The text amendment to the Inclusionary Housing provisions of the Zoning Resolution proposed by the Department of City Planning and Department of Housing Preservation and Development was adopted by the City Council on July 29, 2009 and is now in effect. This text amendment:
- Upgraded the Inclusionary Housing program to include a permanently affordable homeownership option;
- Increased the number of permanently affordable units that can be created and preserved under the original program, which applies in the highest-density residential districts, by extending provisions of the recently expanded (2005) program; and
- Made technical improvements to the program based on the experience of agencies, developers, and affordable housing groups
You can view the current text of the Inclusionary Housing program in  Section 23-90 of the Zoning Resolution. |
|
Introduction
|
Palmer’s Dock on Kent Avenue on the Williamsburg waterfront (in Brooklyn) includes 113 on-site affordable units through the Inclusionary Housing program |
In 2005, New York City introduced a groundbreaking addition to the Inclusionary Housing Program to promote affordable housing in new residential developments. The program fosters economic integration within redeveloping neighborhoods by leveraging private market activity to generate affordable housing. By providing a floor area bonus for the construction or preservation of affordable housing, inclusionary zoning harnesses the strength of the city's housing market to create a mix of units for low- and moderate-income families along with market-rate apartments.
The Inclusionary Housing Program is being implemented by the Department of City Planning together with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and is part of the Mayor's New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing over ten years.
The original Inclusionary Housing Program, part of New York City's zoning since 1987, was confined mainly to Manhattan's highest density districts. The expanded Inclusionary Housing Program, which can be applied in areas being rezoned to medium- and high-density residential districts, combines a zoning floor area bonus with a variety of housing subsidy programs to create powerful incentives for the development and preservation of affordable housing. Developments taking advantage of the full bonus in the new program must devote at least 20 percent of their residential floor area to housing that will remain permanently affordable to lower-income households.
The new program has been applied in recent rezonings that promote new housing development. As development occurs in areas where it is applicable, the Inclusionary Housing Program is expected to produce over 10,000 affordable units. Within four years of the first rezoning to introduce the expanded program, over 1,900 units of affordable housing have either been built or are in development.
Where Inclusionary Housing Is Applicable
The new Inclusionary Housing Program is applicable in a number of recently rezoned areas. Click on the map or links below for information about each of these rezonings.
| Neighborhood |
See Zoning Resolution Section |
| Hudson Yards (Manhattan) |
23-90, 93-23 |
| Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront (Brooklyn) |
23-90, 62-352 |
| Greenpoint-Williamsburg upland (Brooklyn) |
23-90 |
| West Chelsea (Manhattan) |
23-90, 98-26 |
| South Park Slope - 4th Avenue (Brooklyn) |
23-90 |
| Williamsburg Waterfront R7-3 Districts (Brooklyn) |
23-90, 62-352 |
| Maspeth/Woodside - Queens Boulevard (Queens) |
23-90 |
| Fort Greene (Brooklyn) |
23-90 |
| Jamaica (Queens) |
23-90, 115-211 |
| Upper West Side (Manhattan) |
23-90 |
| Bedford-Stuyvesant South (Brooklyn) |
23-90 |
| 125th Street (Manhattan) |
23-90, 97-421 |
| Dutch Kills (Queens)
|
23-90, 117-631 |
| Hunter’s Point South (Queens)
|
23-90, 125-22 |
| East Village/Lower East Side (Manhattan)
|
23-90 |
Lower Concourse (Bronx) |
23-90, 87-20 |
Coney Island (Brooklyn) |
23-30, 131-321 |
Dumbo (Brooklyn) |
23-30 |
Flatbush (Brooklyn) |
23-30 |
Greenpoint-Williamsburg Contextual (Brooklyn) |
23-30 |
161st Street/River Avenue (Bronx) |
23-30 |
Sunset Park (Brooklyn) |
23-30 |
Expanded Inclusionary Housing Zoning Bonus
In areas where the new Inclusionary Housing Program is applicable, a zoning bonus allows increased floor area for residential developments in exchange for the provision of permanently affordable housing. The additional floor area must be accommodated within the applicable height and setback provisions of the underlying zoning district.
In most areas where the Inclusionary Housing Program is applicable, such as 4th Avenue in South Park Slope and Queens Boulevard in Maspeth/Woodside, bonus floor area is accommodated within the height limits of a contextual zoning district. In these areas, the amount of bonus floor area is determined by the amount of lower-income housing provided. For each square foot of lower-income housing provided, a development is eligible for 1.25 square feet of bonus floor area, up to the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) permitted with the bonus. (In other words, for every 400 square feet of affordable housing provided, a developer can increase the project's floor area by 500 square feet.) Developments attaining the full bonus are required to provide an amount of affordable housing equaling 20 percent of the residential floor area developed on the site.
Illustration of Inclusionary Housing bonus in R8A district, South Park Slope
For example, an Inclusionary Housing bonus is available in R8A districts mapped on 4th Avenue under the 2005 South Park Slope Rezoning (Community District 7, Brooklyn). For developments not participating in the Inclusionary Housing Program, the maximum FAR is 5.4. For a development providing affordable housing, the FAR may be increased by 1.25 square feet for each square foot of lower-income housing provided, up to a maximum FAR of 7.2, a bonus of 33 percent for providing 20 percent affordable housing. Bonus floor area is accommodated within the height limits of the R8A district.
In Hudson Yards, the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, and West Chelsea, a floor area bonus is available for developments providing a flat percentage, at least 20 percent, of total residential floor area for affordable housing. Bonus floor area is accommodated within the height and setback regulations for each of these areas.
R10 Inclusionary Housing Program
The original Inclusionary Housing bonus continues to be available in R10 and equivalent commercial districts, the city's highest-density residential districts, in areas where the new program does not apply. In these zoning districts, affordable units have the option of using public subsidies or producing affordable units without subsidy. For publicly subsidized affordable units, a floor area bonus of up to 20 percent may be earned at a rate of 1.25 square feet of bonus floor area per square foot of affordable floor area. For privately financed affordable units, a higher bonus ratio may be earned depending on how the units are produced, ranging from 2.0 for preservation to 3.5 for new construction or substantial rehabilitation.
Lower-Income Housing Requirements
In order to earn the bonus, lower-income units must be affordable to households at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and must remain affordable for the life of the development receiving the bonus. By utilizing housing subsidy programs targeted to particular income levels, units produced through the Inclusionary Housing program can be made affordable at a range of income levels below 80 percent of AMI. (Under the special regulations for Hudson Yards, West Chelsea, and the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, the bonus can also be attained by providing a portion of the affordable units for moderate- or middle-income households, with a larger overall number of affordable units.)
Under the recently adopted amendments to the Inclusionary Housing program, affordable units earning a floor area bonus may be either rental units or affordable homeownership units. Homeownership units must be initially affordable to households at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and their sale price may increase only at a set appreciation rate, in order to allow a modest return on the homeowner’s investment while ensuring that these units remain permanently affordable.
Lower-income housing units used to earn the Inclusionary Housing bonus may be new units on the same site as the development receiving the bonus, or new or preserved units in a separate building off-site. Off-site affordable units must be located within the same community district, or in an adjacent community district on a site within a half-mile of the site receiving the bonus.
Developments using the floor area bonus in the new program may also use various City, State and Federal housing subsidy programs and tax incentives to finance affordable units. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development must approve an affordable housing plan for all developments in the Inclusionary Housing Program.
For more information on HPD financing programs and tax incentives, visit the HPD website.
Visit HPD for information on applying for an affordable housing plan. |
