Breaking Down Eric Adams’ City of Yes Plan

In a bustling metropolis like New York City, it can sometimes feel like the answer to every good governance idea is a resounding "no". So when I stumbled upon an advertisement for the City of Yes plan on a LinkNYC machine, I was immediately intrigued. The goal of this blog is to promote ideas that increase abundance in New York City, so the City of Yes plan sounds like a step in the right direction.

So what is this plan about?

It is an effort by the Department of City Planning (DCP) to reform the city's policies around three key areas: Carbon Neutrality, Economic Opportunity, and Housing.

Slide of the City of Yes Schedule from 3/20/23 Info Session

Currently, the program is focused on gathering public input on its Carbon Neutrality proposal, which includes 17 pieces across four different categories:

Slide from 3/20/23 Info Session

Many of the proposals are straightforward. Making it easier to install solar panels or electric vehicles charging stations will help reduce carbon emissions. I had look up others, though. Did you know that exterior retrofits reduce carbon emissions by improving a building's insulation or installing double-glazed windows? Another proposal will prototype new kinds of "rain gardens", which are small sidewalk gardens that help capture storm water.

While it's great that the DCP is seeking public comment on these proposals, it begs the question: why can't individuals or businesses already implement some of these ideas today? For example, if we want to reduce carbon emissions of course we should allow buildings to canopy their rooftops with solar panels! I don’t think this needs months of public input to warrant its inclusion.

The answer lies in the New York Zoning Resolution, a code of law that regulates many aspects of city life, including building height and design requirements for public spaces like bike racks or plazas. The City of Yes plan is actually just a process to modify the Zoning Resolution.

Landmark Preservation zoning from the Zoning Resolution online explorer tool

Exploring the Zoning Resolution is surprisingly easy. The web app that hosts it includes plenty of helpful metadata on each piece of zoning, including when each section was last modified. Let's see if we can quickly learn more about zoning the City of Yes plan might modify:

• Porous Paving proposal → Relevant zoning: 26-421: Modifications of planting strip requirements (last updated: 4/30/2012)

• Rooftop greenhouses to become as-of-right proposal → 75-01: Certification for Rooftop Greenhouses (last updated: 4/30/2012)

• Vehicle charging to all commercial districts proposal → 32-16: Use Group 7 (last updated: 4/30/2012)

The amendment that went into effect in April 2012 was a Bloomberg-era effort called Zone Green. It seems like many of the City of Yes proposals are updates to that effort, which also was run from the DCP:

Very cool effort — but it wrapped up over a decade ago! This makes me wonder why we don't make more regular updates to the Zoning Resolution. Regular updates could allow for experimentation and a learning mindset when it comes to new ideas like urban farming and solar energy. It's challenging to experiment with rules when they're only updated once a decade.

To make more regular updates a reality, City Council could pass legislation providing funding for the DCP to run a City of Yes-like text amendment process on an annual basis. Alternatively, it could amend the City Charter to make it a Mayoral responsibility.

If the City Council doesn't prioritize this on their own initiative, Community Boards could attempt to do so bottom-up. Community Boards could conduct their own reviews of the Zoning Resolution and then write text amendments that Borough Presidents can submit to the City Council for review. I’m not sure how likely this is to happen, but it has the benefit of having clear public input on the proposed changes.

Overall, I support the City of Yes initiative and hope city leaders can find ways to make it a more frequent process. By doing so, we can work towards creating a city that says "yes" to good ideas and increases abundance for all New Yorkers.