NYC builds taller housing again, as state, city law reset the stage
New York City is increasing housing density, though much of the early progress stems from state law changes and rezonings that predate Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration.
Those moves are now starting to show up in steel and concrete, even as Mamdani advances his own housing agenda.
The clearest example is in Midtown South.
City officials issued permits for a mixed-use project that will rise 32 stories on a lot that now holds a two-story building. It is one of the first towers to fully exploit the higher residential floor-area ratio (FAR) now allowed after state and city officials scrapped 1960s-era limits adopted amid fears that higher density would cause trouble.
Instead, the city’s affordability worsened until the Big Apple became one of the world’s most expensive places to live. Over the past several years, city and state leaders have focused on improving affordability by changing zoning and cutting red tape that impedes construction.
With the new zoning changes in place that will benefit him, Mamdani is pressing forward with his own initiatives to shred red tape and speed up housing construction in a bid to improve affordability. His team is pushing permitting and financing changes designed to move projects on public land more quickly from concept to groundbreaking, and to make smaller infill developments pencil out in more neighborhoods.
Law changes increase density
State lawmakers changed the law affecting FAR in 2024 to allow New York City to build more densely. Then-Mayor Eric Adams followed the same year with City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, a sweeping zoning amendment aimed at easing rules so more housing could be added in every neighborhood. The package expanded where multifamily buildings can be built and commercial-to-residential conversions can happen. It also legalized more accessory dwelling units.
Under the change, certain high-density districts can now reach residential FARs of 15 and 18 when projects include permanently affordable apartments, a dramatic increase over what Midtown South sites could previously build as of right.
“For decades, the FAR cap limited the size of new buildings,” NYC Planning officials wrote in a social media post.
Density limits arose in a 1961 rewrite of the state’s Multiple Dwelling Law to prevent so-called “vertical slums” that could overwhelm urban infrastructure, as the political influence of urban planning legend Robert Moses started to wane.
Mamdani’s approach
Mamdani is trying to put his own stamp on the housing landscape, building on rules put in place before he took office.
His administration recently launched “ADU for You,” a digital platform the city commissioned from WXY Architecture + Urban Design. The package centers on pre-reviewed plans for small backyard cottages, basement apartments and attic conversions that the city legalized in late 2024. In addition to a guidebook, it offers a zoning checker and cost estimates to help one- and two-family homeowners decide what they can build.
New York City is adding its own twist with the Plus One financing program. The initiative can provide substantial low- or no-interest assistance to eligible owners who agree to keep the new units affordable, an attempt to blunt high construction costs and spread ADUs beyond the wealthiest ZIP codes.
Mamdani is also chasing a far more epic victory in housing development. He has revived a decade-old proposal to build roughly 12,000 affordable units on a platform over Queens’ Sunnyside Yard, a 180-acre freight and marshaling hub. The idea is not expected to go far.
Success in building more affordable housing may be more incremental. Mamdani recently announced Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, a program meant to accelerate affordable projects on city-owned land.
He said during a press conference that the program, combined with referendums approved last November, could shave two and a half years off the time it takes to build housing in New York City.
“I say that to you in a city where we know that time is money,” Mamdani said.
City Hall projects that the new program could add up to 1,000 affordable homes over the next two years.
City weighs density gains against luxury risks
Paired with the new latitude on residential FAR, that kind of city-led pipeline shows how abstract policy starts to solidify into steel and concrete. Taller projects, such as the Midtown South tower, near jobs and transit, are essential if the city hopes to close its housing deficit.
Preservation and neighborhood groups counter that the same tools could fuel a wave of luxury construction if the city does not tightly police affordability and displacement. The Midtown South project may serve as an early test of whether the new framework will deliver the promised mix of income-restricted and market-rate units.