Call for Affordable Housing on CUNY Campuses

A think tank focused on urban issues is urging City Hall to create thousands of affordable housing units on New York University City campuses and unused parking lots in all five boroughs.

The Center for Urban Futures made this suggestion in a recent report that recommends utilizing vacant land and parking spaces for housing initiatives. “This is something the mayor can actually put into action,” stated Eli Dvorkin, the center’s editorial and policy director. “There’s a considerable amount of open space on the City University of New York campus.”

According to the group, establishing long-term leases for housing units on CUNY campuses could raise between $30 million and $55 million annually for city programs, while also tackling New York City’s ongoing housing crisis. This method resembles what’s currently happening with properties overseen by the New York City Housing Authority, where public land remains intact while generating steady income through new private apartment developments.

To move forward, targeting underused or vacant CUNY real estate would need backing from Albany and the CUNY Board of Trustees. The senior colleges of the State University of New York receive funding from the state alongside tuition, and the State Residence Hall Authority manages the construction of these buildings. Yet, Dvorkin pointed out that if Mayor Mamdani takes initiative, it would be hard for state officials to ignore the need for increasing the city’s housing options by utilizing public land.

Following his inauguration, Mamdani established the Land Inventory Fast Track Task Force to pinpoint city-owned properties suitable for housing. “This strategy could also include transferring unused air rights to unlock further housing and income potential,” the report mentioned. If all goes as planned, these actions might yield annual lease payments between $30 million and $55 million and a total of up to $5.4 billion over 99 years, providing a reliable income stream to finance necessary projects.

CUNY manages over 40 acres across its six campuses and operates more than 80 acres of parking around these areas. Occasionally, the consideration of selling some of their 300 buildings has come up as a way to fund academic initiatives.

For instance:

• At Queen’s University in Flushing, only 12 percent of the campus is tied up in parking lots. Adjacent to a residential community, the 2.2 acres of these lots could be re-zoned to create more than 200 new homes, potentially bringing in about $1.2 million to $1.9 million annually with minimal loss to existing parking resources.
• Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn dedicates 15 percent of campus space to parking, including areas close to homes and subway access. Transforming part of this parking into housing could yield $800,000 to $1.4 million per year without significant disruption to campus activities.
• The College of Staten Island’s Willowbrook campus sprawls over 204 acres, with over 25 acres set aside for parking. Redevelopment of just a small segment could bring in $500,000 to $900,000 annually while preserving most parking spaces.

Similar opportunities are present at other major campuses, like Lehman College, York University, and Brooklyn College.

The report emphasized that these campuses are situated in areas with a growing need for housing, and their borders contain underutilized land.

“Even with cautious estimates, the financial potential is impressive,” the report noted. Over a long-term lease, revenue from these projects could reach $5.4 billion just in lease payments. Some of this income could help bolster funding for CUNY programs aimed at increasing graduation rates, especially as the university grapples with a $7 billion backlog in unmet capital needs.

“By collaborating with City Universities and the New York State Residence Hall Authority, City Hall could transform underused campus land into valuable, long-term assets—benefiting one of the city’s vital institutions while also addressing future financial challenges,” the center stated in its findings.

Neither Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s office nor CUNY responded to requests for comments regarding this proposal.