City of Yes

Economic Opportunity

Adopted June 6, 2024

City of Yes for Economic Opportunity was adopted by the City Council on June 6, 2024, and is now reflected in New York City’s Zoning Resolution. Learn more about the final version of the proposal by clicking here.

Source: Mayor’s Photography Office

Our local businesses are the lifeblood of our neighborhoods. They need clear and sensible rules that give them the flexibility to change and grow. City of Yes for Economic Opportunity is a zoning text amendment that removes outdated limitations on businesses, supports growing industries and helps local retail streets and commercial corridors thrive.

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What does City of Yes for Economic Opportunity do?
Why is this initiative needed?
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What does City of Yes for Economic Opportunity do?

City of Yes for Economic Opportunity would remove outdated restrictions on where businesses can set up shop to make it easier for businesses to find space or expand. For example, City of Yes:

Remove deadlines to fill vacant storefronts
Simplifiesy rules on which types of businesses are allowed in commercial areas
Allow small-scale clean production like "maker spaces" to locate in more areas of the city
Update rules on loading docks so building uses can adapt over time
Allow more types of businesses to locate on ground floors and, in some cases, on upper floors
Simplifiesy how zoning rules classify businesses

City of Yes for Economic Opportunity would remove barriers in today’s zoning rules that businesses in growing industries face. For example, City of Yes:

Modernize regulations for life sciences so innovative companies can grow
Simplifiesy regulations for amusement venues, which include arcades, laser tag arenas, and swimming pools
Permit dancing and live entertainment like comedy shows at venues where music is allowed
Clarifiesy rules about where businesses are allowed to grow plants and vegetables
Allows entrepreneurs to open more types of home-based businesses

City of Yes for Economic Opportunity would create consistent and easy to understand rules that encourage active, safe, and walkable commercial streets. For example, City of Yes:

Establishes consistent streetscape rules to ensure new buildings contribute to lively and active commercial areas
Encourages neighborhood hubs for the local delivery of goods and services
Reduces conflicts between auto repair shops and pedestrians

City of Yes for Economic Opportunity would rewrite zoning rules to ensure they are user-friendly, consistent, and modern. For example, City of Yes:

Creates a pathway for businesses like film studios to build spaces that suit their needs
Establishes new zoning districts to boost job growth and business expansion while creating new options for loft-style buildings
Allows local commercial spaces to locate on residential campuses

Sharable flyers about the proposal:

Why is this initiative needed?

When rules make it hard for businesses to find space, small businesses hurt the most.

To support commercial corridors and entrepreneurs throughout the city, and reduce retail vacancy, we need modern zoning regulations that help the city adapt in a dynamic and evolving economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of flexibility in our zoning regulations. Businesses small and large are reevaluating how they use space, where to locate, and how they function in the face of changing consumer preferences and economic conditions.

Entrepreneurs in New York City have always experimented to develop new business models that make our city more vibrant and dynamic. Yet zoning rules that describe where different types of businesses are allowed have barely changed since 1961.

For example, until City of Yes for Economic Opportunity was passed:
Many neighborhood retail streets allow bike shops, but not bike repair or rentals.

For example, until City of Yes for Economic Opportunity was passed:
NYC’s outdated zoning is had rules specifying where telegraph offices could be located, but not smartphone repair shops.

For example, until City of Yes for Economic Opportunity was passed:
NYC’s zoning allowed live music in any bar or restaurant, but in some areas it didn’t allow you to get up and dance to that music.

For example, until City of Yes for Economic Opportunity was passed:
Under today’s zoning rules, businesses in commercial areas can make bread but they can’t make salsa.

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These often confusing and outdated regulations have made it harder for mom-and-pop stores and other entrepreneurs to open, grow, and adapt in New York City.

City of Yes for Economic Opportunity supports businesses and job growth by ensuring a wider range of businesses can use existing commercial space. It ensures that our zoning is flexible enough for empty storefronts to be activated by businesses that serve our neighborhoods.

Context and research