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How a decision by NYC voters sped up a plan to build affordable housing in the Bronx
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David Brand
Published Feb 20, 2026
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By
David Brand
Published Feb 20, 2026
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An 84-unit apartment complex may not seem like a big deal by New York City building standards, but a proposed project in the Mott Haven bears an important distinction.
It’s the first affordable housing development to enter a new fast-track review process that voters approved at the ballot box less than four months ago. The measure was part of a package of housing-related ballot questions proposed by a commission convened by then-Mayor Eric Adams last year.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has since embraced those housing reforms. City officials say the new procedure will allow construction crews to break ground at the Bronx site in about three months — less than half the time it would have taken under previous public review rules.
The project “is not just notable for adding affordable housing, it’s also kicking off a new era for faster delivery of affordable housing,” Deputy Mayor Leila Bozorg said at a press conference Friday.
Bozorg and other city leaders, including local City Councilmember Elsie Encarnacion, say the plan to build the housing on a city-owned lot at 351 Powers Ave. shows how rule changes passed by voters last November will help address a deep affordable housing shortage across the city.
Low- and many middle-income tenants face few housing options because less than 1% of apartments priced under $2,400-a-month are vacant, according to a recent city housing survey. Most tenants spend at least 30% of their income on housing, other city data shows — an arrangement the federal government defines as “rent-burdened.”
The Mott Haven project will rise eight stories on what is now an empty lot next to a public school and less than a block from St. Mary’s Park.
Under previous rules, the proposal would have been subject to the city’s typical seven-month public review process, which culminates in a binding vote by the City Council. The project has already undergone a lengthy community engagement and application phase, which lasted more than four years, before beginning the city’s formal review process.
The voter-approved ballot measure established a truncated, 90-day process for 100%-affordable developments. The plan still goes before the local community board and borough president.
“The message was clear: New Yorkers want more housing and they want it built faster,” Department of City Planning Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen said. “For too long, even the most affordable, no-brainer projects like 351 Powers faced lengthy timelines, spending seven months in public review before construction could begin.”
The expedited review proposal was part of a package of ballot measures proposed by Adams’ Charter Revision Commission. The former mayor had tasked the panel with proposing changes to the city’s governing document that would make housing construction faster and easier.
Voters also approved a plan to speed up housing development in sections of the city producing few new affordable units and grant a new three-member appeals panel the power to override decisions by the City Council.
The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development began the community engagement process for the Bronx project in 2021 before releasing a report in July 2022 showing 70% of neighborhood respondents said they wanted affordable housing constructed on the lot.
Nearly all residents who participated in workshops said they also wanted community programs and services. The new development will feature a theater and jobs training center on site.
In 2024, the agency selected a trio of developers — Lemle & Wolff Development Co., HELP Development Corp. and True Development New York — to build the project, which they have dubbed “Powerhouse Apartments.”
The project will feature 24 studios, 18 one-bedroom apartments, 31 two-bedrooms and 11 three-bedrooms, according to planning documents. More than a third of the units will be reserved for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
Housing Commissioner Dina Levy said the city will soon begin the expedited review process for other affordable housing projects, including one on Staten Island.
“There will be many more to come,” Levy said. “The project is now a model for HPD’s broader commitment to meet the moment we are in and act with the urgency that all New Yorkers deserve.”
Tagged
Zohran Mamdani
bronx
economy
eric adams
housing
mott haven
new york city
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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