Housing matters more than ever

Even before the pandemic, New York was facing an extreme housing shortage, brought on by decades of policy that discouraged construction and drove up costs. Now, as housing demand returns to the city, far too many New Yorkers are seeing untenable rent increases. It’s a stark reminder of the importance of our mission: advocating for more homes for an open and welcoming New York for all.

Open New York has exciting plans for the coming months, so it’s crucial that we maximize our impact in fighting for the pro-housing policies New Yorkers deserve. That’s why we’re kicking off a fundraising push to get there!

What Open New York has done

For decades, wealthy areas have been able to use the land use process as a force for exclusion, and wall themselves off from any and all new homes. But last year that finally changed, thanks to our advocacy:

• We shepherded the SoHo/NoHo rezoning through a successful City Council vote, winning thousands of mixed-income homes for two of the country’s wealthiest neighborhoods.
• Every rezoning we advocated for completed the approvals process without major cuts, including another pro-housing neighborhood rezoning in Gowanus, but also major individual projects in Williamsburg, the Financial District, and Prospect Heights.
• Altogether, thousands more families will be able to call New York home, thanks to our work. 

What’s next:

Our work continues as we push for city level reforms to unlock more housing, such as:

• reforming parking minimums
• setting district-wide housing targets
• allowing accessory dwelling units citywide
• passing even more pro-housing rezonings

And at the state level, the Governor proposed three major housing proposals in her first budget that we would like to see pass in future sessions, including:

• legalizing accessory dwelling unit,
• passing a transit-oriented development proposal
• repealing of the statewide cap on density

With your support, we can keep up the fight for an open and welcoming New York for all.

Our goal is to raise $100k from our members to help fund the day-to-day realities of pro-housing organizing, ranging from:

• bus trips to Albany ($1500 = one lobbying trip)
• campaign-level website creation ($500-$5k = one microsite)
• event planning ($200 = small space rental, $1000 = large events)
• staff building ($180 = 10 hours of part-time organizing)

You can help New York’s pro-housing movement with a donation today. It’s crucial that we continue to grow our movement, and ultimately, end New York’s housing shortage for good.

If you would prefer to donate by check or wire, please email us at OpenNYForAll@gmail.com for instructions.

Open New York is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization fighting for more housing in the New York metropolitan area.