EMERGENCY ALERT! NY STATE LEGISLATURE POISED TO APPROVE ADUs, BASEMENT AND CELLAR APARTMENTS & HIGH-DENSITY DEVELOPMENT FOR PROPERTY OWNED BY RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN LOW-DENSITY PARTS OF NEW YORK

All - 

At the Queens Civic Congress Biennial Luncheon this past Sunday, I presented our potentially grim future if Mayor Adams' City of Yes for Economic & Housing Opportunity becomes law. The video presentation can be found here: 

Say NO to the City of Yes

At our event, our representatives from the NY State Assembly and Senate stated they were pleased to announce that "ADUs [Accessory Dwelling Units] had been removed from the budget entirely." The attendees, which included officers and members from over 60 civic and homeowner associations as well as other organizations from all over Queens, gave a loud round of applause and breathed a sigh of relief.

This morning, I discovered that not only have ADUs *not* been stripped from the budget, they have been included as an "opt-in" incentive program for all municipalities STATEWIDE, including NYC. There is absolutely no question that if there is an ability for NYC to "opt-in" then the Adams Administration will do it, as it is a large part of their City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan to allow ADUs on every one and two-family property across the city.

In addition, I was told that the Legislature is still considering legalizing basement and cellar apartments across the city. A process would be created that would allow basement and cellar apartments by Community Board area; each Community Board and their elected representatives (City Council, Assembly and Senator) would vote to decide if they want to allow the legalization of basement and cellar apartments in their Community Board. If they vote YES, then basement and cellar apartments would be allowed. 

Finally, there is a move to give religious organizations the ability to build high-density apartment buildings on land that they own in low-density areas STATEWIDE. They would allow up to 50 units per acre (similar to the Hochul's Housing Compact from last year) and would be exempt from local land use regulations. Similar to last year, this proposal would violate the Home Rule section of the NY State Constitution by mandating this in every municipality.

These are disastrous proposals and they are currently in the omnibus budget bill, which is in its FINAL NEGOTIATIONS. Please contact your Assemblymember and Senator IMMEDIATELY to tell them that these provisions MUST BE STRIPPED FROM THE BUDGET NOW.

Thank you,

Paul Graziano