The New York City Economic Development Corporation is looking to turn a city-owned parking lot at 2453 Second Avenue in East Harlem into a 140-unit mixed-use building, in what City Hall is pitching as part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s renewed push to put public land to work for housing. The plan calls for at least 35 affordable apartments, with the agency aiming to issue a request for proposals as early as next month. Instead of cutting a traditional city subsidy check, EDC would put the land on the table and expect developers to lean on tax incentives and cross-subsidy strategies to make the below-market units pencil out.
EDC presented the plan to CB11
As reported by Bisnow, EDC walked Manhattan Community Board 11 through the Second Avenue proposal in a slide presentation, calling it the first of three city-owned parcels between East 125th and East 127th streets teed up for private development. The deck also flags the other local sites: a fenced lot at 2321 Third Avenue and a half-block parking lot at 2461 Second Avenue.
How the city expects to finance affordability
Under the framework the agency laid out, developers would be required to tap state tax incentives so that acquisition costs can be redirected into subsidizing affordable units instead of paying for the land itself. That approach is built into the state’s 485-x program. The 485-x language was added to state law to provide a phased property-tax benefit for new residential construction, and the statute text is available from the New York State Legislature. The structure mirrors how EDC set up part of the Gansevoort Square redevelopment, where a mix of tax incentives and private financing is expected to deliver hundreds of mixed-income apartments without a direct city construction subsidy, according to NYCEDC.
RFP, timelines and the next steps
Bisnow reports that EDC plans to release an RFP as soon as next month for the 2453 Second Avenue site, with respondents expected to build the state’s 485-x abatement directly into their financing plans. Feedback from the Manhattan Community Board meeting is slated to be folded into the final RFP, according to the outlet.
Where this fits in Mamdani’s housing push
The move lines up with Mayor Mamdani’s Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, a March initiative that promises to pre-qualify developers and shorten pre-development timelines for projects on city-owned land. The mayor’s office has framed the program as a way to move affordable housing faster and give nonprofits and M/WBE developers a clearer shot at winning city deals, with less red tape on public parcels.
NYCEDC is moving ahead under Interim President & CEO Jeanny Pak as it advances several public-land projects and community engagement efforts. The agency says it will keep incorporating local feedback as the RFP is finalized. All eyes will be on the formal RFP and its fine print, which will effectively decide whether East Harlem’s Second Avenue site draws in local nonprofit builders or bigger private players willing to take on the cross-subsidy math.
