Politics & Government

BK State Senator Running For Mayor Wants To Create 1M New Homes In NYC

Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie announced his candidacy and first policy plank on Tuesday.

BROOKLYN, NY — It's official: Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie entered the 2025 mayoral race on Tuesday after several months of campaigning and many Sundays of speaking engagements at Brooklyn churches.

As part of the Democratic candidate's formal entry, he also revealed his plans for one of the first issues he would campaign around: building and preserving one million more homes in New York City by 2036.

His plan, which he calls "Rebuild NYC," proposes nine different initiatives to build 700,000 new units in the city and preserve 300,000 more homes in need of some rehab.

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One of the initiatives on the list would establish new neighborhoods in "underutilized land" across the city, and another would reallocate funding for city shelters to permanent housing for voucher holders.

“My wife and I want to put down roots in the neighborhood where we grew up — but it feels impossible to afford a home here," Myrie said.

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"Every day I talk to New Yorkers who are facing the same struggle — and they’re told that they either need to win a housing lottery or come from rich parents to afford an apartment bigger than a shoe box. I’m running for Mayor of New York City because we need a vision as big as the challenges we face — and that starts with tackling our housing crisis."

The state senator currently represents the 20th senate district, which includes parts of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Windsor Terrace and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. See his plan here.

The 2025 mayoral primary is coming up this June, where Mayor Eric Adams will face off against Myrie and other Democrats including Comptroller Brad Lander, former Manhattan Borough President and city Comptroller Scott Stringer, Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos, and Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

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