The first project to utilize a fast-track land use approval process, which was passed into New York City law with a ballot measure last year, has entered review.
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced Friday it plans to seek a rezoning for an eight-story multifamily building with more than 80 affordable rental units at 351 Powers Ave. in the Bronx. Approximately 30 of the apartments would be reserved for homeless New Yorkers.
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The Mott Haven site is currently a parking lot used by faculty of nearby schools, which the city is planning to replace, according to filings with New York City Planning. In addition to 66K SF of residential, the project would create 4K SF of community facility space for a theater and workforce development training center.
To move forward, the city must dispose of the land to a developer. Previously, it would have gone through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which the city estimates would have taken roughly seven months.
Under the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure, the project's rezoning is required to be voted on by the city council within 90 days.
In November, voters approved a handful of ballot measures put forward by a Charter Revision Commission appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams as a way to create more housing, faster. Among the changes is a streamlined process for city-backed housing projects and modest upzoning requests.
“Treating the housing crisis with the urgency it demands means moving at the speed of need,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement Friday.
Development plans for 351 Powers Ave. were first announced in 2022, when the city released its request for proposals. In 2024, Bronx-based Lemle & Wolff Development Cos., nonprofit Help Development Corp. and True Development New York — a housing firm founded by former NYC Housing Development Corp. senior project manager Shira Gidding — were selected for the project.
More RFPs are likely on the way. As part of an executive order that Mamdani signed on his first day in office, the city’s Land Inventory Fast Track Task Force is responsible for pinpointing city-owned sites capable of supporting at least 25,000 new homes by July 1.
