“Eric Adams’s Big Housing Plan Is 100 Small Ideas in a Trenchcoat” from Curbed is, in my opinion, just about right. The most important thing it’s right about is that we need more housing in the city as fast as it can be built.
There are many possible scenarios hidden in the word “built”, including conversion of existing unused or underused commercial buildings, restoration of existing unused or underused multiple dwellings (particularly tenements with vacant upper floors), and building new apartment houses. The latter only works if the apartments are someplace people want to live and can easily commute to and from, and the article discusses the idea of raising allowable density near subway stops. That is, to me, a no-brainer, as is getting rid of the insane underground parking minimums for apartment houses.
The title of the piece contains an important point and one that can be hard for people in the design and constructioncommunity to accept: there’s isn’t always a solution that involves building something new. Maybe the answer is to do all the small things at once.
