Community Board 8 rejects Mayor Adams' "City of Yes" housing proposal, citing flaws

The Community Board 8 special committe on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity voted unanimously to reject the mayor’s plan, citing an ignorance to the needs of the public.

File photo

Mayor Eric Adams’ proposal for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity has been in discussion for nearly a year, with numerous meetings to discuss the proposal and how it will affect greater Riverdale. 

Community Board 8 formed a special committee — headed by land-use chair Charles Moerdler — to oversee the discussion on the city’s housing plan. After its analysis, the committee unanimously signed a resolution, with an attached report, listing the numerous problems members found with the proposal.

Despite the plan’s stated commitment to creating more housing all over the city in an attempt to address the dire need for housing, the City of Yes plan holds little space for affordable, permanent housing, according to the CB 8 committee’s findings. 

“What is ‘affordable’ to some in Riverdale is not ‘affordable’ to others in adjacent zip codes, e.g., Kingsbridge Heights,” the report reads. 

The report says the proposal’s definition of affordable is a one-size-fits-all that doesn’t consider the differences in what affordable means for people of varying incomes and neighborhoods.

Data shows the average household income for Riverdale is $134,929, while the average household income for Kingsbridge Heights is $79,136. 

Overall, City of Yes looks to change zoning regulations to expand the amount and style of housing already offered and being developed. Among the changes it proposes, developers who agree to offer affordable housing in their projects can be allotted a 20 percent square-foot bonus. The affordable housing units offered must offer rates that align with the 60 percent Area Median Income.

The city’s 60 percent AMI currently stands at a $65,220 for one person. 

The CB8 report raises concern over the ability of developers to provide affordable housing due to limited private and public financing at reasonable cost, regulatory enforcement concerns and construction costs. 

“If developers are not provided the means to plan and build — financial and otherwise — they simply cannot afford to do so,” the report reads. 

The CB8 committee also expressed its trepidation over the rights of tenants and building occupants.

City of Yes for Housing includes the adaptation of accessory dwelling units, small units that can be added onto or adjacent to homes. The plan says these units can be used for seniors on fixed incomes or young people looking to afford their first home and can be converted into living quarters from backyard cottages, garage conversions or basement apartments. 

In its report, the CB8 special committee states its desire to ensure proper rights for the occupants and tenants of residential structures in the event the property owner decides to reconfigure the space to add an accessory dwelling unit. Between the construction that would take place on the property, disrupting the current tenants, and the lack of a formal approval from the community — the committee said it could become a quality-of-life issue. 

“The right of quiet enjoyment,” is ignored, according to the report. 

The board’s evidence for concern dates back several years, when moderate income homeowners and apartment residents in the Claflin-Webb Avenue area saw similar developments that, “jeopardized the nature of those communities.”

Kingsbridge Hieghts, the reports reads, which was once predominantly people of color on track to achieve stable incomes and afford homeownership, were bought out of the community by current and prospective homeowners. The special committee said this happened because the government didn’t assist existing residents, solidifying the committee members’ lack of faith in the city to protect existing tenants. 

In addition, basement apartments have received their share of bad press.

The city comptroller’s 2022 report on basement apartments stated these units number in the tens of thousands, housing many working-class immigrants and people of color due to their lower pricing.

The CB8 report said most basement apartments are illegal.

During Hurricane Ida in 2021, basement apartments were linked to the drowning death of 11 city residents.

The committee’s report includes the same concerns over the dangerous of flooding as well as other tragedies linked to basement inhabitants like electric and other fires, and carbon monoxide posioning. 

“The (City of Yes) proposal is extreme in its removal of local review, input and approval,” the report reads. 

Further proposed changes the special committee flagged include the effects of environmental degradation, as new construction begins with zoning restrictions gone. The board writes the mayor’s proposal is in favor of eliminating the Special Natural Area Districts in the Bronx and Staten Island, which would compound the damage. 

The final resolution signed by the committee states it rejects the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal, calling it “fatally flawed.”

The committee encourages the City Council to reject the proposal in its entirety as well, due to what the report called its lack of alignment with the public interest.

The City Council is due to vote on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity before the end of the calendar year.