Turning Housing Policy into Housing Supply: How New York Can Build What It Plans

New York City’s affordable housing crisis threatens its economic stability and the fabric of its communities. Soaring rents and minimal vacancies are pricing residents out, diminishing the local economy, tax base and intellectual capital. Our city urgently needs more housing to meet current needs and support growth.

In response, a surge of ambitious housing plans has emerged, with goals for new and preserved units climbing steadily – some aiming as high as a million new homes. Yet ambitious plans are just a start. David Quart, Real Estate Market Leader at VHB, explains how visionary policy can become buildable communities.

Many housing plans have launched recently. What's key to turning those into actual homes?

Setting ambitious goals – 300,000 units, 500,000, even a million – is exciting and attention grabbing. But to actually build those homes, we need to confront barriers like streamlining approvals, using smart design to lower construction costs and coordinating funding more effectively.

Location matters, too. Private land plays a role, but public land is a huge opportunity, and we’re seeing real momentum from both the city and state to unlock key sites.

There’s also a cultural shift starting to take hold in how communities think about growth. It's not about dropping skyscrapers in low-rise neighborhoods, but supporting diverse housing options, like mid-rise buildings and mixed-use developments, that naturally fit. We need to treat housing as public infrastructure, like transit and schools, because stable housing creates resilient communities – and allows more people to participate in the city’s economy.

What policies can help deliver this vision of diverse housing types?

The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity really shines here. This zoning reform aligns New York’s land use rules with today’s housing needs, making it easier to build a wider variety of homes across more neighborhoods.

A great example is allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), like converting a garage or basement into an apartment, or adding a standalone backyard structure. These can create affordable options and offer extra income for homeowners.

The zoning reform also encourages transforming commercial strips into lively neighborhood centers with apartments above shops and restaurants. These aren’t flashy towers, but they add housing, improve walkability and enhance neighborhood character.

Transportation is a big part of livability and access. How is transit connectivity integrated with affordable housing?

One promising approach is leveraging density bonuses in exchange for transit improvements. If a developer builds an elevator or improves station accessibility in coordination with the MTA, they can unlock additional housing capacity. It’s a win-win – better transit access and more housing. We’re seeing this in Midtown Manhattan and beyond.

City of Yes also introduced a streamlined approval process for certain zoning changes, like building bulk modifications, without the full ULURP review. That alone can shave months off a development timeline and get people settled into housing faster.

Have you seen these strategies already making an impact on the ground?

It’s only been a few months, but absolutely! Take 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn. Thanks to the state lifting the residential density cap and City of Yes mapping new zoning districts, this proposed project, which is starting public review now, has grown from under 800 to more than 1,250 apartments. It’s the same location, same level of due diligence and same public review process, now delivering significantly more mixed-income housing options. That’s smart policy turning into real homes for New Yorkers.

Scaling these efforts takes resources. What financing tools can help accelerate affordable housing?

Most affordable housing still needs some public subsidy. Market-rate cross-subsidies often fall short in moderate- and lower-income neighborhoods. Strengthening tools like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Section 8 vouchers and tax-exempt bonds are important, as these and related programs support housing production and economic development.

While the ongoing discussions about potential federal budget cuts are unsettling, one positive step would be an increase in the federal low-income housing tax credit allocation. This move, which is currently going through Congress and seems to have bipartisan support, would have a measurable impact on how much affordable housing gets built.

Turning to another critical livability issue in the city, what are you seeing in the current office market?

New, state-of-the-art offices are thriving, but we’ve gone back to work, and there’s still plenty of empty office space. The combination of City of Yes permitting more buildings to convert and the new 467-m incentive looks like a game changer for owners with properties that can be transformed into residential.

While these conversions may represent a small piece of the total office stock, they make a difference. They help reduce vacancy, create much-needed housing, and activate blocks with new uses that weren’t there before.

Final thought – what's the biggest lever we have to turn plans into pavement?

Alignment. When land use policy, community support, transit infrastructure and funding align, we can actually build housing. Without that coordination, even the best-laid plans stall. But when we get it right, the results can be genuinely transformative.