NY plan wants to convert 46 commercial buildings into residential

One new plan of New York City Hall will enable the conversion of 46 commercial buildings into residential buildings. New York Mayor Eric Adams is proposing a package of changes to municipal laws to encourage the creation of new apartments.

Of the 46 buildings registered in the program since August 2023, 4 are already in the conversion process and should create 2,100 new homes for the city’s population. The information is from Axios.

The plan, called “Office Conversion Accelerator”is part of the campaign proposals that elected the Democrat in 2021. The change will relax requirements for converting offices into homes. In total, it estimates the creation of 20,000 new homes for 40,000 New Yorkers over the next decade.

During the first year of the pandemic, the city’s total population decreased by 4%, which represents 336,000 people, according to data from the Cornell Chronicle. Part of the offices also became obsolete with the adoption of home office not period.

The importance of residential areas in New York has become more evident during the pandemic. Workers living in Manhattan, New York’s main neighborhood, saved at least US$12.4 billion a year by being able to work from home.

In March 2020, companies and municipal bodies shortened face-to-face working hours from 5 to 3 days a week (from Tuesday to Thursday). This resulted in the average Manhattan worker spending $4,661 less per year on dining, shopping and entertainment in the city.

Thus, New York’s housing plan updated the laws to make buildings built before 1990 eligible for housing. Previously, only existing buildings from 1961 and 1977 were eligible, depending on the region.