Adams Moves to Legalize Basement Apts to Add Much Needed Affordable Housing

By:  Hadassa Kalatizadeh

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is pushing to legalize basement apartments by changing NYC zoning and building codes.  This is part of the Mayor’s effort to boost affordable housing available amid the shortage.

As reported by Crain’s NY, NY has over 100,000 basement apartments, known as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which house about 400,000 people, per estimates from the city comptroller’s office and grassroots groups.  These apartments, sometimes in the attic or cellar, are illegal to rent out, and are usually reserved for family members.  This is mainly because even though most of these units have a door and at least one window, in many cases they don’t have two ways to get in and out, and therefore are in violation of the state’s Multiple Dwelling Law.  Many of the below-grade ADUs only have very small, high-up windows which could not serve as an emergency exit in the event of a fire or flood.

Adams’ proposal, unleashed in September as part of the City of Yes housing plan, would legalize ADUs of up to 800 square feet in one- and two-family properties.   He hopes these could provide “space for multigenerational families, health aides or local workers.”  The initiative would require zoning changes, and would waive the requirement that any new dwelling offer options for off-street parking, such as in a garage or driveway. Current mandates for sprinklers and roof access are also hindrances that will need to be addressed.  State officials would need to approve a modification to the Multiple Dwelling Law.  Adams is particularly interested in ADUs in one- and two-family subterranean dwellings in the outer boroughs, which would add much needed cheap housing.

As per a Zillow search, in Queens such small lofts have rents hovering around $1,500 a month, which is a relief compared to  Manhattan median rents of $4,200.  Allowing these units to serve as housing for lower-income New Yorkers and immigrants can not only help in the shortage but also could generate new revenue for small-property owners, advocates say.  “We know these are where immigrants land when they come to this city, so we’re focused on making them safe and healthy and affordable,”  said Sadia Rahman, the deputy director of Chhaya Community Development Corp., a Queens-based nonprofit which is helping to forge the way to legalizing ADUs.

“There’s a real path forward here,” said Manhattan Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, who first proposed statewide ADU legislation in 2022.  “In a tight housing market, it’s more important than ever to have units available at a lower price threshold,” Epstein added.  ADUs are already heavily concentrated in areas including Manhattan’s Washington Heights, Brooklyn’s Crown Heights, Canarsie and East New York and Queen’s East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Fresh Meadows, per a 2021 Pratt Center for Community Development report.

Most of these “granny flats”, as they are called, are hidden from the outside with just an extra mailbox or second electric meter as the only hint from the outside.  Legalizing these units, many of which have been around for decades, would help give the tenants more rights and help bring the units up to code, proponents say. “People are already living in them,” said Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who added that the efforts could help curb the housing black market. “So we need to make sure their conditions are safe.”