We will seek opportunities to expand the use of inclusionary zoning, harnessing the private market to create economically-integrated communities
When the Department of City Planning (DCP) approached the rezoning of Maspeth-Woodside, Queens, it wanted to preserve the neighborhood's rows of single-family houses settled along quiet, residential blocks. But along Queens Boulevard, the wideness of the street was not matched by the scale of the housing and shopping opportunities. So, in addition to acting to preserve the character of the interior blocks, DCP opened up the broader boulevards to a mix of affordable units and private market development. But this rezoning was different: the Maspeth/Woodside rezoning included the first inclusionary zoning program ever in Queens.

Inclusionary zoning enables developers to build larger buildings in exchange for dedicating a percentage of their units to affordable housing, either onsite or within a short distance. Traditionally, this strategy has been leveraged across Manhattan and emerging areas of Brooklyn, where the pace of development and surging demand has attracted record numbers of building permits. Developers have been eager to incorporate more units, and in exchange, create more affordable housing for neighborhoods, fulfilling the promise of the city-people from every background living side-by-side in a single neighborhood. Now that kind of demand is spreading across all of New York.

Already, we have incorporated inclusionary zoning provisions in Hudson Yards and West Chelsea on the west side of Manhattan and in Greenpoint-Williamsburg and South Park Slope in Brooklyn. Many other rezonings incorporating inclusionary zoning have been completed or are underway, including in Fort Greene and the Lower East Side. We must continue to maximize this strategy as we evaluate possible new rezonings to ensure that not only is more housing produced, but also that it is more affordable.

Progress (as of 4/22/08):
The Administration continues to pursue inclusionary zoning (IZ) by including it in appropriate area-wide rezonings, such as the large Jamaica rezoning. To date, the Administration is encouraging the use of IZ in new developments in Hudson Yards, Greenpoint/Williamsburg, West Chelsea, South Park Slope, Maspeth/Woodside, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, Bedford Stuyvesant, and the Upper West Side. The City is also pursuing IZ in the 125th Street, Lower East Side, and Dutch Kills rezonings. The 125th Street rezoning proposal began the public review process in October 2007 and is under consideration by the City Council. DCP is also considering IZ as part of rezoning proposals for the Lower Concourse, 161st Street/River Avenue, Sunset Park, Coney Island, DUMBO, and Sherman Creek, all of which are expected to begin the public review process in 2008 or 2009.