Science or Life?

Broken Promises on Affordable Housing Stir Upset in Kips Bay

In Manhattan’s Kips Bay, a major development plan that’s meant to transform the neighborhood into a life science hub — with new research buildings and job opportunities — has also sparked growing frustration over a glaring omission: affordable housing. Local community leaders and residents say they were promised housing alongside all the new offices and labs, and now they feel that promise has been ignored.

The projects at the center of the debate — called SPARC and Innovation East — are expected to bring major investment to the area, with city officials touting billions in economic growth and thousands of jobs by 2031. But Manhattan’s Community Board 6 says that from the start, affordable housing was sidelined in the planning process, despite repeated appeals from the board. (Maybe this shows some insight into what the city prioritizes)

District Manager Jesús Pérez says the board repeatedly pushed city and state agencies to include housing options that local people could actually afford. They sent multiple letters over more than a year making the case that housing should be an essential part of the plan, especially in a neighborhood already feeling the squeeze of rising rents and limited supply. When those requests weren’t integrated into final plans, the board shifted its strategy — asking for a clear, neighborhood-specific study identifying where affordable homes could be built and when.

City officials initially agreed to study the issue but then folded Kips Bay’s housing inquiry into a broader effort called the Manhattan Plan, which aims to map out 100,000 new units across the entire borough. Community Board 6 says that dilutes focus on their district’s particular needs and risks leaving them without a targeted timeline or plan for housing that’s truly affordable to local residents.

The board’s housing committee has started its own research into the local housing stock and potential city-owned parcels, even as it hopes the next mayor — Zohran Mamdani — will make good on affordable housing priorities for Kips Bay and beyond. 

I will admit that I am a little biased, but I truly think this is a horrible idea. There is already a shortage of affordable housing in not only NYC, but the whole of America.

Read full article here: https://www.nycitynewsservice.com/2025/12/04/in-kips-bay-tensions-grow-over-broken-promises-on-affordable-housing/