In a proposal likely to make golf lovers tee off, mayoral candidate Brad Lander wants to turn some of New York City’s public golf courses into 50,000 new homes to tackle the housing crisis. The idea, included in the city comptroller’s 36-page housing proposal released last week, is a key element of Lander’s vision to create 500,000 new homes across the five boroughs over the next decade, if elected mayor. In order to achieve these ambitious housing goals, Lander said he would declare a housing emergency to speed up construction and triple subsidies for affordable housing.
As part of Lander’s plan, the city could build new units by looking at increasing house density on key city and state-owned land, including 12 municipal golf courses. The courses, which total 2,500 acres, are found in every borough but Manhattan.
Lander says since the popularity of golf has declined nationally, “it’s time to rethink whether the City continues to need a dozen golf courses” or if there’s better use for the public land.
In his policy proposal, he cites Mitchell-Lama projects like Electchester, a co-op housing complex in Queens built on a former golf course.
As mayor, Lander said he would conduct feasibility studies to determine which four public golf courses could be developed. In his proposal, he included a chart of eight golf courses that provides the size of the site, whether it’s accessible to transit, and the potential number of apartments and residents.
“Our housing crisis is crushing working families, professionals, and young people and shrinking the hope of home ownership for too many New Yorkers,” Lander said in a statement. “My plan to transform just four of the city’s twelve municipal golf courses will increase our housing stock while creating new, vibrant neighborhoods with green spaces, schools, and small businesses.”
The 500,000 new homes would consist of both affordable and market-rate developments, but with a “laser focus” on maximizing the number of units for low-income and working-class New Yorkers.
To achieve this goal, Lander has proposed declaring a temporary housing emergency, which would streamline the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and expedite construction.
While the city has already been in a designated housing emergency, the type of classification Lander would declare would make it easier to take certain executive actions, such as increasing funding for housing-focused agencies and cutting down the time of budget office reviews of certain affordable housing projects, as reported by the New York Times.
This emergency declaration would also establish a new “Citizens Assembly” made up of NYC residents, tasked with creating a community-focused plan for long-term housing development.
Working with the City Council, the Assembly would develop a citywide plan within two years of declaring the emergency, creating a “permanent framework” to streamline ULURP and ensure equitable distribution of investments in schools, parks, and critical infrastructure.
Lander’s proposal also includes policies to protect renters, such as defending the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, reforming the Rent Guidelines Board, enforcing Good Cause Eviction, improving the CityFHEPS housing voucher program and housing lottery system, increasing code enforcement against negligent landlords, and more.
Many of the most significant elements of Lander’s vision would require changes to the City Charter. Fortunately, Lander says, these changes are now more feasible following the creation of a charter revision commission by Mayor Eric Adams, which focuses on housing and puts ballot proposals before voters, according to the Times.
Housing remains one of the most pressing issues in the mayoral race across the political spectrum, as the cost of living in the five boroughs continues to reach new, record-breaking levels.
Other mayoral candidates include State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who pledged to invest $100 billion and create 200,000 new affordable homes over the next 10 years if elected, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, who called for more housing, focusing on small landlords, as reported by the Times.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie is calling for one million new homes over the next decade, with 85,000 targeted for residential areas situated between industrial sections of the city. This plan is similar to the Gowanus and Atlantic Avenue rezonings, which have already brought or are poised to bring thousands of new homes to formerly industrial-dominant areas.
Former city comptroller Scott Stringer proposes building new homes by “unlocking” underutilized public land, including city-owned properties, and fast-tracking their development into affordable housing. Stringer also aims to reclaim neglected properties from irresponsible landlords for affordable housing, secure $40 billion for NYCHA repairs, and create a $500 million fund to support MWBE and nonprofit developers in building community-focused housing.
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