Will NYC's Public Land Be Handed Over To Develper's Yet Again?
An online panel discussion with Citywide activists moderated by Ron Shiffman
Thursday, July 16, 2026 — 6P - 8P
NYC is fast-tracking public land for development. Who decides what "public good" means?
We must reclaim public land for real economic and environmental justice.
On his first day in office, Mayor Mamdani signed Executive Order 04, creating the Land Inventory Fast Track (LIFT) Task Force — charged with identifying city-owned land to support at least 25,000 new housing units by July 1, 2026. Paired with the Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP) and the Neighborhood Builders Fast Track, this represents a dramatic acceleration in how the city moves public land toward development.
We welcome the administration's commitment to affordable housing and tenant protections. But across the five boroughs, communities are asking the same urgent question: when public land is on the table, who decides what "public good" means — and who gets left out of that decision? And shouldn’t there be a higher bar for deep affordability on public land?
From Chelsea Elliott to Bushwick Inlet, from NYCHA campuses to working waterfronts, publicly owned sites across the city are being eyed for development. Each one carries its own history, its own community needs, and its own stakes. Acceleration without the right guardrails risks repeating the patterns that have harmed working- class communities and communities of color for decades — fast-tracking development into overburdened neighborhoods while bypassing the community-led planning processes that produce better outcomes—and building more housing that isn’t actually affordable to working-class New Yorkers.
Organizers: Public Land For Public Good
