Dozens of residents from Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Manhattan gathered in the City Hall garden on Friday morning, May 31st, to express their opposition to the urban renewal project “City of Yes” that the New York City government is pushing as part of the current zoning text amendments. The protesters criticized the plan, claiming that if approved by the city council, it would allow developers to build unchecked, asserting that the City of Yes is a “big lie” and that the city does not need to push for zoning reforms to build more affordable housing.
State Assembly Member Jaime Williams, a Democrat representing the southern Brooklyn district, spoke at the gathering, stating that her district is also a residential area and that the City of Yes would destroy the community. Williams emphasized that people work hard to pay taxes to support their families and seek a quality of life that is not too crowded. She criticized the City of Yes for claiming that building more structures is the solution to the housing crisis, calling it an illusion created at the expense of the people.
One of the organizers of the event, urban planning consultant Paul Graziano, emphasized that the current zoning can accommodate an additional 8 to 12 million people and that the issue is not a “housing crisis” but rather a problem of affordability caused by government policies. Graziano further stated that allowing developers to build high-density housing units in communities would not solve housing affordability issues but instead benefit developers and destabilize neighborhoods.
The City of Yes, introduced by Mayor Eric Adams and the NYC Planning Commission, consists of three sub-projects: “Zero Carbon Emissions,” “Economic Opportunity,” and “Housing Opportunity.” However, the latter two, involving amendments to the current zoning text, have sparked controversy.
For example, under the “Housing Opportunity” component, the City of Yes proposes amendments to allow builders to construct high-density buildings in low-density residential areas, causing strong opposition from property owners in neighborhoods such as Douglaston, Richmond, Jamaica Estates in Queens, as well as Staten Island, southern Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
Yiatin Chu, chairwoman of the Asian Wave Alliance, an Asian-American voter organization, described the City of Yes as a hollow plan that would harm their community. She expressed concerns about the impact on property values and the quality of life, especially in duplex communities, which are predominantly inhabited by immigrants striving to provide a stable home for their families.
Chu further pointed out that the limited parking resources in low-density residential areas would become scarcer due to the housing proposals of the City of Yes, exacerbating existing parking challenges that residents already face.
Steve Barrison, Executive Vice President of the Small Business Congress and Chairman of the Bay Improvement Group in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, criticized the City of Yes proposal as deceitful and a complete fabrication designed to serve developers’ interests rather than the community’s needs. Barrison, an expert in land use planning for over 40 years, argued that the proposal to alter zoning regulations for small communities takes years of careful consideration and should not be rushed, especially during a pandemic when residents are preoccupied with health and safety concerns.
Barrison highlighted that the City of New York can already accommodate millions of additional housing units without the need for zoning changes and warned that if the City of Yes is approved, developers would be allowed to build in previously restricted areas, increasing housing density without adding green spaces.
Requests for comments from the NYC Mayor’s Office and the Department of City Planning (DCP) went unanswered as of the deadline for this report.