Zoning and housing in focus (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Zoning is often discussed like it’s an occult force with mystical powers. I’ve spent decades overseeing New York City’s zoning, and I promise, it’s not magic. It’s an important planning tool to direct where the housing, jobs, and other facilities the city needs can be added, but its mystique can obscure important realities. 

The misuse of zoning, often driven by good intentions, is a major cause of the structural housing shortage that drives up housing

Ground-breaking (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

May 19, 2023 - Max Politics Podcast: Top City & State Housing Officials on the NYS Budget Impasse and What Comes Next, with Jessica Katz & RuthAnne Visnauskas

At the annual NYSAFAH affordable housing conference in Manhattan, Max Politics host Ben Max of Gotham Gazette moderated a discussion with New York City Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz and New York State Housing Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas about the state budget failure on housing and what comes next at the state and city levels.

Listen to the

City Planning Head Dan Garodnick (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

The acute staffing crisis at city agencies threatens to undo the many ambitious plans announced by Mayor Eric Adams, and has become the central concern for the City Council as it examines the mayor’s proposed $102.7 billion preliminary budget for next fiscal year.

On Thursday, at a Council hearing focused on the Department of City Planning, a similar refrain emerged as the agency currently faces a 18%

City Council Members Julie Won, left, & Rafael Salamanca (photo: Emil Cohen/NYC Council)

Last week, the City Council rejected a proposed lot rezoning on Northern Boulevard in Woodside, Queens that would have replaced a dilapidated one-story restaurant with a shiny new two-storey auto dealership. Opponents of the rezoning, which included the local City Council Member, first-term Democrat Julie Won, made it clear that the last thing their community needs is another auto industry business that will add more cars, particularly large dangerous SUVs, to their

Housing on the way (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

September 23, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Getting New York Out of Its Housing Crisis

Moses Gates, Vice President for Housing and Neighborhood Planning at the Regional Plan Association, joined the show to discuss New York City's housing crisis, what policies are key to addressing it, the unique political moment we're in, and how to find more consensus on this contentious issue.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

Construction underway (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

April 29, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Solving New York City's 'Housing Problem,' with Two Veterans of the Trenches

Rafael Cestero, CEO of the Community Preservation Corporation and former Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Kirk Goodrich, President of Monadnock Development and chair of the NYS Association for Affordable Housing, joined the show to discuss New York City's 'Housing Problem,' which is also the name of their podcast miniseries, and how to solve it. The

City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (photo: Gerardo Romo/NYC Council)

April 27, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: City Council Member Pierina Sanchez on Solving NYC's Housing Crisis

City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, a Bronx Democrat and chair of the Council's Committee on Housing and Buildings, joined the show to discuss her priorities in solving the city's housing crisis.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or

Then-Deputy Mayor Vicki Been (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

January 12, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Vicki Been on De Blasio Era Housing Policy, Neighborhood Rezonings, & More

Former Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been joined the show to reflect on housing policy and outcomes during the de Blasio years, when she was first housing commissioner before returning to NYU then re-joining the administration as deputy mayor. Been discussed affordable housing planning, the implementation of Mandatory

Development rendering (image: NYC mayor's office)

Over the past several years, our cityscape has continued to transform before our eyes. Gentrification and displacement have pushed deeper into working class communities, while shiny new towers throughout the five boroughs remain out of reach. At the forefront of this reality is the way our government makes planning and land use decisions. They shape what our city looks like. And equally as important — they shape what communities are served.

The fact is, the way we plan is broken,

Th City Council (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

The New York City Council voted 43-5 to approve a rezoning of the New York Blood Center to create a new life sciences hub on the Upper East Side, in a rare vote that overrode the wishes of local Council Member Ben Kallos.

The Council has typically followed the tradition of “member deference” on land use matters, voting along with the member whose district includes the proposed rezoning. In the case of the Blood Center, negotiations had been going on for many months among

City Council Member Francisco Moya (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

November 20, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: City Council Member Francisco Moya on Zoning Battles, Running for Speaker, & More

City Council Member Francisco Moya joined the show to discuss his work chairing the Council's zoning subcommittee, recent land use debates and larger issues of development, and his bid to become the next Council Speaker.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

New York City resource fair (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

As New York City government changes land use rules and invests in communities through rezonings, it should make workforce development a key piece of the equation, according to a new report recently released by the Center for an Urban Future and JobsFirstNYC, two non-profit organizations focused on equitable growth in the city. This is especially true, the report says, given the economic impacts of the pandemic, whereby the city is still down roughly 500,000 jobs.

“Rezonings, which by definition are

Housing in New York City (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)

New York City has approved a requirement for racial-equity studies to inform the city’s land-use rezoning efforts. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, one of the proponents of the requirement, has expressed that “the more we have tools like this one, the more we can sift through what’s just noise and what’s actually serious and needs to be addressed. People have told us that these rezonings are going to be for the betterment of the city but, collectively, they have sped up

Housing (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

Reversing the many factors contributing to New York’s long-standing housing emergency will not be easy, but it is possible. In fact, the path toward a more equitable and affordable city is already emerging. 

In the proposed Gowanus rezoning, we can see the future right in front of us. The proposal is a model example of the sort of planning that, if replicated, will result in the city we aspire to create – one that overcomes rising housing costs and confronts our legacy of redlining and

New York City development (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would overhaul New York City’s long-term planning processes, eliminating duplicative procedures, streamlining agency coordination, and establishing a more proactive, holistic approach to land use and budgeting that prioritizes racial and economic justice. 

For decades, the city’s zoning, land use, and development have been subject to disparate sets of mandates and guidelines, some overlapping and redundant, in

Redesign rendering (photo: mayor's office)

My family has a uniquely American story that offers inspiration -- and cause for local changes to ensure opportunity for all.

My immigrant parents of four kids were determined to achieve the American Dream but did not have access to resources or the opportunity to give their children the material needs that are often associated with being in this country. 

What we did have was resolve and an unyielding faith that anyone could make it in America, if they worked hard enough. 

My parents' foremost

Council Member Brad Lander (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

What's The [Data] Point? Episode 97: 8,200 - the Gowanus Rezoning with City Council Member Brad Lander [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

City Council Member Brad Lander joined the show to discuss the Gowanus rezoning proposal that is entering final stages of negotiation and the

Council Member Menchaca and others tour part of Industry City (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

What's The [Data] Point? Episode 96: 20,000 - The Industry City Rezoning Proposal Falls Apart, with Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball and City Council Member Carlos Menchaca[You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball and City Council Member Carlos Menchaca joined the show to discuss the demise of the Industry City rezoning

Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer (photo: @scottmstringer)

When he officially launched his campaign for mayor earlier this month, Comptroller Scott Stringer took square aim at what he called “the gentrification industrial complex” that he says has flourished in New York City despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s years-long effort to stem the tide of housing unaffordability. Stringer, a two-term Democrat, has for years examined, audited, and criticized various aspects of the mayor’s housing program, arguing it is not aptly designed to help those most in need of affordable housing,

Industry City (photo: @IndustryCity)

City Council Member Carlos Menchaca’s July announcement of his intent to vote no on Industry City’s controversial “special innovation zoning district” because Jamestown Properties and investor owners were “...

Mayor de Blasio with New Yorkers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Dear Mayor de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Brewer, Council Member Chin, and Members and Residents of Manhattan Community Board 2:

My name is John Sanchez, I’m the District Manager of Bronx Community Board 6, a great neighborhood, but also among the poorest in our city. In Bronx CB6, which includes Belmont, East Tremont, and West Farms, there is a 31% poverty rate, a higher than ...

Council Member Menchaca & Speaker Johnson (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

All of us who care about New York City – and if you are a regular reader of Gotham Gazette that surely includes you – are worried about its future. COVID-19 has shuttered our economy and seriously impaired the lives and livelihoods of millions of our residents. It is clear that things will never go back to the way they were and that we must turn this disaster into an opportunity to bring back a different, better, fairer city. 

But fear of change and the demonizing of ‘development’ risk

The mayor at a ground-breaking ceremony (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

The Department of City Planning (DCP) has announced that it is resuming the city’s rezoning process after a five-month suspension due to the pandemic. But DCP has neither adapted the process that leads to significant land use changes to overcome the obstacles created by the pandemic nor the underlying structural racism embedded in land use decision-making. As DCP said in a recent statement reaffirming its commitment to dismantling institutionalized

Mayor de Blasio makes an announcement (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)

What was ostensibly meant to be a City Council hearing on the proposed preliminary budget for the Department of City Planning on Tuesday turned into a debate about the de Blasio administration’s approach to neighborhood rezonings. Several Council members expressed their displeasure with rapid gentrification and resident displacement, and what they believe are the city’s insufficient efforts to stop those trends while at times exacerbating them through rezonings, while Mayor

Comptroller Scott Stringer (photo: @NYCComptroller)

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Wednesday again took aim at perhaps the most pressing issue facing New Yorkers: housing affordability, and while repeatedly criticizing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approach, unveiled a new plan headlined by a “universal affordable housing” proposal to require income-targeted units in every new development across the five boroughs.

Stringer, a fellow Democrat who hopes to succeed the term-limited de Blasio by winning next year’s mayoral election, is also