New York City is set to gain a fresh wave of legal housing options as homeowners are now able to apply to convert their basements and other auxiliary spaces into habitable rental units. This initiative by the Department of Buildings is aimed at alleviating the city's pressing housing crisis. As per Gothamist, the online application system is available for modifications of basements, backyards, attics, and other spaces into ancillary dwelling units, or ADUs. This move follows a survey last year indicating significant interest from homeowners in areas such as Queens and Brooklyn, with Staten Island not far behind.
The interest in creating ADUs appears to not be evenly distributed across all boroughs. Queens and Staten Island have seen the majority of applications, while Manhattan has yet to submit a single one. According to figures cited by the Department of Buildings, nearly 2,600 city residents showed interest in the 2024 survey. A notable cluster of interest was found in ZIP code 11434, which includes Rochdale, Locust Manor, and parts of South Jamaica. "By allowing New Yorkers to build an ADU on their property, we are helping New Yorkers live near a family member, make a bit of additional income or stay in the city we all love — all while building the desperately needed housing that we need," Matthew Rauschenbach, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, told Gothamist.
Safety concerns have been highlighted by local legislators, notably state Sen. Leroy Comrie from Southeast Queens, who pointed to the dangers posed by flooding and fires in basement apartments. "There’s plenty of other places to put housing that are safe," he stated. "We can’t put people in unsafe basements," Comrie told Gothamist. The city has implemented updated safety rules since July, including the need for multiple exits and mandatory sprinkler systems, and will specifically prohibit units in flood-prone areas to mitigate this risk.
Supporters of the ADU initiative believe it could play a key role in addressing the city's ongoing housing shortage. The approach is seen as a way to create new housing options in neighborhoods where opportunities for development are often limited. It also reflects the needs of single or older residents who wish to remain in familiar, lower-density areas where they have longstanding ties. However, the application process excludes homeowners currently renting out unauthorized basement units. Estimates reported by WNYC suggest that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers may be living in such spaces, highlighting the significant untapped potential of these informal housing arrangements.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Ida in 2021, the city decided to turn its attention to the issue of illegal basement apartments. The areas displaying the most interest in the current program to add new ADUs closely mirror those parts of the city that received the highest number of violations for illegal units in the run-up to the hurricane, as well as in its immediate aftermath. Future plans include a program for legalizing existing illegal apartments, Gothamist reports.
