Open Plans, Over 40 Organizations Call for Full Elimination of Parking Mandates in Letter to City Council

NEW YORK — Ahead of the upcoming vote on City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, Open Plans is joining a broad coalition of leading housing, transit and climate organizations calling on city lawmakers to approve the text amendment without watering down the full elimination of parking mandates—a crucial measure necessary to allow for the housing growth New York City desperately needs. 

“We must lift parking mandates to provide the flexibility for our neighborhoods to evolve over time, rather than locking in car dependency for generations to come,” The letter, signed by more than three dozen groups, reads in part. “We strongly support lifting parking mandates citywide, without exceptions, as a critical step towards solving our housing crisis and building a more livable city. The New York City Council has the opportunity to do something historic. We urge you to meet the moment and lift parking mandates citywide.” 

The full letter and list of organizations that signed on to it are available here. 

According to a recent report, carveouts for these mandates—such as only doing away with them in areas within half a mile of subway stations—could significantly cut new housing production. Mayor Adams’s proposal, in its current iteration, is projected to generate 58,000 to 109,000 new housing units over the next 15 years. But narrowing the parking mandate reforms to a smaller “transit zone” would hamstring the plan, cutting the estimated housing production by 50%. With the elimination of parking mandates potentially on the chopping block, it is critically important for lawmakers to understand that it is simply impossible to water down the measure without undermining the rest of the text amendment. 

“The housing and climate crises demand bold and comprehensive solutions, not half-measures and tinkering around the edges. Parking mandates are an obsolete obstruction to building the amount of affordable housing New Yorkers deserve,” said Sara Lind, the co-executive director of Open Plans. “As negotiations reach their final stages, City Council members must recognize that if they dilute the original plan to eliminate parking mandates, they'll create a damaging domino effect.”    

“If they are serious about addressing the severe housing affordability crisis, the City Council must approve the strongest version of the City of Yes plan,” Lind added. “Every new home counts, and we cannot afford to miss this opportunity to make progress on the housing and climate crises our city faces.” 

Key Impacts of Keeping Parking Mandates:

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

  • Full legalization could lead to 27,000 to 40,000 new ADUs in 15 years.

  • Imposing parking requirements outside the transit zone would reduce ADU production by 80-90%.

  • It would be impossible to add an ADU if it triggered a required parking spot; this would force homeowners to choose between space for housing or parking in their own backyard.

• Town Center Zoning

  • Expected to deliver 17,050 to 37,950 units in low-density areas.

  • Development would stall if parking mandates require ground-floor retail to be replaced with parking, making projects infeasible.

• Single-Room Occupancy (SROs)

  • A critical housing type for residents unlikely to own cars.

  • Requiring parking would make these units cost-prohibitive and divert funding from essential supportive services.

• Universal Affordability Preference (UAP)

  • Allows for additional affordable housing units.

  • If these units trigger parking requirements, the added cost may render them financially unviable, undermining this vital reform.

• High-Density Housing

  • Projected production of 13,950 to 31,050 units could drop by 20% with parking mandates.

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