At a Baptist Church in Jamaica, Queens, New York’s Mayor Pitches a Plan to Let Faith Groups Build Homes

• Mayor Eric Adams announced faith-based housing measures at Antioch Baptist Church in Jamaica, Queens, in March 2024
• The ‘City of Yes for Housing Opportunity’ plan would help religious groups build on their land
• It would let faith groups convert unused buildings, sell landmark air rights and build on their campuses
• The wider plan projected about 100,000 homes over 15 years

In March 2024 New York City’s mayor chose a church in Jamaica, Queens, to announce plans to help congregations build homes. At Antioch Baptist Church, Mayor Eric Adams set out how his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” zoning plan would make it easier for faith-based organisations to build affordable housing.

According to the city’s transcript, the measures would allow religious groups to convert unused buildings to housing, let landmarked houses of worship sell their unused development rights, and make it easier to build on the open land of religious campuses. The overall plan was projected to create about 100,000 homes over 15 years, subject to a City Council vote and changes in the state budget.

“We have to have a housing plan that deals with the inventory problem that we are facing,” Adams said. Dan Garodnick, director of the Department of City Planning, said: “When our community leaders want to build affordable housing, we in government should be supporting them, not throwing up barriers.”

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards was blunt: “We cannot talk our way out of this crisis, we have to build our way out of this crisis.” State Senator Leroy Comrie said every neighbourhood would have to do something. Antioch Baptist’s pastor, the Rev Timothy Mitchell, and Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar also took part.

Jamaica, Queens, is home to many Caribbean families. For Jamaicans in New York, the plan offers a practical question: could the church you attend use its land, its unused buildings or its air rights to house members and neighbours? For churches in Jamaica itself, New York’s approach, which removes zoning barriers rather than handing out money, is a reminder that planning rules can be as important as funding in unlocking church land for homes.

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