SMALL HOMES: A PROPOSAL TO STIMULATE CONSTRUCTION (1981)
A 1981 report recommended changes to zoning and other obstacles to address the conversion of basements, addition of rental units, and construction of two- and three-family homes.
Mayor Ed Koch’s best-known housing accomplishment today is his Ten-Year Housing Plan, which played a critical role in bringing New York City’s neighborhoods back from the devastation of the 1970s, devoting over $5 billion to the construction and rehabilitation of 180,000 homes. But before this housing plan, there were other efforts afoot to bolster housing construction.
Small Homes: A Proposal to Stimulate Construction, produced by the Mayor’s Office of Construction, highlights the significant role small homes played in the city’s housing supply – “small one- and two-family homes and brown-stones occupy over two-thirds of the City’s land devoted to residential use” (p. 2). However, at the time of this report, construction of small dwellings was described as “sluggish,” resulting in fewer housing and ownership opportunities for moderate-income families.
The report focuses on the importance of small residential buildings to the fabric of low-density communities, including two-, three- and four-family homes characteristic of New York City’s neighborhoods.
Through an analysis of home buying trends, market constraints, and limitations on development, the report describes a set of reforms aimed at stimulating the construction and affordability of small homes. While housing conditions in the city were vastly different at the time, with decline and abandonment in the city’s central neighborhoods where today unaffordability is a central concern, many of the issues identified remain pertinent today.
The report notes that zoning and building codes have prevented legal conversion of basements and other areas to living space, resulting in a large number of informal and unregulated dwellings – an issue on which CHPC has actively conducted research and advocacy since 2008. The report also identifies a need for further zoning reforms to enable the construction of a rental unit in districts that nominally allow two-family or multifamily homes. It also highlights code provisions that make three-family homes and other lower-density housing types unachievable or unnecessarily costly. CHPC has highlighted similar issues that persist today in the Onward and Upward report outlining key priorities for zoning reform.
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Featured Publications
Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program Interim Report
The focus of this interim report is to describe why properties did or did not advance through the pilot and to outline additional changes that would enable the implementation of an effective legalization program at scale.
Onward and Upward: A Technical Guide to Zoning Reform
Onward and Upward offers a detailed guide to the zoning and regulatory changes necessary to create a new housing supply with a focus on affordability, equity, sustainability, and economic recovery.
Regulatory Reform for Basement Apartments: Policy Brief
In this policy brief, CHPC identifies regulatory reforms that could facilitate basement apartment conversions by making them safer, easier, and more affordable.
CHPC's Marian Sameth and Ruth Dickler Archives and Library
Since 1937, CHPC has been at the forefront of every debate regarding legislation and policy that has shaped the physical environment of New York City and the housing market for New Yorkers. Due to this esteemed history, the Marian Sameth and Ruth Dickler Archives and Library offers invaluable, first-hand insight into the policy, legislation, and design decisions that created New York City today.