New York City is gearing up to revamp its long-standing building codes in an effort to ignite fresh construction projects and enhance accessibility through identifying “cost-saving” solutions for developers, The Post has discovered.
Launching under the guidance of the Department of Buildings, the “Affordable & Efficient Code Reform” task force is slated to commence in late 2026. This initiative is a segment of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s broader “Block by Block” housing strategy, which is set to be officially revealed Tuesday morning.
The proposed changes could lead to new construction featuring smaller elevators and the use of unconventional materials, potentially reducing development expenses.
“In a time when the very people who shaped this city are being forced out, New York cannot afford to settle for partial solutions or delays. This plan tackles the housing crisis with the urgency it necessitates,” Mamdani emphasized in a statement.
The task force will scrutinize the current NYC Construction Codes to identify “cost-saving measures that can be achieved without compromising safety” for various new projects, including affordable housing, office-to-residential conversions, and new educational facilities, as per the Department of Buildings.
In collaboration with engineers, contractors, and housing developers, the agency plans to evaluate the codes, considering long-debated ideas such as the allowance of less expensive, smaller plumbing materials in new constructions and the introduction of compact, European-style elevators in existing structures.
“Whenever you’re building a construction budget for a project and you’re thinking about the debt that you have to take on, that debt translates into the rent that someone may have to pay or the purchase price of a unit or the commercial rent that has to be charged,” DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani told The Post.
“Us thinking about how we can make a reasonable impact in the construction budget is trying to affect downstream what that owner competitively has to charge in order to get their project done,” he added.
The move comes as the city faces a shortage of affordable, available units.
Manhattan’s vacancy rate fell to 1.55% in April, a level last seen before the pandemic reshuffled the city’s housing dynamic. At the same time, new leases signed surged 21% from March and 12% from the prior year, making it the busiest April for Manhattan rentals since 2021.
“We are 100% focused on our commitment to meeting the crisis that’s in front of us, and the crisis looks, in different ways, to different people,” Tigani said, “but supply is certainly part of it.”
The task force comes ahead of a related DOB-led pilot program set to launch in 2026 to allow smaller-than-currently-permissible elevators to be added to existing walk-up buildings.
Only 34% of apartments in New York City — including only 21% of pre-1974 builds — are step-free, city reps said.
While current city code requires elevator sizes to accommodate emergency medical access, including a 7-foot stretcher and wheelchairs, the task force would also explore the use of smaller elevators in existing walk-ups.
“I expect vibrant and spirited discussions: Some of these topics have been contentious,” Tigani added,
“But we think that we can’t waste any more time, given where costs are, where the need continues to be, and the fact that we have had some really good gains and momentum.”
The mayor’s office touted the task force as part of a housing plan that will be “protecting tenants and homeowners, investing in public housing and ensuring the workers building that housing have good-paying, safe jobs.”
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The initiative follows several other construction code revamp initiatives, including a December 2025 introduction of the city’s first-ever existing building code, which focuses on renovations to existing buildings.
Last month, the mayor’s office unveiled reforms to speed up the leasing process for roughly 10,000 apartments, slated to cut timelines for affordable housing projects.
Mamdani has previously floated a $100 billion plan — built with the city’s capital funds — to triple the city’s production of affordable, publicly-subsidized and rent-stabilized homes, spurring 200,000 new units over the next decade.
“We must fight for both the tenants of today and the tenants of tomorrow,” Mamdani added.
“‘Block by Block’ shows how New York City can do exactly that.”
