N.Y.C. Charter § 197-f: Section 197-f. Affordable housing fast track.

a. No later than October 1, 2026, and every five years thereafter, the director of city planning shall determine and post on the website of the department a list of the twelve community districts which, during the preceding five years, had the lowest rate of affordable housing development, as measured by the total number of new affordable dwelling units in a community district as a percentage of the total number of housing units located in such community district at the start of each five-year cycle. The city planning commission shall, in consultation with the commissioner of housing preservation and development, develop a methodology to calculate the total number of affordable dwelling units in each community district, considering data that includes, but need not be limited to, the total number of affordable dwelling units for which the department of buildings has issued a permit for construction work and, where applicable, the date upon which an affordable housing unit becomes subject to a regulatory agreement or other similar instrument that provides for the creation of one or more affordable dwelling units. For the purposes of this section, the term “affordable dwelling unit” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision a of section sixteen-a.

b. Applications by any person or agency for any changes, approvals, permits, or authorizations thereof, respecting the use, development or improvement of real property, that would otherwise be subject to review pursuant to section one hundred ninety-seven-c, shall be instead reviewed pursuant to the expedited land use review procedure set forth in section one hundred ninety-seven-e, provided that:

1. Such real property is located in a community district that, on the date of the filing of such application, is included on the list posted by the director pursuant to subdivision a of this section;

2. Such real property is, or would be if such application is approved, subject to a program established in the zoning resolution that mandates that any new housing on designated lots include minimum percentages of permanently affordable housing equivalent to or exceeding the requirements under any mandatory inclusionary housing program;

3. Such application is filed between the first of January succeeding the posting of the list required by subdivision a of this section identifying the community district in which such real property is located and the thirty-first of December five years thereafter; and

4. The department of city planning certifies such application as complete on or before the thirty-first of December five years succeeding the posting of the list required by subdivision a of this section, provided that where such application is filed within two years of such date, such department shall certify such application as complete no later than two years after such application is filed.

c. The department of city planning and city planning commission, as applicable, shall make the determinations set forth in this subdivision regarding an application described in subdivision b of this section.

1. The department shall not certify an application as complete unless it confirms that a primary purpose of such application is to facilitate additional housing and affordable housing.

2. In determining, pursuant to section one hundred ninety-seven-e, whether to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove an application described in subdivision b of this 3 section, the city planning commission shall assess and make a finding regarding the consistency of such application with the fair housing plan submitted pursuant to subdivision b of section sixteen-a and the adequacy of existing transportation, sewer and other infrastructure.

The commission may promulgate rules as necessary for the implementation of this section, including, but not limited to, rules relating to the selection of data used to identify the number of affordable housing units in a community district, as set forth in subdivision a of this section.

(L.L. 2025/177, 12/2/2025, eff. 12/2/2025)