The New York State Legislature’s so-called “Faith Based Affordable Housing Act” would for the first time remove landmark protections for churches and other religious properties, allowing structures of national historic significance to be altered, built upon, and even demolished. Protections for churches and other religious properties that have been landmarked would be nullified under this bill, allowing developers to build market-rate housing (including luxury condos) on site, so long as a fraction of the units (about one-quarter) are made available at below-market rates.

The bill was first proposed in 2024, but thanks to opposition led by Village Preservation and thousands of letters against circumventing the landmarks rules, we won some key concessions and it receded in limbo after that year’s legislative session. In February 2025, the measure reemerged with the support of the anti-landmarking, anti-zoning-protections advocates who are pushing for it to pass in the new session.

Passage of this bill would not only allow construction on landmarked sites in contravention of local landmark and zoning regulations, but set a dangerous precedent for the dismantling of the rules that protect history and neighborhood character. We continue to campaign and build coalitions to ensure the bill doesn’t become law at least in its current form.