Res. No. 503-B

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation that allows for the conversion of commercial units to residential units and creates the Affordable Housing from Commercial Conversions (AHCC) tax benefit program.

By Council Members Brannan, Salamanca, Velázquez, Farías, Yeger, Riley, Brewer, Williams, Cabán, Powers, Richardson Jordan, Stevens, Marte, Krishnan, Rivera and Ung

Whereas, For the past decade, New York City’s housing production has not kept up with population and job growth; and

Whereas, According to the U.S. Census, between 2010 and 2020, New York City’s population grew about 7.7 percent from nearly 8.2 million residents to over 8.8 million residents, the total housing stock grew by 7.3 percent from 3.37 million to 3.62 million units and the number of jobs grew by 10.2 percent from 3.75 million to 4.13 million; and

Whereas, AKRF, an environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm, released a study on January 5, 2022 that indicated that without substantial new residential development, the City’s housing production deficit could worsen; and

Whereas, When the report was released, according to the New York City Department of City Planning, there were only 79,500 units in the housing development pipeline, however AKRF claims that the City will need an additional 485,000 housing units by 2030; and

Whereas, New York City only approved 25.3 units per 1,000 residents from 2010 to 2019, behind peer cities such as Houston, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.; and

Whereas, New York City is also experiencing an affordable housing crisis, with data from the 2022 Income and Affordability Study by the Rent Guidelines Board showing that the approximate proportion of households citywide paying 30 percent or more of their income towards gross rent is 51.7 percent and the proportion paying 50 percent or more of their income is 28.3 percent; and

Whereas, the New York City Council passed Local Law 43 of 2021, requiring a taskforce to examine the opportunity for housing, including affordable housing, and the use of economic incentives to provide affordable housing, from the adaptive reuse of obsolete office space, given the impacts of the Covid pandemic to the commercial office market sector; and

Whereas, Speaker Adrienne Adams has put forth a housing agenda to increase housing production with a focus on equity; and

Whereas, Given the need for more affordable housing units, New York State should pass legislation that allows the conversion of commercial units to residential units and creates a new

tax incentive to encourage converted buildings to include permanently affordable residential units; and

Whereas, The development of affordable housing through the conversion of commercial spaces into residential units should adhere to rigorous labor standards to ensure the safety of the builders who make these conversions possible; and

Whereas, The passage of this bill would allow for more affordable housing units to be located in areas that are closer to jobs, public transportation and stores; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation that expands eligibility for the conversion of commercial units to residential units and creates the Affordable Housing from Commercial Conversions (AHCC) tax benefit program.

JLC/AS

3/15/2023

LS 12267