Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces New Tools to Help New Yorkers Add Accessory Homes, Build Generational Wealth, and Continue to Remain in Their Communities

August 5, 2024

Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr., Department of Housing Preservation and Development: Good morning, everyone. Come on, church. Good morning, everyone. 

Crowd: Good morning!

Commissioner Carrión: All right, that's how I like it. I'm Adolfo Carrión Jr., commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. It's an honor to stand before you today as we push forward our mission to expand affordable housing opportunities across our great city. Together with Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, and our city agency and private partners, some of whom you'll hear from today, we're making significant strides toward a more inclusive and equitable New York City. 

The housing crisis calls for all hands on deck. We must harness every available resource, every single innovative idea, and every partnership we can muster to address the challenges that we're facing today. This is why today's announcement is so important. In November of 2023, our agency announced the Accessory Dwelling Unit Plus One pilot, the ADU Plus One pilot, which laid the groundwork for today's exciting announcement. This pilot was a crucial first step in exploring how accessory dwelling units can expand affordable housing options throughout the city. 

Today we're excited to announce a suite of new tools designed to further support the creation of ADUs as part of the administration's commitment to this City of Yes Housing Initiative. This initiative aims to create a little more housing in every neighborhood, providing more New Yorkers with safe, affordable, and stable homes. We're here today because as we continue to push for more innovative, safe, and smart solutions to confront the housing crisis head-on, the mayor, Mayor Adams, has provided innovative and unmatched leadership. 

It is truly my pleasure to introduce to you the person who has demonstrated to be the most, most committed advocate to use all of the tools, all of the ideas, and all of the resources to build more affordable housing in every single neighborhood of New York City, ladies and gentlemen, the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much. I was standing behind you and it dawned on me, not only do we have the largest number of women in our administration and leadership, we probably have more bald-headed men. You know that? That is good. You, Banks, the whole crew, me. 

We're really excited about this. And this is really, when you do an analysis of this conversation that we're having today, sometimes in government we speak from these high levels and really detach from the everyday working people and what we do and really have an impact on them. And that's why I'm really happy. Somebody told me Antonio is here. This is something that has been dear to you for a long time, and Assemblywoman Rajkumar, I'm glad both of them have joined us as we're talking about this. 

But this is about Sade, Sade, not the singer, but our resident. When you think about, as we deal with this 1.4 percent vacancy rate that we have a challenge with, yes, we could put $26 billion into our housing program, which Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer was focused on. Yes, we could expand and make sure that for the first time in history that NYCHA is included in the housing program and we have these real wins with the land trust and how we are thinking differently about building in NYCHA because of the $80 billion deficit that they are facing, and we could do so many things. 

But we needed Dan to go and come up with a real plan of how do we not only get businesses back up and operating in an antiquated method that we have been using in this city for a long time, but how do we go after the number one crisis this city is facing? There's not one elected official in this city that when they hold a town hall or if they go into their districts or communities, they don't hear about this housing crisis. It's a real crisis, and it's not going to go away by just having bumper stickers or slogans or just stating that we hear and feel you. We have to take real action. 

The philosopher was right. The rip is too damn high, and we need to do something about it, and the way you do something about it, Dan has said it over and over again, build more housing, number one, and number two, look at our pre=existing methods that we can do it. Nothing personifies that more than ADUs. How do we have these different accessory dwellings that are ready to go, and we're not willing to do anything about it? And let's be honest. Folks are living in their basements. Folks are living in their attics. Folks are living in all different forms of ADUs, and no one, when you think about it, the senior population, our older adults population, that's why we're just so happy that AARP is here with us. 

I have my AARP card, you know, but when you think about it, many of our seniors, I think about Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom, who mom still lives with her, and watching how the way we are changing living, you have one, two, three generations that are still living in families because it's so expensive to live in New York, and to be able to have your son or your daughter be able to live in an ADU as they start out in life, and as they begin to prepare to live on their own, and to be able to have an older adult, one of your parents could have lost their spouse, and to be able to have that parent stay with you and have their own independent living space. 

So this is why this is so important, this initiative will impact the Sades of our city that realize they want to utilize the space they have not only to be able to accommodate a family member, a loved one, a relative, but also extra income. Many of our older adults are really struggling to meet the mortgage payment, they may have lost a loved one, they may be dealing with retirement on a fixed income. This is a way to use their number one asset, your number one asset for people in general, I believe, but specifically for Black and brown people, the home. That's your asset, that is your foundation, that is what you build your entire financial stability after. 

And so I want to thank everyone for our City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, this is an important initiative, it's a game changer for our city, it will open the door to produce 100,000 new homes in the next 15 years. This is what we believe is crucial and we wanted to bring our partners on board to engage in a conversation with them so that they can understand and to have AARP here with us means a lot, but also to have the borough president of the largest borough in the City of New York. If it was a separate city, I think it would be either the fourth or the third largest city in America. His understanding that we have to be able to house New Yorkers is crucial and this is going to clear the way to build the affordable housing we need and deserve. 

And from our seniors fighting to stay in their neighborhoods they call home, or young people struggling to find a living space, this is so important. So we're proud to announce a new set of policies that will help us build one of the most versatile housing options of all time and that's ADUs or accessory dwelling units. And many people say, well, what are ADUs? They are defined as any secondary independent unit on the same property as a primary home, including backyard cottages and basement apartments. This is not going to change a neighborhood. 

You're not going to see a 14-story building in someone's backyard. We're not trying to change the character of neighborhoods like in the neighborhood I grew up in, in St. Albans and South Jamaica, Queens, but it's about using the spaces to accommodate families in so many different ways. This is a volume of space that is right now being unutilized and is not participating in our aggressive attempt to build more housing. The laws of the past, they currently stand in the way of the reality of today and New Yorkers want to help. We want to help New Yorkers build the housing that they deserve. 

And we have a few more tools that we are introducing. A one-stop online portal that will streamline the application and approval process and $4 million in new grant funding to support the Plus One ADU pilot program. ADUs are more than just a proven solution to help homeowners stay in place and families stay in place. They can help families provide a living space for caregivers, bring in extra income, as I indicated, and build generational wealth. 

And this is something that really caught my eye because a lot of times you hear people talk about no one wants ADUs in their community. I'm going to thank AARP for their survey of people age 50 and older. Seven in 10 respondents say they will consider building an ADU for a loved one who needs care. And we want to make sure New Yorkers have that option. That's why it's important. The only solution in this city right now is to build more houses. We don't want our loved ones going to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, because they can't stay in the city that they built and made possible. 

And so we want to ask our partners in the City Council to say yes. We want to ask our community boards not to be afraid of this new adaption, as Dan has stated over and over, build a little more housing throughout the entire city. It is unbelievable when you look at our 59 community boards. Ten community boards last year built more affordable housing than 49 combined. That is just wrong. And it is not fair to everyday New Yorkers. 

So as we march on Monday, housing is a right, is the chant. Let's make sure on Tuesday we are saying the right should also be in our community in a real way. So yes to a little more housing in every neighborhood. Yes to building a future for both our grandchildren and grandparents. And yes to ADUs and the opportunity they offer. This is how we're going to fight and push against this city to make it affordable and livable for every New Yorker. And we did a great job in Albany with our lawmakers in Albany to get our housing packages passed. 

We want to thank you, Assemblywoman, and those others who were there. And the support of our borough president around the City of Yes was crucial. And to have Councilman Reynoso and all the borough presidents who joined us and sent the right message that we understand that housing is a crisis, a crisis that we can turn into opportunities, and it starts with our ADUs as well. Thank you very much.

Commissioner Carrión: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Now we're going to hear from a great leader, someone who championed the rights for older New Yorkers. Her work at AARP has paved the way for countless older New Yorkers to live more comfortable and safely in our city. It is a pleasure to introduce you to the New York State Director of AARP and my friend, Beth Finkel.

Beth Finkel, New York State Director, AARP: So good morning, everyone. I want to thank you, Commissioner Carrión, for that introduction. You know, there are 1.3 million older adults in New York City across the five boroughs. I really want to thank Mayor Adams. You hit all my talking points, Mayor, for inviting me here today because AARP is dedicated to ADUs, Accessory Dwelling Units. 

I want to thank the Borough President of Brooklyn. Yeah, thank you. My Spanish accent is the worst, the worst. And New York Assemblymember Rajkumar. I also want to thank New York State Homes and Communities Renewal Chief of Staff Cathleen McCadden Benjamin and Deputy Mayor Springer, who has been out there so often helping older adults, Executive Director Bozorg for your dedication and support, and Dan Garodnick, who I've known for so many years. So thank you all for the work that you do. 

A special thank you to Sade Singh for sharing her story because it is really at the essence of why we're all here today. Older New Yorkers, as so many New Yorkers, are struggling, but older New Yorkers are hit even harder. They are on fixed incomes, they're struggling to pay their rent, and they're struggling to pay their other expenses. And we need to make sure that this older New Yorker population, who, by the way, from the last census from 2011 to 2020, that number grew in New York City by 36 percent. The number of 65-plus in New York City grew by over 36 percent, while the under-65 group declined by 2 percent. So we need to make sure that we're taking care of those older adults and we're looking after their needs. 

Those needs are only going to grow. The impact on older adults obviously expands way past housing, and that's why I'm here today, because people want to age in their own homes, in their own communities, with their neighbors, with their families nearby. They built these communities, and they want to be a part of them in their later years. And I ask you to think about if this was your own mother, if this was your mother and she was struggling and you wanted to make sure she could stay in her own community and there was a way to do this by building an accessory dwelling unit for your mother or your father or any other loved one and make sure you can keep an eye on them so you can sleep at night not worrying. 

And it goes the reverse, too. Maybe it's your mother who has the home and then is able to put an accessory dwelling unit in there so that you are there. You're there when she needs you. And this is a great opportunity. ADUs, this is what we love about it because it gives New Yorkers the freedom to downsize and or to have their loved ones nearby where they can depend on them. And without ADUs, caregivers will continue to struggle. They won't be able to sleep well at night, and when they're at work, they're going to be keep thinking, “Is she okay?” 

So we know that family caregivers are the backbone of the long-term care system in this country, and we know that they need a lot of help. And caregivers, by the way, here in New York, the average caregiver, and there's 2.2 million of them here in New York State, they're paying out of their own pockets, after-tax dollars, over $8,000 a year to look out for their mom and dad. So we need to continue to support them because without them, more people are going to go into institutional care. And you know what? We all pay because that drives up the Medicaid bill because that's who pays for most overwhelmingly the number of beds in nursing homes. 

So I just want to say that it's so important that we, again, keep older Americans, older New Yorkers, aging in place. They have a vital role in our economy, by the way. You keep them in the neighborhood, guess what? They're going to the supermarkets, they're going to the bodegas, and they're going to the local drugstores. We need to keep them there. Like the mayor said, we don't want them to take their Social Security and pension checks out to other states, right? Spend it here and help your local economy because that's exactly what it does. They're not taking that money and moving it offshore. So let's help them stay right here. We owe it to them. They built this city, and we owe it to them. Thank you.

Commissioner Carrión: Thank you so much, Beth. Thank you very much. It's now my privilege to introduce Cathleen McCadden Benjamin. Cathleen is the chief of staff at New York State Homes and Community Renewal, and I want to personally, and as commissioner of housing for New York City, say thank you for your leadership and your financial support in initiating the Pilot Plus One ADU program. 

Footnote, we launched in November. The application period was a few months. In just about the first month, we had 2,800 applicants, and it's only 15 slots. So now we're able to expand. With the help of the state, you heard the mayor talk about an additional $4 million. That's all Kathleen. So we're excited to build on this success. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, Cathleen McCadden Benjamin.

Cathleen McCadden Benjamin, Chief of Staff, New York State Homes and Community Renewal Good morning, everyone. I wish I could take credit for all of these wonderful tools, but on behalf of my commissioner, RuthAnne Visnauskas, and our governor, Kathy Hochul, I'd like to say congratulations to New York City for quickly implementing these tools and getting New Yorkers the housing that they need. 

The governor repeatedly will say the cycle of housing is broken, and we're here to work together with our city partners to make sure we can get the next round of ADU Plus money out the door coupled with the tax exemption so people have maximum flexibility for their homes. It's all about providing the homes that people need. We're going to have to be innovative. We're going to have to be creative with our very finite resources, and I look forward to finding other new creative ways to get in trouble with you.

Commissioner Carrión: Let's do it, Kathleen. Let's do it. Making good trouble. Okay, and now you heard about Sade. We're going to hear from the person we're really all here for because she embodies this issue. There are people like this family all over New York, people who love the city, who grew up in the city, and who want to stay in New York City, and we want them here. These are the kinds of families we want to inspire and support by saying yes, not being the city of no, but being the city of yes. Yes, let's build more affordable housing. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Sade Singh.

Sade Singh: Hi, everyone. Thank you, Mayor Adams, for inviting me here today. I'm truly honored to share my story with all of you. So as mentioned many times, my name is Sade Singh. I'm a homeowner here in Queens, New York, and my journey to owning a home in New York City has been filled with lots of challenges and triumphs. 

Growing up, my family always dreamed of owning a home, but it often fell out of reach, and the highest cost and complexities of housing really made it feel almost impossible. So determined to make this dream a reality, I worked tirelessly, and I have made sacrifices along the way, and returning to New York City was really significant to me. It's where my roots are, and it's where my family's story began, and owning a home here is really a dream come true. 

However, the journey doesn't, you know, just end with the purchase of the home, and the challenges of maintaining a home in New York City can be overwhelming, especially with the financial burdens that it comes with. The ADU program represents more than just additional housing. It's a lifeline for people like me. It provides an essential source of income that can make the difference between being able to stay in your home or losing your home, and for me, it means the possibility of stability and security, allowing me to just continue to build a life here in New York City. And beyond the personal impact, the ADU program addresses a pressing issue in our city. You've heard it here time and time again, the need for more affordable housing. So it creates opportunities for homeowners to contribute to the community by offering additional living spaces, and it's truly a win-win for everyone. 

You know, I appreciate everyone listening to my story today, and I hope it resonates with those who understand the value of community and importance of programs that support New York City homeowners so people can have a chance to stay rooted in the places that they love the most. Thank you.

Commissioner Carrión: At this time, we're gonna take a moment to hear from our elected officials who are here with us today. We will start with the president of the great borough of Brooklyn, Antonio Reynoso.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso: Good morning. As you all know, I am the president of the greatest borough in the city of New York, which is Brooklyn. I get challenged on occasion, but today, we're spreading love the Brooklyn way around the entire city. 

For too long, progressives like myself have challenged this mayor to be bold and to be innovative in how we get ourselves out of crisis. There is arguably no larger crisis in this city than housing, and Mayor Eric Adams has presented us with the City of Yes, a plan that has all of us contribute one way or another. It's not about everyone doing a lot, a few doing a lot, but about a lot doing a little, and the ADUs are a big part of that. The ADUs are arguably the most important part of the plan. In this sauce making, this recipe that the mayor and Dan Garodnick have put together, we all have to be a part of it. If you take anything out, it just won't taste good. It'll be a nasty soup, and we don't want to drink that.

So I say to all of New York, really think about what we're asking here. If you own a one-family home, we're talking about converting an attic into a room, talking about taking a garage into a studio apartment. Right now in Bay Ridge, we have one of the largest populations of families tripled up in homes, tripled up. That means three generations in a home. If we could move one of those, maybe grandma, to a studio in the garage, or move the son into an attic, that makes a difference in their lives. It gives them more space. It gives them an opportunity to extend their time here in the city of New York in a meaningful way. 

But outside of that, we're talking about a housing crisis. We have 70,000, maybe more, of New York City residents right now in homeless shelters, and we talk about housing being a human right. It cannot be a human right if you don't build the housing to put people in. You have to step up. So unofficially, Mayor Adams, unofficially as a representative of the four borough presidents that all voted for the City of Yes, we're asking everybody to do their part. When the mayor puts a bold plan together, when he shows up, and he starts solving for these problems, we have to show up for him. 

So today I'm here representing the progressive arm of the City of New York, but definitely the borough presidents and saying thank you to Mayor Eric Adams for putting his best foot forward here and taking a leap of faith on New York that we can get this done in a complicated way, to Dan Garodnick, who I specifically told, “Do something,” and he said, he said, “I will, and I want to see you there when I do,” and I hope he feels like I'm showing up, but I'm really grateful for this day today and for the mayor to be having a press conference, specifically on ADUs. 

The political capital that he is expending to make this happen is meaningful, and we must not forget. That is deeply important to me, that he's willing to have a conversation with the people that trusted him the most and say, hey, we got to do our part as well, means a lot to me, and it's why I'm standing here to support him through that. So thank you so much, and don't forget to spread love. 

Commissioner Carrión: Thank you. Good job. Good job. Thank you, Mr. President. I think the president of the second greatest borough in the city makes a very important point, which is the political capital that one has to expend to demonstrate one's support of an issue and put yourself out there. And now it's my honor to welcome once again Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. 

State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar: Thank you so much. The great Dan Doctoroff, who had big visions and famously built so much of our city from the High Line to Hudson Yards, he once said that we have to rethink how we build cities to make them more inclusive, sustainable, and dynamic, which starts with ensuring that everyone has access to affordable housing. So to reach our moonshot goal of 500,000 new housing units in the next decade, we have to be creative. And I am proud to be one of the leading voices in Albany pushing for these creative solutions for more housing production. And part of my push in Albany was for these accessory dwelling units so that we could increase our housing supply. And I fought to pass state legislation to finance an $85 million pilot program, Plus One ADU. And now it is so gratifying to see Mayor Adams and Commissioner Garodnick putting that pilot program into such action. 

This is a true state and city partnership. And ADUs, as you have heard, are the way of the future. Remarkably, a few other cities like Seattle are already building more accessory dwelling units, and they're building more ADUs than they're building single family homes. And this happened after recent efforts in those cities to revamp regulations to encourage their creation. Accessory dwelling units, they mean more living opportunities that can enhance our communities. Imagine a repurposed basement, attic, or suite giving a chance to older adults to age in place and live independently while staying close to those that they love. Giving the opportunity to young professionals to get their start. 

ADUs are truly opening up possibilities in neighborhoods across our city. So along with the ADU pilot, I have made it a top priority to bring home from Albany the powers, resources, and funding that New York City needs. Whether it's state power to allow the city to close the illegal smoke shops through the SMOKEOUT Act, or state law to regulate the e-bike industry, whether it's state support for the city's migrant crisis, or state laws to spur housing production, I am in Albany fighting for this city. And together, as city and state partners, we can do the impossible and make the big visions a reality for this city. And that is why I'm so proud to partner with Mayor Adams on so many initiatives. Because true change happens by collaboration. 

The greatest moments in government, the historic moments that we live for, where you really make a difference for the people in a way that will outlast you, it happens by working together. And Bill Clinton said it best. He said that politics is organized for fighting. But true change happens by working together. And that kind of partnership is what will take our city to the next level. Thank you so much. 

Commissioner Carrión: Thank you very much, Assemblymember. Thank you to all of our partners who came here today. This concludes our announcement. And now, back to the mayor of the City of New York. Sir?

Mayor Adams: Yes.

Question: Hi, Mayor Adams.

Mayor Adams: How are you?

Question: Good, thanks. I don't know who can answer my two questions best. The first is, is there any data or information on how many lots in the city, block and lots, could actually add an ADU? I don't know if there's any data on that. 

My second question, Assemblymember, all the community boards in your district voted against City of Yes. I don't know if you've been speaking… I know some of the city legislators also have been opposed to it. I don't know what kind of outreach you've been doing in your district. I know you're around the city a lot, but in your district in particular, what kind of outreach you've done to the community boards to maybe, especially considering your district, that's the kind of zoning where you have more outdoor, you have more outdoor, backyard spaces to add ADUs.

Dan Garodnick, Director, Department of City Planning: I think it's an important point that this is an opportunity for homeowners, not a mandate for homeowners. It is an opportunity that has worked really well for homeowners around the country and gives them an opportunity, as we've heard today, to provide housing for elderly relatives or for New Yorkers, we expect, for New Yorkers who need a home. 

We have estimated that about 5 percent of homeowners would see this as an opportunity that they would take advantage of. And this is one of the component parts of how we think that we can build a little bit more housing in every neighborhood. ADUs are one piece in low-density areas, along with town center zoning above commercial corridors, transit-oriented development, modest multifamily apartment buildings on the margins of low-density areas. And so we think it's a really important point, so about 5 percent. 

As for community boards, we are really excited to continue this conversation. As you know, we've just been through the community board process. We're now at the City Planning Commission. We expect that the commission will be voting in the early fall. Then it will be off to the City Council. This is a process. This is an ongoing conversation. And we think that when people understand the opportunity, when they see what we are presenting to them, and when we really have a chance to make that case, whether it's the ADU Plus One program that has 2,800 applications within minutes or within weeks for a very small number of choices, the AARP survey, and also what we have heard from homeowners who are actually interested in this. This is a great opportunity for New Yorkers, and we look forward to continuing to make that case as we get closer to the City Council vote. 

Question: Do you have data…

Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Housing, Economic Development and Workforce: Okay, so 5 percent pretty much amounts to anywhere from 26,000 to 40,000 new homes. So if you look at the total projection for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, close to 100,000 new homes over 15 years, ADUs will make up 26,000 to 40,000 of that. So that's the estimate.

Assemblymember Rajkumar: And thank you for your question, Katie. I know we're both Queens women, and so I appreciate you asking about my district. So I was just with the Community Board 9 leadership, and Community Board 10 actually has actually thrown a whole hearing just around City of Yes. And I went to the community boards and I told everyone, send my office your concerns directly. And they have done that. It's been a continuous back and forth. I think that everyone in my district sees the bigger picture here, which is that we simply need more housing units to drive down the rents. So it's a continuing dialogue, but I've been very pleased to be able to be a conduit between my Queens district and this administration. Thanks for your question. 

Question: I know they already voted, but they changed, but the CD9 or 10 said, wait, we're going to change it. I don't know if that's a possibility.

Assemblymember Rajkumar: If they're going to change their vote?

Question: Yeah.

Assemblymember Rajkumar: I don't think that that's a possibility right now, but thanks for your question. 

Question: So what kind of building codes apply to these dwellings, and do only family members live here? And are you concerned that some of these dwellings would be converted to like Airbnbs?

Mayor Adams: No matter what change you put in place, there are those who are going to attempt to skirt the law. We're going to make sure we enforce the law. We have very clear rules on Airbnbs and how they should be used, and we're going to continue to be vigilant to make sure that no one takes this important initiative and abuse it. Okay. DM?

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Yes. So just to clarify, what we're doing through the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity with ADUs relates to zoning. And so all of the relevant fire codes, building codes, will apply. That is separate. We, of course, have and will continue to make sure that safety is protected. And as the mayor mentioned, all of the rules related to short-term rentals will also apply. It's not a separate set of rules for ADUs. But the ability to clear the way from a zoning perspective for ADUs will be transformational and as an opportunity, as an option for the types of homeowners that the mayor, Dan, Beth from AARP mentioned, we really think will make a huge dent in our ability to build more homes across the city. 

Question: Would this just apply, though, just to family members or, you know, immediate family lives in this type of situation or [inaudible] to a stranger?

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Right now, the proposal allows for the flexibility, which we think is important. But as Dan mentioned, what we're seeing in different cities across the country and certainly what the data shows that many organizations have put out there is that these are the types of units that are primarily used to house family members and caretakers and just the type of flexibility and additional support in terms of income, et cetera, that is beneficial to them. So the uptake that we're seeing across the country is mostly to house family members, but right now in terms of the zoning, it's written more flexibly, which we think is important because preferences change and family situations change. 

Mayor Adams And you can't and we can't say enough about, can you imagine living in a home for 40 years on a fixed income on a retirement salary and all of a sudden things go up and you're about to lose that home and all the memories that's attached with it and that you have this space that you can convert and get an extra income. That's a lifeline. And that's a very real issue when I'm out in places like Rego Park, South Jamaica, Queens, Staten Island, people are saying I'm afraid I'm going to lose my home. I'm afraid that I put so much into this home and I want to age in place. 

And we are giving people a real way to do so. And I think AARP really understands that because they listen to their members, seven out of 10 saying they will consider doing so. It's a frightening experience to think that you're going to lose your home because you no longer could afford it. We must come up with real solutions for people. And this is one of them.

Question: I'm curious about the numbers of the pilot. How many conversions have we seen in the city and what are some of the main challenges we're seeing? And then, Mr. Mayor, directly for you, sir, I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of your property in Brooklyn, but is this an opportunity you'd look at for that or is it not appropriate for you, sir?

Mayor Adams: Well, it's difficult to get to my backyard. And so if there's a way to fit it in to do some form of conversion, there’s been a lot of conversion in Bed-Stuy because Bed-Stuy is one of those areas where we’re building a lot of affordable housing, and that’s leading to a lot of the gentrification and displacement because they’ve been overburdened. So we're going to look at the options for areas where you do have brownstones. And I'm not sure if it's open for me, but I won't get any special privileges. But do you want to touch on that?

Commissioner Carrión: Yes, sir. Okay. So with regard to the program, we launched the pilot in November of last year. As I said, the application period was from November ‘23 to February 2024. The uptake on the application side was much larger and there was more enthusiasm than we expected. Over 2,800 applicants within pretty much the first five weeks, five, six weeks. As a result, and that was targeted to 15 homeowners as a pilot, right? We're testing a concept, testing an idea. 

As a result of the enthusiasm, both in working in partnership with the state benefactor, New York State Homes and Community Renewal gave us the initial $2.8 million to launch and execute on the initial pilot. We recently received another $4 million to expand the program to 35 homeowners. There is already a first group of applicants that is working through a process with our nonprofit partner, Neighborhood Restore. So they're in the process. You have to meet eligibility requirements. It has to be legal in your zone so it's limited to certain geographies of the city and the homeowners will receive up to $395,000 technical support. 

We will launch, as the mayor said earlier, an online portal for a one-stop shop where folks can come in, apply, study the benefits and liabilities of doing this for themselves. They can really assess whether or not they want to do it. And then we will give them the tools, the technical tools, including a set of… It’s an online library of plans that have been vetted by the Department of Buildings so that we can accelerate the process so that if you as an applicant get approved, there will be architectural plans that have been examined already by the Department of Buildings and partially pre-approved so that you can then hire the firms that submitted those plans that have been pre-approved, and it'll accelerate your process going through the Department of Buildings. We all know that it's a challenge to work through that process. Me, as a homeowner, I know it very well. So having the ability to have all those pieces in place will allow folks to use a program that is much more user-friendly and faster.

Question: Are any of the 15 done at this point, or is this not in the process that you're describing?

Commissioner Carrión: They're in the process, yeah. It's obviously a very young program. Thank you.

Question: Maybe the commissioner, just following up on the same question. I just want to make sure I get the numbers right. You're saying it's an additional 35 homeowners?

Commissioner Carrión: No, it's now 35 in total, yeah.

Question: And the $395,000, is that reimbursing homeowners for construction costs, or when you say technical support?

Commissioner Carrión: So the technical support will come from us, from the City of New York. The grant funding comes from the State of New York, and these are grants to homeowners. 

Question: Yeah. Hi, Mr. Mayor. I have two questions. First, I wanted to know, with these tools and grant funding, I think we've seen other pilots on this issue where there is funding, but the state regulations are such that you can't actually do many conversions. So how reliant are you on additional state changes to actually produce or allow ADUs? 

And then secondly, I wanted to get your thoughts on the bill in the City Council that would require hotels to obtain operating licenses. Do you support the bill, and what do you think of the big lobbying being spent [inaudible] the hotel industry?

Mayor Adams Let’s part one. First of all, the governor has been an unbelievable partner, and with Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, it just really has exceeded our expectation on their willingness to say, how do we solve this problem together? There's been a real partnership in doing so. You wanna, who wants to, the first part, okay.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: So as is probably clear, it's like a labyrinth to build an ADU in this city. We just talked about zoning. You also have to contend with the State Multiple Dwelling Law, and so the support that we got as part of the package that was won in Albany on housing, specifically related to basements, is really critical there. And we hope that starts off with a modest geography. We hope that we will continue to show that this is useful and effective, and that can be broadened in the future. 

But all of the tools that we got in that housing package will be helpful for the overall housing crisis: the new 421-a, the lifting of the FAR cap, office conversions, and then what I just mentioned in terms of basements. So the Multiple Dwelling Law needs to be contended with. Zoning we're doing locally, not just for basements, but for all forms of ADU. We're putting together, we're overcoming financial obstacles through this grant program, which we're testing, and there will be more in terms of support. But as the mayor and others have mentioned, there's also that hand-to-hand technical assistance that's needed for homeowners. 

And so the one-stop shop will be a real help there, because of the detailed guides, the pre-approved plans, the human contact to make sure that we're helping homeowners navigate the system. In its own way, I think the borough president used the metaphor earlier of a stew that we're trying to cook. It's the same way here for ADUs. There are a lot of different tools that we have to make sure work and work in tandem to make it easier for homeowners in our city, and we're doing just that by the announcement of these tools today. 

Mayor Adams: Before you leave, I want to, we're doing an off-topic tomorrow, but there was a report, the CFB report that came out. I just want to just address this now. Number one, it was not 900 pages of report. 45 pages dealt with what we have to respond to. 850-something were documentations with the request. So it wasn't 900 pages of infraction. We need to be very clear on that, and when you read through it, you're going to see it. 

Number two is the draft report. Imagine writing your first rough draft of your news story, and all of a sudden, it shows up in a paper. You're going to say, give me a break, let me go through my draft. How did a draft report get leaked? Give us an opportunity to look at, we're missing a person's name. We're missing an address. Give us an opportunity to respond to that. I'm really disappointed that this report was leaked without us giving an opportunity to answer the questions. 

So a draft turned into, is the campaign doing something incorrect? When you get a draft report, you look over it, and then you answer the questions that is associated with it, and I think it's unfair when someone produces a draft report that we're supposed to respond to, and that draft report is leaked by the agency that is supposed to be doing the right thing. We're going to follow the rules. We're going to respond to each one of the requests, but a 45-page document is not a 900-page. 

There are documents that's attached to it. Please look through it and read it, and you will see, but I really question the releasing of a draft report, D-R-A-F-T, draft. We're supposed to respond to a draft, and that is what the campaign team is doing, and I just thought it was necessary to report that because there was a lot of sensationalism attached to that draft report that was leaked, and I don't think that follows the proper procedures of how you're supposed to handle a draft report. But we'll see you tomorrow. I look forward to seeing Chris. I get a warm feeling every time you're at my off-topics, you know, so I look forward to seeing you.

[Crosstalk.]

Mayor Adams: You know, I always say this, and this is the most important thing I learned after two years and seven months and six days as the mayor, that you have to go through the whole process. Far too often, we get caught up in the beginning of the process, in the middle of the process, and all of the noise that comes with it. 

When we were talking about settling the budget, I said, we're gonna follow a process. We're gonna land the plane. I said it when everybody was saying we were not going to get out deals in Albany. I didn't go through all of that madness. I said, we're gonna get it done, and that's with all of this stuff. When you're the mayor of the most complicated city on the globe, there's a lot of noise out there, and there's a lot of people that get caught up in the chaos of the moment. 

You must have the ability to have a very stable and even hand and be able to manage the storms. You don't see me on the deck of any ship panicking. I know what we do, and I know what we don't do, and whatever questions that are put in front of them, we're gonna answer them. We're gonna handle that. Now, what doesn't happen is after we show that it was a lot of noise, we don't see the stories that come after and say, listen, it was a lot of noise. These guys had everything intact the way it was. 

So right now, this is the sensationalism moment. This is the moment of sensationalism. If it leads, if it bleeds, it leads. We gotta write stories that get clicks. I got all of that. My job is to show this city, we got this team behind me and next to me, we're going to navigate this city out of the crises that we have been facing: COVID, migrants, housing, public safety, homelessness. That's my job to do, and this is just one part of it. Whatever the report states, we're gonna answer and we're going to respond to it. Trust me, meditate, take a deep breath, drink a green smoothie, and you can handle it all.