NYC Council Forms New Advisory Group on Housing Affordability to Shape and Inform Major Housing Policies
NEW YORK, NY – Aspart of the Council’s proactive land use and housing agenda, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin today announced proposed reforms to the City’s Construction Codes to unlock new housing across the five boroughs. These reforms would be particularly impactful for small lots, where current regulations constrain the feasible design of additional housing. An initial analysis found that through legislative reforms that would create design efficiencies, the potential for up to 35,000 new units of housing could be unlocked on nearly 3,000 small lots across the five boroughs without undergoing burdensome, expensive, and time-consuming zoning changes.
Speaker Menin also announced the creation of a new Council Advisory Group on Housing Affordability, a panel of subject matter experts, advocates, organized labor, and community organizations that will help shape and inform the Council’s proactive policies to confront the housing crisis. The Advisory Group, which includes the expertise of architects, engineers, urban planners and designers, finance professionals, and fair housing advocates, will identify and refine proposals the Council can undertake to build, preserve, and support housing for New Yorkers.
Speaker Menin made the announcement at today’s American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York’s 2026 Honors and Awards Luncheon. Her remarks can be found here. Photos from the event can be found here.
“Across the five boroughs, there are thousands of small, underutilized lots that have the potential to deliver tens of thousands of new homes, but outdated rules and unnecessary red tape are standing in the way,” said Speaker Julie Menin. “That’s why we’re taking a proactive approach by convening a first-of-its-kind Advisory Group on Housing Affordability and advancing smart, targeted reforms to our Construction Codes. At a moment when vacancy is at historic lows and rents are at record highs, we have an obligation to act boldly and deliver real results for New Yorkers.”
New York City’s Construction Codes exist to ensure city buildings are safe for its occupants, but it also includes unnecessary regulations and red tape that hinder the development of housing. The Council intends to pursue targeted legislative reforms that maintain safety while spurring the creation of new, appropriately sized residential buildings on small lots between 15- and 27-feet wide.
According to the Council’s analysis, there are approximately 2,850 small lots across New York City that are vacant or underbuilt with non-residential uses. Through targeted reforms, these small lots could be developed as-of-right with housing in buildings up to 8 stories, which are less costly to build and generally rent and sell at lower prices than taller buildings, which cost more to build. Unlocking new housing on small lots would generate new jobs and add tax revenue for the City. It would also transform underutilized, often abandoned and trash-filled lots and revitalize communities throughout the five boroughs with homes that are more accessible to New Yorkers.
New York City is in the midst of a generational housing crisis, with a 1.4 percent housing vacancy rate, the lowest in more than five decades. The median rent in Manhattan remains $5,000 per month as of March 2026, with the number of active listings falling for the 19th consecutive month.
“As Chair of the Committee on Land Use, I see every day how outdated rules and unnecessary barriers limit our ability to build the housing New Yorkers urgently need,” said Council Member Kevin C. Riley. “Speaker Menin’s Small Lots initiative is a smart, targeted approach that unlocks real opportunity by turning underutilized spaces into homes without compromising safety or neighborhood character. The creation of the Council’s Advisory Group on Housing Affordability brings together the expertise, lived experience, and cross-sector leadership we need to shape thoughtful, forward-looking solutions. Together, these efforts reflect a proactive, collaborative path to delivering more housing and a more affordable New York for every generation.”
“New York City is in a deep affordability crisis, and every additional home unlocked matters,” said Council Member Pierina Sanchez, Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings. “I applaud Speaker Menin for launching this Advisory Group to unlock more housing across the city, including on small lots that have long gone underutilized. This effort will bring experts together in a new format to allow NYC to consider legislative reforms and design efficiencies that maintain safety while expanding opportunities to build.”
The Council Advisory Group on Housing Affordability will be co-chaired by Barika Williams, Executive Director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, and James H. Simmons III, CEO and Founder of Asland Capital Partners.
“I’m honored to serve as co-chair and appreciate the Speaker’s leadership in forming this Advisory group at this critical moment for housing in New York City,” said Barika Williams, Executive Director, Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development. “For ANHD and our members, preserving and expanding access to deeply affordable housing must be at the center of any housing strategy. We look forward to working with Council leadership, the administration, and all partners across the housing community to advance solutions to our housing affordability crisis.”
“By taking a hard look at outdated rules and unlocking the potential of small lots across the five boroughs, we have a historic opportunity to create tens of thousands of new homes while putting thousands of New Yorkers to work in good-paying, union jobs,” said Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. “As co-chair of this Advisory Group, I’m proud to partner with Speaker Menin, industry experts, and community stakeholders to make sure these reforms are smart, safe, and deliver for working people. Expanding housing supply and strengthening our workforce go hand in hand, and this initiative is a meaningful step forward on both fronts.”
“This critical initiative reflects the kind of creative problem-solving approach New York City requires today,” said James H. Simmons III, CEO and Founder of Asland Capital Partners. “Unlocking small lots is one of many innovative ideas worth considering as we look for practical and immediate ways to expand housing supply outside of large-scale rezonings. As a co-chair, I look forward to working with the Council and citywide stakeholders to advance solutions that are inventive, achievable, and capable of delivering real results for New Yorkers facing a worsening housing supply crisis.”
“The housing crisis in NYC is the result of specific issues – many which have not been dealt with because they are complex, technical or below the legislative radar,” said Andre Soluri, Principal, Soluri Architecture. “This initiative begins to tackle some of the technical issues that are unintentionally preventing housing from being built. I applaud Speaker Menin and the New York City Council for tackling these challenging issues by engaging with the AIANY and architecture community to identify specific technical issues that lay below the legislative radar which are preventing housing from being built.”
“AIA New York applauds Speaker Menin and the City Council for their leadership in advancing practical, actionable policy solutions and convening an advisory group to explore innovative strategies to tackle our city’s housing crisis,” said Jesse Lazar, Executive Director of American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY). “In an effort to fully realize the opportunities unlocked through other recent reforms, complementary updates to codes and regulations can activate architects’ ingenuity and open up more pathways to meeting the city’s affordable housing needs. The design industry is eager to serve as a partner, identifying reforms to deliver quality housing and a vibrant built environment.”
“The City Council’s building code reform initiative is a smart and necessary step toward reducing construction costs and bringing New York City’s building code in line with global best practices,” said Maddie DeCerbo, Director of Urban Planning, Real Estate Board of New York. “The proposed changes, particularly those related to single-stair buildings, will help unlock new housing production by making more mid and small-sized projects financially viable. REBNY supports these efforts and sees this as an important step toward expanding housing supply while maintaining the highest standards for safety and quality.”
“The New York Building Congress applauds Speaker Menin and the City Council for forming the Construction Code Reform Advisory Group at a time when New York needs more housing and less red tape,” said Carlo A. Scissura, Esq., President & CEO, New York Building Congress. “Smart, specific code reforms can cut unnecessary costs, reduce delay, and help move badly needed housing projects forward. Our industry is ready to engage, ready to roll up its sleeves, and ready to help build the next generation of housing for New Yorkers.”
“Simply allowing more housing on paper isn’t enough – we also have to make sure it can get built in practice,” said Moses Gates, Vice President, Housing & Neighborhood Planning, Regional Plan Association (RPA).“This means doing the hard work of digging through codes and seeing what works and what doesn’t. Creating this advisory committee is a terrific commitment to making sure that this work gets done, and that we can build the housing we need on all lots, big and small, throughout the five boroughs.”
“New York’s housing crisis is fundamentally a supply crisis. NYSAFAH is proud to work closely with the City Council on these smart, practical, targeted proposals that seek to ease pressure on rents and help in the fight to make our city more affordable for working families,” said Samantha Magistro, Board Chair, New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH). “The affordable housing industry is excited to continue these conversations to address other issues affecting our sector, and we appreciate the seriousness with which our local government is taking these challenges, because that ultimately results in the homes New Yorkers deserve.”
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