Publicly owned land is an invaluable and increasingly scarce resource in New York City. ANHD and our member organizations have been working to ensure that the City designates its public land to be used in the public’s interest, in perpetuity, and with both local and citywide needs in mind.
Public site development presents a critical opportunity to offset speculation and gentrification, helping to stabilize communities and provide affordable housing and other spaces that meet community and citywide needs.
Rather than sell public sites to profit-driven developers, the City should be putting public land into the hands of non-profit and community-controlled entities, whose missions align with the goal of ensuring that the land be used for the public’s benefit. Additionally, the City should be using public land to meet goals such as deep and permanent affordability, which can be more difficult to accomplish on private sites where the City has less control.
ANHD and our member groups are working with city agencies who own public sites to make reforms to the RFP eligibility and selection criteria in a way that recognizes and affirms the strengths that mission-driven developers bring to the development process.