The first move by Zohran Mamdani was signing an executive order to accelerate the creation of new housing. The launch of the SPEED Task Force, (Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development), is designed to cut through the bureaucracy that slows construction, inflates costs, and ultimately suppresses supply.
His intent is clear. To build more affordable housing with faster timelines. It’s hard to argue with that.
My hope is that this effort also creates a viable path for “for-profit” developers to deliver housing for the segment of our market that has as much impact on driving our city forward as any other. The middle market. The segment that disappeared because the math stopped working.
Last year, Manhattan saw fewer than 40 new residential buildings brought to market for sale, and many of those were office conversions, not new construction.
What is disappointing, is that the vast majority of new housing is an eyesore.
Yes, there were a handful of buildings that were thoughtfully designed and beautifully engineered but somewhere along the way, our city has lost its grip on craftsmanship, and beauty.
Our prolonged housing shortage has a perverse side effect. It rewards mediocrity. When demand dramatically outstrips supply, almost anything gets absorbed. Developers know this, and when they know it, value engineering becomes the default. Design is stripped down to the minimum viable product.
Decades ago, New York set the global standard for architecture and design, but now, we are settling for far less. We have taller buildings that are a blight on the skyline. We have affordable housing that look like prisons. And boutique buildings that look like they were designed in a Minecraft video game. And while some of these buildings are easily identifiable, they lack the grace and elegance our city deserves. We need to build buildings that the future Landmarks and Preservation Societies will want to fight to protect.
So THIS is the real opportunity in front of us now. Not only to create more housing, but to shape our neighborhoods in a more crafted way.
We have allowed ourselves to believe that beauty is a luxury item. That if housing is affordable, it must also be ugly. That if a project needs to pencil, it cannot also inspire.
That is not true.
Good design does not require extravagance. It requires intention. Care. Pride. It requires architects and developers who understand that buildings do not just fill zoning envelopes, they shape our daily life.
Regardless of whether a building is affordable, middle market, or ultra luxury, there is no justification for making it ugly.
If we are going to build faster - then we also need to build better.
It is time we stopped settling. It is time we reclaimed some pride in what we build and be proud of what we shape next.
Let’s do this.
Shaun