Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
City of Yes

World to Council: Say ‘Yes’ to the End of Parking Mandates in City of Yes

What do some of the city's wealthiest developers, strongest YIMBYs, venerable environmental groups, key labor groups, top architects, livable streets non-profits, housing advocates and Shams daBaron have in common?

The Streetsblog Photoshop Desk|

Lots of people want the City Council to end parking mandates.

What do some of the city's wealthiest developers, strongest YIMBYs, venerable environmental groups, key labor groups, top architects, livable streets non-profits, housing advocates and Shams daBaron have in common?

They all support the Adams administration's efforts to foster housing development by eliminating costly parking requirements.

A who's who of New York leadership groups — 50 to be exact, plus one high-profile homeless advocate and former mayoral candidate — sent a letter today to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and her restive 50 fellow lawmakers demanding that the Council approve Mayor Adams's City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning initiative, which promises to create more than 100,000 new units over the next 15 years ... if the Council doesn't water it down at its expected vote next week.

"Collectively, we encourage the Council to include lifting parking mandates citywide, without exceptions, in the final version of City of Yes," the groups wrote, calling the zoning initiative "critical," but also, "in many ways it is modest" because it spreads the additional housing across the entire city.

"No one neighborhood will feel a sudden increase in housing," the letter continued, preemptively addressing one of Speaker Adams's concerns. "This gradual development means there will be time for the city to invest in critical infrastructure, including improved public transportation, to meet the needs of new residents."

But the main trust of the letter was bolstering the part of City of Yes that appears to have the weakest support of the full Council.

"We must lift parking mandates to provide the flexibility for our neighborhoods to evolve over time, rather than locking in car dependency for generations to come," the groups said. "In many cases in New York City currently, we see developers building more parking than is currently required, showing that the mandates are not necessary. On the other hand, in many places mandated parking is being built where it is not needed and is sitting empty. New York City is diverse and current mandates do not reflect that diversity. Lifting parking mandates would provide the flexibility for parking construction to meet demand and match future goals."

As Streetsblog has exhaustively documented, eliminating mandated parking won't eliminate parking, but it will allow developers to construct more housing in areas where the current level of parking isn't needed, such as near transit. Each parking space costs developers $67,500 on average, and up to $150,000 — costs that typically result in less affordable housing being built.

Crucially, City of Yes includes incentives for developers to build affordable units — but if those units also require parking spaces, the numbers don't pencil out and City of Yes will "not actually result in additional affordable housing" because of the mandate.

"Cities that have abolished parking mandates have seen a surge in the amount and affordability of new housing created," the letter added. "When New York City lifted parking mandates for affordable housing in the transit zone, production of affordable units increased by 36 percent." That's a big boost for a city that is slated to have a regional housing shortage of 920,000 units by 2035.

The same is true of the City of Yes plan to allow for the creation of accessory dwelling units. Few homeowners would convert an old garage into a new rental unit if the unit required the construction of a new parking space, too.

"We strongly support lifting parking mandates citywide, without exceptions," the group concluded, urging the Council to "meet the moment."

The letter was signed by (partial list):

  • Open Plans
  • New York Housing Conference
  • American Institute of Architects New York
  • Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens
  • Citizens Housing & Planning Council
  • Civis Foundation
  • CIVITAS
  • Community League of the Heights, Inc
  • The Community Preservation Corporation
  • The Community Service Society of New York
  • Curtis + Ginsberg Architects
  • Dattner Architects
  • The Delaine Companies
  • Fifth Avenue Committee
  • GF55 Architects LLP
  • Habitat NYC and Westchester
  • The Health & Housing Consortium
  • Homeless Services United
  • Housing Rights Initiative
  • JASA
  • Lantern Organization
  • Low Income Investment Fund
  • Mega Contracting Group
  • Milestone Development
  • The Municipal Art Society of New York
  • Neighbors Helping Neighbors
  • New York Building Congress
  • New York League of Conservation Voters
  • New York State Association for Affordable Housing
  • Niskanen Center
  • The NRP Group
  • Open New York
  • Perci PBC
  • Phipps Houses
  • Queens & Bronx Building Association
  • Red Stone Equity Partners
  • Regional Plan Association
  • Riders Alliance
  • Services for the Underserved, Inc
  • Settlement Housing Fund
  • Shams DaBaron “Da Housing Hero”
  • SMJ Development
  • TF Cornerstone
  • Tiffany Street Strategies
  • Transportation Alternatives 
  • UP-STAND
  • Urban Architectural Initiatives
  • Volunteers of America-Greater New York
  • West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
  • Xenolith Partners LLC

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

No Accident: Red Hook Pool Closure Saga Stems from Adams Administration ‘Underinvestment’

An Olympic-size pool in Red Hook has sat empty since the summer’s start, leaving residents in the area out to dry and pissed off in blistering, record high heat.

July 25, 2025

The Perfect Beast: Even Google’s AI Thinks Streets Are for Cars

Artificial intelligence is completely naturally addicted to promoting cars.

July 25, 2025

Friday Video: Krakow is a Polish Pedestrian Paradise

Check out how car drivers simply stop for pedestrians — and not just pedestrians in a crosswalk, but also pedestrians about to enter a crosswalk or even just thinking about maybe entering a crosswalk.

July 25, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Putting the ‘Con’ in ConEd Edition

Con Edison has blocked the Vernon Boulevard bike lane for more than a week now. Plus other news.

July 25, 2025

Fixing Canal Street Means Rethinking the Manhattan Bridge Itself: Experts

Canal Street needs a fix, but the city must go straight to the source.

July 24, 2025

Lower East Side Panel Joins Growing Chorus Against Tisch’s E-Bike Criminalization

Another New York neighborhood is calling for an end to the “disproportionate consequences” that e-bike users face under the NYPD’s sweeping crackdown.

July 24, 2025
See all posts