advocates and many economists welcomed it as a necessary step to address the shortage, while some community groups and local officials warned about the strain of new development on infrastructure and the character of their neighbourhoods.

The plan would have to wind its way through a lengthy public review and the City Council, where it faced negotiation and amendment. But it represented one of the most significant attempts in years to confront the city's housing crisis at its root, by simply allowing more homes to be built.