Mamdani Shortens Affordable Housing Approval Process

The Mamdani administration has unveiled a package of reforms aimed at speeding up the pace of affordable housing development, dubbed Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development (SPEED).

They will also change the city’s housing lottery for tenants, by shortening the application window from 60 days to 21 days and speeding up screening.

Most of the reforms will specifically reduce the time it takes to overcome particular “hurdles” of the housing development pipeline, Mamdani says, from “pre-development” to construction to leasing.

“Housing is the leading driver of our affordability crisis,” Mamdani said at a May 13 presser on the reform package, held at a high-school in the Bronx. “The numbers, frankly, tell a grim tale. Our vacancy rate stands at just 1.4 percent, meaning that only one in seven rentals are available at any given time.”

“We want to cut the ribbon on new housing,” he said later. “We will do so by cutting the red tape that is in its way.”

One large reform in the package involves the dramatic shortening of the housing “pre-certification” process, required for many developments involving zoning changes, from two years to less than six months. This period notably includes the environmental review process.

Another reform cuts the period between the completion of construction and “move-in” time from 210 days to “less than 100.” The permitting time for new construction and housing-to-residential conversion will be slashed by five months, as well.

Overall, the Mamdani administration says that the reforms will reduce affordable housing development time by eight months across the board, with projects requiring zoning changes being “sped” up by two years.

City Hall notes that no legislative sign-off is required for the reform package, which was reportedly put together with input from over 100 different consultants, including trade groups and developers. Their recommendations are the product of a “SPEED Task Force,” which Mamdani created via an executive order on his first day in office.

Business advocacy groups expressed support for the resulting rollout of the reforms on May 13.

“New York’s housing crisis is a crisis of speed as much as supply,” Steven Fulop, CEO of the Partnership for New York, said in a statement. “This is the right approach, and Mayor Mamdani deserves credit for moving decisively and for committing to measurable results.”

“The City’s SPEED initiative is a smart and necessary step forward, and we commend the Mamdani administration for taking action to cut red tape, modernize outdated building requirements, and improve how city agencies operate,” James Whelan, President of the Real Estate Board of New York, said in a statement of his own.

Carlina Rivera, the former District 2 City Council Member and current CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, also joined Mamdani at the presser announcing the housing reforms.

“For far too long, affordable housing providers have been buried under over regulation and compliance mandates,” she said. “Every week saved in approvals can be the difference between homes being built and preserved, or not.”

Although he did not appear at the press conference, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine—who was a proponent of the similar zoning overhaul known as “City of Yes” during his time as Manhattan Borough President—issued a similar statement of praise for the “SPEED” reforms.

”Solving our housing crisis will require reducing barriers at every stage of the pipeline, from permitting to lease-up,” Levine said.