Bay Ridge Made the Fast-Track List. Here's What Changes in January

This is a follow-up to my September 16 post, Bay Ridge Is About to Lose Its Zoning Vote — Here's What That Means.

Two weeks ago I wrote that Bay Ridge was about to lose its zoning vote. On October 1, it became official.

The city released its list of 12 Affordable Housing Fast Track districts. Brooklyn Community District 10, which covers Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, is the first name on it.

I grew up in Bay Ridge. I have watched this neighborhood argue over a few feet of building height. This is a bigger change than any of those fights, and it is easy to misread. So here is what it does, what it doesn't do, and where the one local plan on the table stands.

What the city announced

The Mayor's Office named 12 community districts where a faster review for affordable housing takes effect on January 1, 2027. These are the districts with the lowest rate of affordable housing production over the past five years, measured against the housing each district already has.

Together, the 12 districts produced 724 of the city's 63,870 new affordable homes in that time. That is 1.1%.

Bay Ridge is in familiar company. The list also includes Borough Park and Kensington, Canarsie and Flatlands, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, five districts in Queens and two on Staten Island. No Bronx district made it.

Voters approved the Fast Track as a City Charter change in November 2025. It passed citywide with 58.5% of the vote, according to amNY. Bay Ridge went the other way. Just 44% of voters here supported it, The City Reporter found in a story republished by Brownstoner.

What changes on January 1

Until now, a project that needed a zoning change ended with a City Council vote. By long custom, the Council followed the local member. In practice, our Council Member had the last word.

Starting January 1, a qualifying affordable housing proposal in our district follows a different path:

• A 90-day review. The city says that is roughly four months shorter than the standard process.
• Community Board 10 and the Borough President still weigh in. They review at the same time, over 60 days.
• The City Planning Commission makes the final call. There is no City Council vote and no mayoral veto.

That last point is the real change. The decision moves from someone Bay Ridge elects to a commission that answers to City Hall.

What stays the same

This part is getting lost in the headlines.

• Nothing has been rezoned. City Planning Director Sideya Sherman told reporters the list does not mandate housing and does not automatically rezone anything.
• Public review stays. Community Board 10 still holds its review, and residents can still speak.
• Environmental review and landmark protections do not change.
• It applies only to proposals that need a land-use change and include affordable housing. City Planning's Fast Track page has the details and a map.
• Nobody knows how much housing this will produce. The city has not released a unit count or a projection.

So your block does not change on January 1. What changes is who decides when a developer asks for more than current zoning allows.

The Bay Ridge Triangle

Council Member Kayla Santosuosso saw this coming. In a September op-ed in Brooklyn Paper, she proposed that the neighborhood write its own rezoning before developers write one for us.

She calls it the Bay Ridge Triangle. It runs from 86th to 95th Streets, primarily between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, next to the last two R train stops in Brooklyn, City Limits reported. Today it is mostly auto shops, car dealerships and empty storefronts.

Her idea is to allow more housing there, so builders go to the Triangle instead of the side streets. She wants the plan tied to city money for parks, safer streets, schools and sewers.

She has been direct about the other goal. She wants Bay Ridge to build enough to get off the list and win back its vote. Our district added just 580 homes between 2010 and 2025, the fewest of any district in the city, according to City Planning figures cited by The City Reporter.

The plan is early. Santosuosso has not said how tall buildings could be or how many homes she has in mind. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Council Speaker Julie Menin have both voiced support.

Two cautions. The Triangle does not take Bay Ridge off the list. And it does not stop proposals elsewhere. One is already in motion on the Triangle's edge: the Staples site on Fifth Avenue, where a developer is seeking a rezoning for nearly 300 apartments. I covered that project here. The attorney for that developer told The City Reporter that anyone who controls a large site in Bay Ridge will now look at a rezoning.

What this means if you own or are buying here

I can't tell you what this does to prices. Nobody can yet. Here is what I can say.

• Most blocks stay as they are. Current zoning holds unless an owner applies to change it.
• Large sites are the ones to watch. Parking lots, auto lots and big commercial parcels near the R train are where a rezoning makes sense for a builder.
• If you own in or near the Triangle, pay attention to the details. What the final zoning allows will matter to your property. Those details do not exist yet.
• If you are buying, ask what is next door. A low commercial building beside you today may not stay that way.

Dates to watch

• October 21, 2026. The City Council's Land Use Committee holds an oversight hearing on the mayor's housing plan, including the Fast Track.
• December 3, 2026. City Planning hosts a virtual information session. Registration is on its Fast Track page.
• January 1, 2027. The Fast Track takes effect in all 12 districts.
• October 2031. The city issues the next list.

Bay Ridge Fast Track: Questions and Answers

Is Bay Ridge on NYC's Affordable Housing Fast Track list?

Yes. On October 1, 2026, the city named Brooklyn Community District 10, which covers Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, as one of 12 Fast Track districts. The new process takes effect January 1, 2027.

What is the Affordable Housing Fast Track?

It is a 90-day public review for eligible rezoning proposals that create affordable housing in the 12 community districts that have produced the least of it. Voters approved it as a City Charter change in November 2025. The city says it is roughly four months shorter than the standard review.

Does the City Council still vote on rezonings in Bay Ridge?

Not on Fast Track proposals. Starting January 1, 2027, the City Planning Commission makes the final decision on those, with no City Council vote and no mayoral veto. Proposals that do not qualify still go through the standard review.

Does Community Board 10 still get a say?

Yes. Community Board 10 and the Brooklyn Borough President still review each proposal, at the same time, over 60 days. Residents can still comment.

Has Bay Ridge been rezoned?

No. Being on the list does not rezone any property or approve any project. It changes how future proposals are reviewed and who makes the final decision.

What is the Bay Ridge Triangle?

It is a rezoning proposed by Council Member Kayla Santosuosso for the area from 86th to 95th Streets, primarily between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. It would allow more housing in a mostly commercial area near the R train. The plan is early, with no building heights or unit counts set.

How does Bay Ridge get off the Fast Track list?

The city recalculates the list every five years based on affordable housing production. The next list comes out in October 2031. New homes must be permitted, not just approved, to count.

If you own property between 86th and 95th Streets, or you are weighing a purchase near Fourth or Fifth Avenue, I am glad to walk you through what is known and what isn't. Email me at laurie.savino@corcoran.com or call 718-309-4054.

I will keep writing about this as the Triangle plan takes shape. Subscribe and you will get each update.

Laurie Savino The Savino Team | Corcoran

Sources

• NYC Mayor's Office: Mamdani Administration Puts 12 Neighborhoods on Fast Track for Affordable Housing (October 1, 2026)
• amNY: These parts of NYC are on the fast track for new units (October 1, 2026)
• Brownstoner / The City Reporter: To Spur More Housing, Voters Weakened Pols' Power. One Still Wants a Say (September 21, 2026)
• City Limits: A Rezoning Grows in Brooklyn (September 2026)
• Brooklyn Paper: Op-ed by Council Member Kayla Santosuosso (September 9, 2026)