Highlights of ‘New New York’ plan to reenergize city post-COVID

Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul unveiled a sprawling plan Wednesday for how they hope to reenergize New York City’s pandemic-bruised economy.
The 159-page plan was produced by a panel of 59 public and private sector leaders appointed by Hochul and Adams. It focuses on how to overhaul the ways in which New Yorkers live, work and travel.
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Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announce New York panel’s action plan on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Manhattan. (Don Pollard/Office of the Governor)
The blueprint is ultimately just a long list of recommendations for Hochul and Adams to use as inspiration for future policies. Furthermore, many of the big-ticket items can’t be done by Hochul and Adams alone, but are contingent on legislative action from the City Council and the state Legislature.
Still, Adams and Hochul struck an optimistic tone while announcing the plan at an event in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
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“It’s a moment of great opportunity,” the governor said.
Here are five key areas of action highlighted by the so-called “New New York” plan:
Rezoning
The blueprint is ultimately just a long list of recommendations for Hochul and Adams to use as inspiration for future policies. (Don Pollard/Office of the Governor)
Reforming Midtown Manhattan is a major focus of the report.
The neighborhood turned into a ghost town during the outset of the pandemic, as office employees started working from home instead — and that trend is by and large still holding. As a result, the panel recommends a series of zoning changes for how to turn Midtown commercial space into housing, like lifting the so-called 12 F.A.R. cap, which sharply limits permissible floor ratio in relation to the size of a given residential building’s lot size.
Public space
The plan envisions making several popular pandemic-era public space initiatives permanent, including the Open Restaurants programs. It also pushes for expanding pandemic programs that are already permanent, like Open Streets, in hopes of making the city’s infrastructure more accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists.
Transit
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams (pictured) announce “New New York” panel’s action plan on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Manhattan. (Don Pollard/Office of the Governor)
Travel times on city buses would be reduced and subway service improved under the plan, which emphasizes de-incentivizing car travel in the city’s center through adopting congestion pricing.
The plan also calls on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to launch a “CityTicket” that would make all Long Island Rail Road and MetroNorth trips within the five boroughs cost $5 flat.
The outer boroughs
Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams announce a plan to revitalize New York on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Manhattan. (Don Pollard/Office of the Governor)
The outer boroughs are not being ignored, either.
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The plan includes proposed improvements to Morris Park and the Hub in the Bronx, as well as Long Island City and Flushing in Queens, including expanded sidewalks, pedestrian plazas and better street lighting.
Low-income neighborhoods
Business Improvement Districts in low-income neighborhoods, which help provide some basic services like sidewalk cleaning, would under the plan get support through public-private partnerships that could help raise money and broaden their mission. The hope is that such investment would promote more extensive public works improvements.