NYC Plans to Rezone Atlantic Avenue to Allow 4,000 New Homes

Mayor Eric Adams this week unveiled NYC’s plan to rezone a 13-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn to allow for the development of 4,000 new homes, of which 1,550 will be income-restricted.

Known as the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, the area will be rezoned from light manufacturing to residential, allowing housing developers to avoid NYC’s time-consuming land use process.

The 13-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue has been zoned M-1 since the 1960s, a designation that only permits low-density commercial and industrial properties.

“In the midst of a severe housing shortage, New York City must use every inch of space it can to create new homes and invest in communities across the city,” Adams said, in a statement.

The plan envisions a high-density mix of housing and ground-floor commercial space along Atlantic Avenue. For the mid-blocks south of Atlantic Avenue between Grand and Franklin avenues, and north of Atlantic along Herkimer Place, the city is planning to introduce a special incentive to promote mixed-use development.

In January, Adams proposed to rezone a wide swath of Midtown Manhattan to facilitate new housing. The proposal encompassed a 46-block area from W. 23rd to W. 41st streets, where NYC wants to erase zoning restrictions that limit uses to offices or manufacturing—allowing dozens of aging office buildings to be converted into apartments.

Adams estimated that the Midtown area covered by the proposal—which stretches from Chelsea up through the Garment District—can yield 20,000 housing units, making a significant contribution to the mayor’s “Moonshot” plan to build 500K new housing units in NYC in the coming decade.

NYC also is preparing a massive rezoning initiative for a 46-block area in proximity to Metro North train stations in the Bronx. The initiative aims to spur the creation of 6,000 new homes, with a minimum of 25% of the new units designated affordable.

Known as the Bronx Metro-North Plan, the plan envisions opening new train stations by 2027 in the Co-op City, Hunts Point, Morris Park, Parkchester and Van Nest sections of the Bronx.

In his second State of the City address at the beginning of the year, Adams also proposed to rezone an area on Staten Island’s North Shore to permit expanded mixed-use development and improved waterfront access.

A city-led task force recommended the Midtown rezoning. Most of the area between W. 23rd and West 41st is zoned for manufacturing and currently prohibits ground-up residential development and conversions of office space to residential use.