Mayor Eric Adams’ “Green Fast Track for Housing” initiative went into effect June 3, 2024, with the aim of shortening the lengthy environmental review process for certain residential developments reviewed by the City Planning Commission (CPC), Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), and the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination (MOEC).

“The only solution to a generational housing crisis is simple: build more,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a press release. “That’s why the implementation of ‘Green Fast Track’ is a critical step forward in using every possible tool to build more housing across our city, while never losing sight of the importance of protecting our environment. Our administration is proudly declaring ‘no’ to more red tape and ‘yes’ to more housing.”

Green Fast Track for Housing creates new criteria under which a residential development project can be classified as a “Type II” action under the City Environmental Quality Review process, meaning that neither an Environmental Assessment Statement (EAS) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is needed.

“Our housing and climate crises require that we build greener, more resilient housing, and do so at a much faster clip, and the ‘Green Fast Track’ will allow us to do just that,” said New York City Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. “Through the streamlined environmental review process — we’ll be saving time and costs on qualifying projects, ensuring we get more housing built for more families across New York City.”

To qualify, a project cannot exceed a height of 250 feet, must be limited to 175 or fewer dwelling units in low-density residential zoning districts, and can be no more than 250 dwelling units in medium- and high-density residential zoning districts (and other similar circumstances). Applicants will need to provide information about their projects, including details related to hazardous materials, industrial emissions, ambient noise and archaeological sensitivities, but to a lesser extent than would be needed for an EAS or EIS.

To help applicants determine whether their residential project would fall within the new Type II category, the Department of City Planning has issued process guidance and has launched a new online tool, Fast Tracker.

We will continue to monitor the Green Fast Track for Housing initiative as applicants make use of this new process.