Op-Ed | The Bronx is buying a ticket to the future with historic Metro-North plan

With New York City’s rental vacancy rate at a historic low of just 1.4 percent and half of all New Yorkers paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent, the Bronx is leading the charge by saying ‘yes’ to more housing and buying a ticket to the future!

Earlier this month, the City Council approved our administration’s Bronx Metro-North Station Area Plan, a groundbreaking, once-in-a-generation opportunity that will create nearly 7,000 new homes, including permanently income-restricted affordable housing, and 10,000 permanent jobs in the Bronx. Along with the four-brand new Metro-North train stations set up in 2027, this is a game changer for the working people, families, immigrants and young people who live in the East Bronx.

The Bronx Metro-North Area Plan will complement these new homes and jobs with hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in public amenities and infrastructure. From enhanced pedestrian safety and transportation access to newly renovated public parks and open spaces, this plan is fundamentally transforming the East Bronx neighborhoods for decades to come.

The Bronx Metro North Station Plan is one of several robust planning efforts that we have proposed to create more housing and jobs across all five boroughs. The remaining planning efforts and investments — including Central Brooklyn, Midtown South, Staten Island North Shore, Long Island City, and Jamaica — will deliver nearly 50,000 housing units over the next 15 years across the five boroughs.

But we are not stopping there.

Our “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan, which does away with outdated zoning rules, aims to produce over 108,000 new homes over 15 years. We are saying “yes” to new homes in our backyards, “yes” on our blocks, and “yes” to a little more housing in every neighborhood. We are also investing in affordable housing at record levels, with more than $26 billion being invested over the current 10-year plan.

I know what it is like to live without the security of housing. Growing up on the edge of homelessness, my siblings and I had to take trash bags full of clothes to school because we couldn’t be sure where we would sleep some nights.

I also know what happens when New Yorkers get the key to an affordable home. I have seen the smiles and relief when they finally have a stable, safe place to build their dreams.

That is why, from day one, this administration has been committed to making this city more affordable and more livable for all New Yorkers. Every affordable house we build means another New York story continues. Every new home in our city means more jobs, lower rents, a stronger economy, and a better future for all New Yorkers.