Committee on Land Use meeting
March 23, 2026, 10:30 AM
The Committee on Land Use held its FY2027 preliminary budget hearing on the Department of City Planning and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The committee took testimony and recorded no votes.
What was discussed
- Committee on Land Use convenes for the FY2027 preliminary budget hearing The Sergeant at Arms opened the March 23, 2026 hearing of the Committee on Land Use, held in Hearing Room 1, to take testimony on the Fiscal 2027 preliminary budget for the Department of City Planning (DCP) and the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).
- Chair Riley's opening statement on DCP staffing and the housing crisis Chairperson Kevin Riley said he was surprised and disappointed by the proposed DCP budget, noting the agency's funding drops from $58.2 million in FY2026 to $51.4 million in FY2027 amid a housing crisis. He framed his priorities as borough-office staffing, holistic neighborhood planning, the results
- DCP Director Sideya Sherman presents the agency's FY2027 preliminary budget Director Sideya Sherman, in her 6th day on the job, testified that DCP's FY27 preliminary budget of $51.4 million reflects a net $5.3 million decrease from the FY26 adopted budget, driven almost entirely by the expiration of about $7 million in temporary and grant funding for completed environmental
- DCP panel sworn in Committee Counsel administered the oath to the DCP panel — Director Sideya Sherman, Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen, and Chief Operating Officer David Parish — before questioning began.
- Do DCP's borough offices have enough staff and resources to meet the housing moment? Director Sideya Sherman said that despite the net $5.3 million cut, the agency is essentially in a steady state with a net gain of 6 positions and that she is confident it can carry out its work, though she is still assessing needs on her 6th day. Chief Operating Officer David Parish added that
- What is driving DCP's 16% vacancy rate, and how is the agency filling positions? Chief Operating Officer David Parish said that of 370 positions the agency had 69 vacancies (about 19%) as of February, but that after excluding pending hires and roughly 20 unfunded former-grant positions the adjusted vacancy rate is about 12%. He said DCP is working with DCAS on civil-service
- How will DCP speed up the rising timelines for zoning and environmental review? Chief Operating Officer David Parish, responding to figures showing median times to enter public review rose sharply (environmental-review projects up 162.9% to 731 days), said the critical path is environmental review and pointed to Mayor Mamdani's Speed Task Force and the Governor's 'Let Them
- Is the administration preparing a citywide housing agenda, and what is DCP's role? Director Sideya Sherman said work is underway on a citywide housing agenda and on an updated fair housing plan aligned with Council legislation, with DCP contributing ideas to City Hall. Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen said DCP is committed to more neighborhood plans, text and zoning changes, and
- How many neighborhood rezonings will DCP undertake this term? Director Sideya Sherman said DCP is still determining the volume of rezonings and neighborhood-planning efforts to pursue but that it remains a priority, with a focus on communities that have not contributed fairly to the city's affordable-housing supply. Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen confirmed
- How will the city fund schools, transit, and open space when it pursues neighborhood rezonings? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen said no ambitious neighborhood plan would advance without necessary capital investments and that DCP does holistic planning covering school capacity, transit, open space, and resiliency. Chief Operating Officer David Parish said funding comes from a variety of
- What role did DCP play in the Sunnyside Yards proposal raised with President Trump? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen said Mayor Mamdani traveled to Washington to discuss potential federal funding to redevelop Sunnyside Yard for over 12,000 homes, calling it a once-in-a-generation opportunity, but that it is very early days and DCP has not been in discussions about the necessary
- Why has the White Plains Road rezoning slowed, and will DCP prioritize it? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen said DCP launched the White Plains Road neighborhood planning process last year with ongoing engagement, including a community meeting on March 10, and that the best starting point is partnership with the Council. Director Sideya Sherman committed to visiting the
- Does DCP prioritize immigrant neighborhoods and protect immigration data under sanctuary policies? Responding to Council Member Elsie Encarnación, Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen said DCP's population division does not collect individual-level immigration data in neighborhood studies and that all work — including that of contracted consultants — complies with sanctuary-city policies. Chief
- Will DCP reverse the dismantling of its Urban Design Division? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen told Council Member Elsie Encarnación that DCP would not restore the standalone Urban Design Division, saying the agency instead shifted 6 urban designers into other divisions at the end of last year and that over 25 urban designers and architects already work
- Are there plans to develop the remaining Willets Point acres, and what environmental review was done? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry that she was not aware of studies to acquire and develop the remaining acres of the roughly 61-acre Willets Point site beyond the 23 acres underway, and would follow up. She said an extensive environmental review was conducted
- Would Sunnyside Yards' reliance on federal funds require the federal DBE program instead of the city's MWBE program? Director Sideya Sherman told Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry that the restrictions attached to any federal funds remain to be determined and that the city continues to carry out its MWBE program. Chief Operating Officer David Parish added that whether the federal DBE program applies would depend
- How will DCP reverse the projected 69% decline in housing production? Chief Operating Officer David Parish told Council Member Yusef Salaam that the cited 69.1% drop is MMR data that includes DCP's own large rezonings and City of Yes proposal, so a first-quarter decrease was expected. Director Sideya Sherman said the budget's added Census and City Map funding
- Why is DCP's engineering and architectural services budget being cut, and why do borough vacancy rates vary so widely? Chief Operating Officer David Parish told Council Member Yusef Salaam that the professional-services engineering/architectural budget declines from $10.8 million to $3.8 million because those are project funds for environmental-impact-statement consulting, sized per rezoning, with a steady state of
- Why is DCP overriding locally planned zoning and allowing battery storage near a school? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen told Council Member Phil Wong that City of Yes delivers 'a little more housing in every neighborhood' through moves like relegalizing missing-middle buildings and accessory dwelling units, done with citywide outreach. On the lithium-ion battery energy storage system
- How will City Planning weigh community input and infrastructure under the new ELURP process? Executive Director Edith Hsu-Chen told Minority Leader David Carr that the voter-approved ELURP shortens the roughly 7-month review to 90 days for modestly sized housing and resiliency projects while retaining the 60-day community board and borough president review, and that larger initiatives still
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1369 New York City Council Budget and Oversight Hearings on The Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2027, The Preliminary Capital Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2030 and The Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report 10:30 a.m. Department of City Planning 11:30 a.m. Landmarks Preservation Commission Hearing Held by Committee