The Real Estate Board of New York to The New York City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings Regarding the FY 2026 Preliminary Budget

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The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) is the City’s leading real estate trade association representing commercial, residential, and institutional property owners, builders, managers, investors, brokers, salespeople, and other organizations and individuals active in New York City real estate. REBNY thanks the committee for the opportunity to provide testimony at today’s hearing on the Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2026 in support of honoring commitments for agency staffing to support City of Yes and subsequent neighborhood rezonings. 

New York City currently lacks enough affordable housing to meet its diverse socioeconomic needs. To address this, the Mayor and Governor set a goal of 500,000 new units by 2032, or about 50,000 units annually. This would require a significant increase in housing production over historic levels. An important catalyst in housing production, under local control, is neighborhood rezonings, which account for 28% of housing production over the past two decades.  

REBNY commends Speaker Adams, the City Council, and the Governor for the $5 billion commitment secured as part of the recently adopted City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal. One billion of that allocation is meant for staffing at the Department of City Planning (DCP), Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Department of Buildings (DOB). Both DCP and HPD provide significant resources and time to neighborhood planning processes, and several additional neighborhood rezonings were committed to as part of the City of Yes negotiations. HPD shoulders significant responsibility after a rezoning, through the issuance of inclusionary housing applications, financing affordable housing projects, certificate of no harassment claims, affordable housing preservation deals, and inspection and enforcement for existing tenants. DOB serves as the primary permitting agency for any housing permitted as of right through rezoning actions, ultimately responsible for ensuring projects meet the requirements of new zoning and are constructed safely.  

Each of the agencies plays an important role in the delivery of new housing supply and will require adequate staffing to do so. For these reasons, the commitments made as part of the City of Yes for staffing at DCP, HPD, and DOB should be upheld to ensure City of Yes and subsequent neighborhood rezonings deliver on their full promise of housing units. 

Thank you for your consideration of these points.