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Manhattan might be the city’s most iconic borough, but when it comes to new housing? It’s been falling flat. Now, Mayor Eric Adams wants your help to turn that around.
As part of a sweeping new initiative dubbed The Manhattan Plan, City Hall is calling on New Yorkers to weigh in on where and how to build 100,000 new homes across the borough over the next decade. You don’t need to be a planner or a policy wonk, just someone who lives, works or dreams of affording rent in Manhattan.
The city has launched a public survey to gather feedback on potential housing sites, zoning tweaks and your personal thoughts on what makes living in Manhattan possible—or impossible. In-person events and neighborhood outreach are also planned throughout the summer.
It’s part of a larger push to reverse a decades-long slowdown in Manhattan housing production. From 2021 to 2024, Manhattan built fewer homes than every borough except Staten Island. Meanwhile, rents have surged by 50% since 2010 and nearly half of Manhattanites are considered rent-burdened.
At the heart of the plan is a major rezoning of Midtown South, where housing has long been off-limits. The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan aims to add nearly 10,000 new homes—including 2,800 income-restricted apartments—across a 42-block area from 23rd to 40th Street and 5th to 8th Avenue. The City Planning Commission approved the plan this month and a City Council vote is expected this summer.
Mayor Adams announced the plan in his 2025 State of the City address and called it “a tribute to this borough’s long history as a place where families from all over the world could come to start their American Dream.” His administration hopes the initiative will help make Manhattan more affordable, family-friendly and livable again.
If you’ve ever complained about housing in NYC (and really, who hasn’t?), now’s your chance to speak up. The city is listening—and this time, it might actually build something.