The Bronx has long been at the center of New York City’s affordable housing conversation, and in 2026, the borough is seeing a significant policy shift in how that housing actually gets built. A new city program called ELURP — the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure — debuted in the Bronx earlier this year, and it’s designed to cut years off the bureaucratic timeline for getting affordable homes approved on city-owned land.
What Is ELURP?
Under the traditional ULURP process, land use reviews can take two to three years by the time environmental studies, community board reviews, borough president hearings, City Planning Commission review, and City Council votes have all run their course. For affordable housing projects on city-owned parcels, that timeline has long been a frustrating bottleneck.
ELURP changes that. Approved by NYC voters in November 2025, the new process provides 60 days of simultaneous review by the local community board and the borough president — rather than the sequential approach that adds months — followed by 30 days for City Council review. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has moved quickly to implement it, and the Bronx is where it’s being tested first.
The First ELURP Project: Powerhouse Apartments in Mott Haven
The first project to go through ELURP in the Bronx — and anywhere in New York City — was the Powerhouse Apartments at 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven. That project, which turned a parking lot into 84 units of affordable housing, received its approvals earlier this year, completing the process in a fraction of the time a traditional ULURP would have required.
The 84-unit development is notable not just for its speed but for its community amenities: the building includes a community theater and a workforce training facility. For Mott Haven residents, it’s a tangible example of what the new streamlined process can produce.
Jerome Avenue Is Next
One of the sites slated to benefit from the Neighborhood Builders Fast Track program — which runs parallel to ELURP — is 1337 Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. That city-owned site is in line to deliver as many as 300 new affordable homes, including roughly 100 affordable homeownership opportunities. Jerome Avenue has long been a focus of community land use battles, making this particular project especially significant for residents who’ve advocated for affordable development on that corridor for years.
The Mamdani administration launched the Neighborhood Builders program in March 2026, framing it as a way to cut the pre-development process by more than two years when combined with ELURP. The program identifies city-owned sites, pre-clears community benefit agreements, and fast-tracks the land disposition process so that affordable housing moves from proposal to shovel in the ground significantly faster.
Broader Bronx Housing Picture
The new process-driven initiatives are layered on top of a robust pipeline of traditional affordable housing projects across the borough. Governor Hochul recently announced the groundbreaking of River Avenue Apartments II in the West Concourse neighborhood — a $225 million development that will create 292 affordable apartments, including 173 units with on-site support services. In Claremont, the $86 million Baez Place development, which delivers 154 apartments including a community greenhouse, has recently been completed.
The Bronx accounted for roughly 14,700 proposed housing units across the city in 2025 — second only to Brooklyn in volume, and a sign that the development pipeline in the Bronx is as active as it’s been in decades.
For Bronx residents following this closely, the Our Bronx coalition has been actively engaged in shaping how housing and land use decisions affect the community. And if you’re looking for open housing lottery applications, check our NYC housing lottery tracker for current openings.
What You Need to Know
- ELURP — the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure — is now active, cutting the affordable housing approval timeline by more than two years for city-owned sites.
- The first ELURP project in the Bronx (and in NYC) was 351 Powers Avenue in Mott Haven: 84 affordable apartments with a community theater and workforce training facility.
- 1337 Jerome Avenue is in the Neighborhood Builders Fast Track pipeline for up to 300 affordable homes, including homeownership units.
- The Mamdani administration launched the Neighborhood Builders program in March 2026 to pair with ELURP and speed up affordable housing delivery on city land.
- River Avenue Apartments II ($225M, 292 units) broke ground in West Concourse; Baez Place (154 units) is complete in Claremont.
- Community boards still participate in ELURP reviews — in a compressed, simultaneous timeline — so attending meetings remains important for residents who want a say.
