City Limits - In-depth New York City News

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Mapping the Future

Mapping the Future investigates and explains the history, economics, politics and policies that shape the way land is used in the city of New York and beyond. It is supported by the Ford Foundation and the Neighborhoods First Fund.

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Must Reads

Opinion: In Defense of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing

Adi Talwar50 Pennsylvania Avenue, one of several affordable housing development sites in East New York under the city's MIH program.
By Sandy Hornick
NY Lawmakers to Pass Bill to Halt Pandemic-Related Evictions Through May

The COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act would create a hardship declaration form that tenants can fill out and submit to their landlords, or to housing court, if they’ve experienced economic difficulties due to the pandemic.
By Sadef Ali Kully
Opinion: It’s Time to End Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. Here Are Some Alternatives

'The fact is that MIH is just bad policy.
By Lynn Ellsworth
Comprehensive Planning Bill Raises Key Questions for Mayoral Hopefuls

Housing advocacy groups and some elected officials have been pushing for years for the city to adopt a comprehensive plan, and an earlier effort to do so was abandoned during the City Charter Revision process in 2019.
By Sadef Ali Kully and Jarrett Murphy
The Check In: NYC Public Meetings Go Virtual

City Limits' housing reporter Sadef Kully discusses the city's shift to online public hearings and meetings, which make it easier for some New Yorkers to attend but has drawn other complaints.
By Jeanmarie Evelly
Opinion: Moving Toward Just Land Use and Housing Policies in NYC

‘Across the city, the mayor and developers are pushing rezonings and development projects that attempt to rip out the fertile roots of people and place, to wholly redefine city neighborhoods for a wealthier and whiter population.’ Adi TalwarResidents hold up signs at a 2018 hearing about the Inwood rezoning.
By Cheryl Pahaham and Paul Epstein
Opinion: Developing 920 Park Place Jeopardizes the Community and the Landmarks’ Process

‘A landmark is not merely an old building, but a navigational point for a community.
By Deborah Young, Ingrid Saraguad and Sarah Leonard
For City’s Public Meetings, Shift to Virtual Format Has Meant Attendance Boost—& Complications

The shift to remote-only civic meetings during the pandemic is impacting how communities get to weigh in on important city proposals, like rezonings.
By Sadef Ali Kully

The Neighborhoods

Click on a neighborhood to get news, documents, opinions and videos about that community.

Key

Proposal Anticipated

Proposal in Approval Process

Proposal Approved

Proposal Defeated or Withdrawn

Rezoning Status

Bay Street

Bushwick

Downtown Far Rockaway

East Harlem

East New York

Flushing West

Gowanus

Inwood

Jerome Avenue

Long Island City

Southern Boulevard

Sunset Park

Two Bridges/Chinatown

Upper West Side

Mapping the Future: Opinion

Opinion: It’s Time to Do Away With NYC’s Tax Lien Sale—The Giuliani Plan That Won’t Die

Most cities do not sell their tax liens to a private trust. Many have programs which help homeowners pay off their debt and repair their neglected rental properties. Other cities also allow nonprofits to buy back the lien and then work out a payment plan with the property owner.
By John Krinsky and Memo Salazar
Opinion: NYC Faces a Hunger and Homelessness Crisis. Here’s How to Help.

‘I know hunger is not new. But over the last six months in the New York City metro area it has become worse and there are easy ways that those of us with more than we need can move from awareness to action.’
By Josiah Haken
Opinion: It’s Time to Fix the City’s Rental Assistance Vouchers

'At current payment levels, the CityFHEPS voucher falls close to $500 below fair market rent, leaving thousands of voucher holders competing with each other for the one or two units available on the market at that price range.'
By Shawntel Williams
Opinion: City’s Move to Vacate UWS Hotel Shelter is Adding ‘Trauma on Top of Trauma,’ Resident Says

'After hearing that I would be kicked out of the Lucerne, I felt traumatized – dehumanized at the thought of being moved from shelter to shelter like a pawn on a chessboard during a global pandemic.'
By Shams DaBaron
Opinion: Senate Housing Chair Must Help ‘Cancel Rent’

'Tenants are accruing debt that they will not be able to repay. The latest CDC guidance is not comprehensive or long enough and we need state leaders to act.'
By Sasha Wijeyeratne, Ava Farkas, Steve Herrick, Honda Wang and XingJian Li