Winning a Pro-Housing Majority in New York
The Abundant New York Mission
Abundant New York is the independent expenditure (IE) committee for Open New York, the state’s leading grassroots, pro-housing advocacy organization.
To complement Open New York’s legislative campaigns, grassroots member organizing, and public education work, we also must use electoral tools to support and grow a pro-housing political majority at every level of government, beginning with an independent expenditure fund.
Building on Open New York and Abundant New York’s 2024 electoral successes, 2025 will see greater grassroots organizing—led by Open New York’s more than 800 members—and a $500,000 independent expenditure campaign focused on the most competitive Council races; more than double last cycle’s spend.
Tactics will include a mix of digital ads, mail, short-form video, and robust field operations, tailored to each race’s needs. Endorsed candidates receive support from Open New York’s expansive member and volunteer network through canvassing, phone banking, and voter mobilization efforts.
What is at stake?
The Challenge:
New York has some of the most segregated and exclusionary zoning and land use practices in the country and is not building nearly enough new homes to meet demand, leading to soaring rents and displacement pressures.
In spite of a broad and growing consensus that we must build more homes, we are not seeing the scale of action that this urgent crisis demands.
The Opportunity:
Housing affordability is a #1 issue for New York voters—across ideology, geography and demographics.
Further, pro-housing successes in other states are proving that pro-homes reforms can be winning politics. Public pressure, sharpened by our organizing, is forging this new pro-housing coalition.
The Playing Field
Polling regularly shows that an overwhelming majority of voters support building more housing. An October 2024 poll from Slingshot Strategies showed 81% of New York City voters support broad citywide zoning reform, with 71% identifying lack of supply of affordable housing as the main driver of the affordability crisis.
Support for housing is even more pronounced among New York City Democrats, 74% of whom would support changing local zoning codes to allow more homes to be built. Even when asked about building more in their own specific neighborhoods, a 63% majority still support these changes.
City Council races are hyper-local, but their outcomes carry citywide consequences. This year’s endorsements build on Open New York’s recent momentum, including the Council’s passage of the historic "City of Yes" zoning reforms and approval of the Arrow Linen affordable housing project in Brooklyn. These landmark victories come amid record-high rents that have marked a new stage in New York City’s housing crisis, as families across all five boroughs feel the pressure of rising prices. Failure of state government to address the supply shortage and new uncertainty around federal funding means that city leaders must take further steps to meet New Yorker’s housing needs.
Goals of Abundant New York
Elect champions who will be new voices in support of pro-housing policies.
1.
Protect pro-housing incumbents facing competitive elections.
2.
Defeat anti-housing incumbents who have failed to address the crisis with urgency.