New York Mayor Announces ‘Get Stuff Built’ Housing Plan

A new strategy titled “Get Stuff Built,” announced by New York City Mayor Eric Adams on December 8, takes aim at the city’s housing affordability crisis and pledges to streamline the building process to accelerate housing construction. Maria Torres-Springer, the deputy mayor for economic and work force development, says that enacting all 111 proposed reforms could pave the way for 50,000 new homes in the next ten years.

According to a press release from the city, the plan includes 111 “concrete actions” for increasing the housing supply in three areas: City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR), land use approvals, and building permitting. “These actions will increase the speed and lower the cost of development by accelerating project timelines by 50 percent, ensure environmental protection and meaningful public participation, and stimulate the creation of affordable housing across New York City.”

A New York Times article by Sarah Garland and Dean Chang points out that the plan “faces significant political obstacles,” with some parts of the proposal requiring approval from the City Council or state legislature. Meanwhile, housing advocates say the administration should do more to help tenants stay in their homes, and preservationists worry that accelerating construction could ignore the environmental impacts of new projects and displace current residents.