On June 20, 2025, the Adams Administration and the Department of City Planning (DCP) initiated public engagement for the 'Manhattan Plan,' a proposal to add 100,000 new homes in Manhattan over the next decade. The Plan aims to increase housing production in Manhattan by using new tools created by the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative, identifying locations for new housing (including on city-owned sites), and introducing zoning updates and process improvements.
“Manhattan has always been a place where people come to pursue opportunity, but for too many New Yorkers, the chance to live here has fallen out of reach,” DCP Director and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick said in a press release. “The Manhattan Plan is how we change that — by creating 100,000 new homes across the borough, we can ensure more New Yorkers of all income levels can live close to jobs, transit, and everything this borough has to offer.”
According to the city’s new Manhattan Plan website, Manhattan’s housing production has declined since the 1970’s, and from 2021 to 2024, less housing was produced in Manhattan than every other borough except Staten Island. This decline has led to increasing housing costs, with the median rent in Manhattan rising 50% since 2010.
To facilitate the development of housing that is affordable across income levels and neighborhoods, the Manhattan Plan will identify new tools and strategies for housing production while incorporating tools created by City of Yes, such as high-density residential districts that require Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. The Adams Administration has already advanced several housing-focused initiatives in Manhattan, including the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, which is currently in public review, and redevelopment of the city-owned 100 Gold Street.
“Over the past several decades, housing prices in Manhattan have gone up while working-class families have been pushed out,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “Tackling our city’s housing crisis takes all of us, which is why we are kicking off the public engagement process for the ‘Manhattan Plan’ to hear directly from New Yorkers about where we can build more homes, how we can build more homes, and what we can do to help more families live in Manhattan.”
Public engagement for the Plan will continue into the early fall and will include on-the-ground engagement in Manhattan neighborhoods as well as digital engagement through a survey, which asks participants to identify where they would like to see more housing in Manhattan and why.
The Manhattan Plan will be published at the end of 2025 and will include specific tools and strategies to increase housing production across the borough in the decade ahead. We will monitor the details of the Manhattan Plan as public engagement continues.