Low Density, High Stakes

Over decades, a series of zoning changes have made low-density residential areas increasingly hostile to new buildings, enlargement of existing homes, and the addition of a unit within a home. These changes included several citywide zoning text amendments and over 80 neighborhood “downzonings” that mapped new, more restrictive districts in specific neighborhoods.

• More than 30,000 acres of low-density land was downzoned between 2002 and 2015.
• 88% of multifamily land affected by these downzonings was rezoned to prohibit multifamily housing.
• Downzonings increased the amount of land restricted to single-family housing by 33%
• Citywide changes made it harder to build on small lots, to add a unit, or to enlarge a home.

These downzonings have not only limited the ability to add housing, they also make it more difficult for homeowners to modify their homes to meet their needs:

• Over 40% of home-owning survey respondents would like to add living space to their homes.
  • This includes 58% of Latinx respondents and 64% of Asian respondents.
• 90% of homes in low-density districts were built before regulations were made more restrictive in 1989, and are less likely to comply with them.

New York City’s low-density districts are not, on the whole, the white enclaves that existed 50 years ago. As a result of a large increase in Asian and Latinx residents in the past two decades, their population is now less white than that of the rest of the city.

• In 2000, low-density districts were 39% white, compared to a citywide population that was 30% white.
• In 2020, low-density districts were 29% white, compared to a citywide population that was 33% white.

Restrictions on basement apartments and other limitations imposed through downzoning – sometimes driven by a desire to limit the growth of immigrant communities – are disproportionately felt by Black homeowners:

• 46% of Black homeowners responding to our poll reported using their basements or cellars for living space – more than twice the proportion of other homeowners (22%)
• Nearly 3 times as many Black homeowners as other homeowners responding to our poll reported renting out one or more units in their home.

• Homeowners who have paid off their mortgages, or know they’ll be able to
  • If they don’t anticipate moving or other life changes, they can remain while demand outstrips supply and their homes continue to grow in value
• Affluent home seekers
  • They have sufficient income or savings to afford higher prices, or access to generational wealth (such as financial support from a parent or other relative); may renovate a two-family home as a single-family home to get more space, for instance
• Investors focused on capital appreciation
  • While most small homes in New York City are owned by individual homeowners, investors are attracted to markets with enforced scarcity

• People who rent their homes
  • Rising demand without new supply drives rents upward — and 59 percent of low-density district residents are renters (2020 US Census)
• People with lower incomes
  • They are the least able to afford rising rents, especially without an increase in the amount of rental housing
• Financially strained homeowners
  • If unable to keep up with mortgage payments, rising prices in the area may force them to leave the neighborhood
• People experiencing life changes
  • Individuals getting married, couples having a child or splitting up, adults looking to take in an elderly relative, and others who may have difficulty finding another home in the neighborhood or modifying their current one
• People looking for a small home
  • Seniors and young adults have few options in these areas, and virtually no new ones are being created
• Immigrants and other communities of interest
  • Limited housing options and rising prices make it hard to keep families and communities together and nearby

As demonstrated by reforms in other U.S. cities, much can be achieved by simply allowing other forms of low-rise housing:

• Allow the addition of a unit within a small home. This could be in a basement or cellar, or above grade.
• Create a program to bring existing subgrade apartments into safe, legal status without unnecessary costs.
• Allow low-rise apartment construction in suitable locations, such as above stores on retail streets.
• Change parking requirements in zoning to prioritize housing needs above vehicle storage.

The proposed City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning amendments include most of these changes. It’s important to supplement them with technical and financial assistance for homeowners, as well as code reforms to make basement apartment improvements more cost-effective.