As a result of amendments made to the New York City Charter, approved in November 2025, certain affordable housing projects located in 12 designated community districts will soon qualify for a streamlined, expedited land use review process known as the Affordable Housing Fast Track (“AHFT”). Yesterday, on October 1, 2026, the Department of City Planning (“DCP”) released the long-awaited list of the 12 community districts that will be eligible for this compressed review timeline when the AHFT takes effect on January 1, 2027.
What Is the Affordable Housing Fast Track?
The AHFT is a land use reform designed to spur affordable housing production in the parts of the City that have historically produced the lowest amounts of affordable housing. The AHFT compresses the public review timeline for qualifying affordable housing projects located within these 12 community districts now identified, replacing the standard seven month, Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (“ULURP”) timeline with a streamlined 90-day process.
For qualifying projects, Community Boards retain the same 60-day review period provided under ULURP, running concurrently with Borough President review. The project then proceeds to the City Planning Commission (“CPC”) for review and a final vote, within an overall streamlined 90-day public review timeline.
The Fast Track modifies only the public review timeline for qualifying actions. It does not exempt projects from environmental review requirements or from landmark preservation protections, both of which remain fully applicable under the AHFT.
The 12 Fast Track Districts
DCP has issued the following 12 community districts as Fast Track Districts for the five-year cycle beginning January 1, 2027, ending on December 31, 2031:
Brooklyn CD 10 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights)
Brooklyn CD 12 (Borough Park, Kensington)
Brooklyn CD 18 (Canarsie, Flatlands)
Manhattan CD 7 (Upper West Side)
Manhattan CD 8 (Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island)
Queens CD 4 (Corona, Elmhurst)
Queens CD 5 (Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village)
Queens CD 10 (South Ozone Park, Howard Beach)
Queens CD 11 (Auburndale, Bayside, Douglaston)
Queens CD 13 (Queens Village, Bellerose, Rosedale)
Staten Island CD 2 (Mid-Island)
Staten Island CD 3 (South Shore)
To determine the list of Fast Track Districts, DCP measured affordable housing development relative to each community district's existing housing stock, controlling for differences in community district size. For this first cycle, DCP examined affordable housing development between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2026. A new district list will be determined every five years.
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