City Council Approves Mayor’s Zoning Changes

City Council Approves Mayor’s Zoning Changes

On March 22, 2016, the City Council overwhelmingly voted to approve Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) and Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA) proposals. After months of review by community boards, the public, the borough boards, and the City Planning Commission, the full City Council approved the MIH proposal by a vote of 42-5 and approved the ZQA proposal by a vote of 40-6-1.

The approval of these proposals has been lauded as a great success for Mayor de Blasio. ZQA and MIH are major pillars in the Mayor’s affordable housing plan that aims to create and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over the next decade. Both MIH and ZQA significantly alter and add to the text of the Zoning Resolution and will affect a multitude of new and enlarged buildings.

The full vote followed extensive modifications by the City Council to the original plan.