Public Service Award – NY’s YIMBY Movement

Open New York

ABOUT OPEN NEW YORK
Open New York is a grassroots group advocating for abundant homes and
lower rent. We believe in housing for all and housing of all types.
That means we support more social housing, government subsidized
housing, and market rate housing. We do not ascribe to a specific
political ideology but believe that the current zoning laws of New
York and its suburbs have caused a profound housing shortage, raising
rents to historic highs and leading to the continuous displacement of
long-standing communities. For far too long, residents in the
wealthiest neighborhoods have abused zoning laws to prevent new
construction, keeping their neighborhoods exclusive and property
values high. Newcomers have been pushed into less well-off
neighborhoods, outbidding long-time residents in the process. In
contrast, we want New York to be affordable and accessible to
everyone. As such, we advocate for an end to exclusionary zoning, and
for other policies that encourage homebuilding in wealthy, in-demand
neighborhoods: upzoning for greater densities, raising height-limits
and reducing setbacks, and streamlining the approval process for
social housing. At Open New York, we work alongside a growing
coalition to change the dynamics that govern land use fights —
especially in areas where reasonably priced housing has long been hard
to find and where there are more than enough public transit options
and well-paying jobs to accommodate growth.

Welcome Home Westchester 

The Welcome Home Westchester campaign was launched in 2021. Its leadership combines several companies involved in the home building and development of housing with economic leaders, the nonprofit community, academics and think tanks that have extensively examined the housing question, organizations dedicated to fighting against homelessness and supporting families in need, faith leaders, environmental organizations, and community advocates to drive a new conversation around the housing shortage in Westchester County.  

We have particularly focused on two areas: 

Changing the narrative when it comes to the need for housing. The campaign’s first white paper, The Economic Benefits of Building the Housing We Need, reviewed data from national economic models, academic research, and local studies to describe in detail how building housing in communities sufficient to meet their needs brings with it short-term jobs, long-term jobs, an increase in revenue for local businesses, and a boost to property tax revenue. Its second study, Multi-Family Housing Development Impacts in Westchester County: School District Enrollment took on and punctured the myth that creating multifamily housing had led to a sizeable increase in school-aged children or a drain on local school resources in past projects. The campaign has also produced quick video explainers on the benefits of building the housing we need and how tools like PILOTs lead to affordable housing. 

Challenging the status quo for our 47 municipalities when it comes to land use. Each city, town, and village within the county has land use boards with wide and uneven variation between how boards function in different communities, both due to the municipal code and often the personalities and interests of the board members, including the chair. These inefficiencies can warp the financial incentives for development and stack the deck against the creation of affordable housing. We have been pushing decision-makers to reform their land use board processes to promote greater affordability, more predictable timelines for high-value housing projects, and to adopt proven policies, like local accessory dwelling unit and transit-oriented development ordinances.