The final state budget is due this Saturday, April 1. The outcome will determine whether or not Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal to lift the residential floor area ratio cap for New York City and allow the city to rezone any area for development as large as they wish gets the go-ahead. In mid-March both houses of the State Legislature rejected this proposal in their one-house budget plans, signaling a strong resistance to this plan. But final negotiations are yet to conclude, and anything can happen. If this is approved, we are likely to see very large upzonings in neighborhoods across New York City, allowing development even larger than the massive scale frequently already allowed under existing rules. Learn more about these plans, their ill effects, and why they’re premised on false information about affordability HERE.

To push back on these proposals and to encourage the two houses of the State Legislature to hold the line and keep this out of the final budget agreement, we joined Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Grace Lee, State Senator Liz Kruger, City Councilmember Chris Marte, and other advocates for a rally near City Hall last week to amplify our opposition to the proposal. Read coverage in City and State HERE (which notes the impact the tens of thousands of letters sent to Albany on this issue from Village Preservation’s advocacy campaign has had) and watch Executive Director Andrew Berman’s remarks HERE. Special thanks to Assemblymembers Glick and Lee for organizing.

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