IMPROVING PROCESS TO ACCELERATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
WHEREAS, New York City is experiencing its worst housing shortage since 1968, resulting in a vacancy rate—a measure of the City’s housing stock available for rent—of just 1.4%; and
WHEREAS, that shortage must be addressed through the delivery of additional housing at all levels of affordability; and
WHEREAS, both City and other public administrative and permitting processes necessary for the development of new housing can affect the pace and volume of affordable housing production, and improving these processes will aid in the creation of new housing; and
WHEREAS, improvements in City processes can be made at every stage of the production process, from pre-certification prior to public review, to financing, permitting, construction, marketing, and leasing of new rental units; and
WHEREAS, City policies and procedures—from regulations, administration, to planning—significantly impact affordable housing production and availability and thereby affect the health, safety, and welfare of New Yorkers;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Establishment of the Task Force. There is hereby established an interagency Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development Task Force (the “SPEED Task Force”).
a. The SPEED Task Force shall be co-chaired by the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning and the Deputy Mayor for Operations, or their respective designees or successors (the “Co-Chairs”).
b. The SPEED Task Force shall consist of representatives from Mayoral agencies and offices, including the Department of Buildings, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Fire Department of New York, the Department of City Planning, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Office of Environmental Remediation, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Finance, and representatives of other agencies or offices designated by the Co-Chairs.
c. The SPEED Task Force may also seek the participation and cooperation of state agencies, public authorities and public corporations and other entities as the Co-Chairs deem appropriate, including, but not limited to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Consolidated Edison, National Grid, Public Service Electric and Gas, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Co-Chairs may invite any of these or other entities as designated by the Co-Chairs to participate on the Task Force in accordance with subdivision b of this Section.
§ 2. Duties of the SPEED Task Force. The SPEED Task Force shall:
a. Identify policies and procedures in administrative and permitting processes of City agencies, as well as policies and procedures of non-City entities, that affect the timely production and availability of affordable housing, including such policies and procedures affecting pre- and post-construction approvals, project financing, and project marketing;
b. Develop and recommend strategies to streamline these processes to expedite processes to facilitate the most efficient production of affordable housing. The SPEED Task Force shall report to the Mayor an initial set of recommendations no later than 100 days from the issuance of this Order; and
c. Convene regularly to develop and monitor implementation of these strategies, and recommend new such strategies, to more efficiently track and expedite the production of affordable housing.
§ 3. Effective Date. This Order shall take effect immediately, and shall expire and be deemed revoked on December 31, 2030.
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Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Mayor