City Council Speaker Julie Menin unveiled an initiative Tuesday to build affordable housing on existing public library locations, with three initial sites targeted for redevelopment in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
The Council’s proposed model, which tapped library sites in Sunnyside, Parkchester, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, has been utilized before. An Inwood library branch dubbed “The Eliza” was redeveloped to include 174 affordable housing units and additional community spaces in 2024.
The proposal seeks to build 100 percent affordable housing at the three locations, introducing hundreds of new units and replacing aging library facilities using public-private partnerships. It calls for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to invest $60 million.
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development recently announced a similar project in Bensonhurst, which plans to build 100 percent affordable housing at the New Utrecht branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, plus a complete overhaul of library facilities that had fallen into disrepair. HPD and BPL released a competitive request for proposals for the New Utrecht redevelopment on June 10, one day before Menin’s announcement of the broader council initiative.
The HPD and BPL project advances the mayor’s 112-page “Block by Block” housing plan, which seeks to build 200,000 affordable housing units and preserve another 200,000 over the next decade. The administration aims to utilize rezonings, transit-oriented development, accessory dwelling units and new financing tools to expand affordable development across the city. With Menin at the helm of the City Council, city lawmakers are seeking to leave their own mark on housing expansions in line with the City of Yes zoning amendments adopted in 2024, which target building 82,000 new homes over a 15-year period.
Dora Pekec, a senior spokesperson for Mayor Mamdani, pointed to $31.7 million of library-focused funding included in the mayor’s executive budget, adding that the administration is exploring other options for developing affordable housing alongside library projects. “We will work with the Council to review co-location of housing and libraries as part of the ongoing budget process,” Pekec said in a statement.
Recent zoning changes have made approving these types of projects more streamlined. The New York City Board of Standards and Appeals adopted new rules in May for fast-tracking zoning waivers that allow select affordable housing projects to sidestep the lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure process. Voters approved a ballot measure last November aimed at speeding the approval process for income-restricted housing.
“The Eliza” was built on the heels of a controversial Inwood rezoning approved by the Council in 2018, but stalled for nearly three years amid local pushback and a legal battle under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. It was co-developed by Ranger Properties, Housing Workshop, Community League of the Heights, Children’s Village and Alembic Community Development.
The proposed library redevelopment sites for affordable housing haven’t yet announced developers or opened an RFP process.
“Traditionally, the Council is reactive on land use, we wait for ULURPs to come to us,” Menin said. “What we’re doing now is being a partner in the affordability crisis by coming up with a proactive vision.”
The redevelopment model could also be applied to city-owned standalone buildings in need of renovations, including health clinics and child care centers, Menin told attendees of Crain’s Power Breakfast. She also highlighted the Council’s proposed amendments to the construction code to encourage development of nearly 3,000 small lots as sites for 35,000 potential housing units without undergoing zoning changes.
Additional sites identified by the Council for future phases of the initiative include library sites in Windsor Terrace, University Heights and South Ozone Park.
“The city owns close to 1,000 different underutilized, underpurposed buildings or vacant land that we believe — and I’ve been speaking about this for months — should be unlocked for development potential to help solve the affordable housing crisis,” Menin said.
