Mayor Eric Adams on Monday unveiled the “Green Fast Track,” a plan aimed at cutting red tape on production of small- and medium-sized housing projects in the five boroughs — saying the idea will help accelerate a boom in new housing hitting the market.
The Green Fast Track focuses on streamlining the environmental review process for certain housing projects with plans that have no negative impacts on the carbon footprint, but have historically still needed to go through the expensive and time-consuming process before they could break ground.
“The solution to our housing crisis is simple: We must build more,” Adams said in a Dec. 11 statement. “Our administration has been relentless in its pursuit of new tools to speed up the production of housing — and to build that housing in a smarter, faster, and more sustainable way. The Green Fast Track will deliver more homes to more New Yorkers while encouraging greener homes — a true win-win.”
Projects that meet stringent requirements to qualify will be reclassified as “Type II” actions in the City Environmental Quality Review process, and can skip the ordeal of inspections that often take up to 24 months to complete.
In addition to the time saved, those projects will also save around $100,000 in their planning, design, and construction, according to City Hall.
The streamlined “Green Fast Track” will only apply to housing complexes under 250 feet (or under 50 feet while next to open spaces), and feature fewer than 175 units in low-density areas, and 250 units in high-density areas.
In order to qualify, the projects must: use all-electric heating, rather than fossil fuels; be located outside sensitive coastal areas; be distant from major roads and highways; and utilize pre-determined mitigation standards for areas with hazardous materials or in high-ambient noise.
The new streamlined process will not apply to construction that requires a rezoning under the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) — meaning that only buildings being constructed as “right-of-way.”
Seeking a new building wave
While those standards will exclude many construction projects, which will still need to undergo the lengthy environmental review process, the Adams Administration is hopeful that the “Green Fast Track” will unleash a wave of new housing during the ongoing housing crisis.
“Our city is facing two monumental challenges — the climate crisis and the housing crisis — and the Green Fast Track will help us address both,” said Maria Torres-Springer, the Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce. “By creating a streamlined process for climate-friendly housing, we are delivering more housing, building faster, and saving money.”
Adams’ administration came up with the guidelines by examining 1,000 projects over the past decade, and found that proposals which would have met the new criteria had virtually no impact on the environment.
Continuing to force them to go through the environmental review process, then, would be nothing more than arduous and counterproductive.
“By expediting reviews for projects that we already know won’t significantly impact the environment, we not only save valuable time and resources but also accelerate the delivery of much-needed housing,” said Carlo Scissura, the president and CEO of the New York Building Congress. “We are in a dire housing crisis — and only bold, innovative initiatives like the Green Fast Track can pull us out of it.”
The “Green Fast Track” plan will now be published for public viewing in the City Record, where New Yorkers will be allowed to provide comment and feedback on the idea. After that time, the city will made modifications, before it ultimately goes into effect.
The idea of streamlining new housing comes as the city deals with a major shortage in housing units — leading rental prices in the Big Apple to be among the highest in the nation.
Since 2010, the housing stock in New York City has increased just 4%, which compares with the 22% increase in residents holding jobs in the city.
“We desperately need more housing in all neighborhoods, and we are grateful that Mayor Adams is helping lead the fight to add housing,” said Rachel Fee, the executive director of the New York Housing Conference. “This proposal will streamline the lengthy environmental review for modest-sized housing, balancing the need for environmental review and protection without letting the process become an obstacle or barrier to adding housing.”
