NEW YORK (VINnews) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious housing plan aimed at building and preserving 400,000 affordable homes over the next decade, calling it the largest municipal housing initiative in city history.

Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference to Make a Housing Announcement
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— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) May 26, 2026

The proposal, titled “Block by Block,” would create 200,000 new affordable rent-stabilized apartments and preserve or stabilize another 200,000 units, backed by a planned $22 billion capital investment over five years.

Speaking at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, Mamdani framed the effort as a response to soaring rents, deteriorating public housing and decades of underinvestment.

“We can keep people in their homes, and we can build the homes that they need to live in,” Mamdani said. “We have spoken about this crisis long enough. It is now time to do something about it.”

The mayor said the plan would expand affordable housing production, strengthen tenant protections and direct billions toward repairs and upgrades at the New York City Housing Authority, the nation’s largest public housing system.

The administration pledged $5.6 billion for NYCHA over five years, which Mamdani described as the largest city capital commitment to public housing in decades.

Officials said the housing plan would also include stronger enforcement against negligent landlords, expanded inspections of heat complaints and new support for tenant unions. The city also plans to pursue zoning changes and speed up housing approvals through a package of reforms known as “SPEED,” aimed at reducing delays in affordable housing development.

Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said the city must “grow in an equitable and affordable way” and argued that New York no longer has enough housing to meet demand.

Mamdani, who campaigned heavily on affordability and tenant protections, said the city would continue efforts to hold landlords accountable while expanding housing supply.

The plan drew praise from tenant advocates and affordable housing groups who attended Tuesday’s announcement. Sumathy Kumar of Housing Justice for All called it a shift toward policies centered on renters rather than landlords and developers.

But some real estate and business groups criticized the proposal as overly reliant on government intervention and potentially burdensome for developers.

The housing blueprint also revives attention on large-scale development projects such as Sunnyside Yards in Queens, which Mamdani said could eventually create 12,000 homes and tens of thousands of jobs.

The administration said the initiative would support roughly 30,000 construction jobs annually while generating thousands of permanent jobs after completion.

New York City continues to face one of the nation’s most severe housing shortages, with rents and home prices remaining near record highs.