What Happened This Week in NYC Housing? May 16, 2025

Each Friday, City Limits rounds up the latest news on housing, land use and homelessness. Catch up on what you might have missed here.

Looking West down Atlantic Avenue from near Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn. The City Planning Commission approved a rezoning plan for the area this week. (Photo by Adi Talwar)

Welcome to “What Happened This Week in NYC Housing?” where we compile the latest local news about housing, land use and homelessness. Know of a story we should include in next week’s roundup? Email us.

ICYMI, from City Limits:

For many low-income and immigrant New Yorkers, an unregulated basement or cellar apartment is all they can afford. Read more about what it’s like for underground tenants, and the years-long campaign to legalize such units.

The city is postponing its controversial tax lien sale for two weeks, which critics say unfairly impacts homeowners in communities of color. The extra time will give property owners more time to act and avoid having their debt sold, officials said.

From now until the end of June, homeowners and small landlords can get a free property inspection from the Department of Buildings without the threat of penalties.

The public has until May 19 to submit feedback on a proposal to demolish and rebuild NYCHA’s Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses under the PACT program.

Fining homeowners is not an effective way to address the city’s rodent problem, argues City Councilmember Crystal Hudson.

ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:

The city is making it easier for nonprofit homeless shelter providers to construct and own their own buildings, rather than leasing shelter space, according to Gothamist.

New York City should replicate what it did with Hudson Yards to build 4,000 new homes over Manhattan’s Western Yards, former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn writes in City & State.

In 2024, New Yorkers filed six million applications for just 10,000 apartments through the city’s housing lotteries, amNY reports.

Plans are moving forward for a 500-unit, eco-friendly housing development on Staten Island’s North Shore, according to the New York Post.

The City Planning Commission approved a rezoning proposal for a swath of Central Brooklyn around Atlantic Avenue, Brownstoner reports. It’ll head next to the City Council for negotiations and a vote.

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