Reforming Housing Law in New York State
We are legislating ourselves into loneliness and ill health.
Across New York State, zoning laws make it illegal for people to live near those who matter to them. This harms public health, frays the social fabric, and erodes civic life. The Social Infrastructure Project exists to change that.
Learn MoreOur Foundation
Anchored in law. Guided by impact.
The Social Infrastructure Project pursues reform because many existing zoning and housing regimes conflict with New York's constitutional commitments to equality, public health, and freedom of association—and because the outcomes of those regimes are demonstrably harmful.
State government exists not only to adjudicate disputes, but to safeguard the conditions under which a democratic society can function: access to housing, protection from discrimination, and environments that support health, participation, and civic life.
When legal frameworks systematically produce isolation, exclusion, and inequity—even without discriminatory intent—they fall short of that mandate.
The Housing Crisis
These laws also block the housing we need.
Large-lot minimums, single-family exclusivity, and rigid use restrictions artificially constrain housing supply, driving up costs and limiting access during an ongoing affordability crisis. The knock-on effects are severe: families priced out of communities, workers unable to live near jobs, and rising homelessness across the state.
This is not acceptable. New York cannot meet its housing needs while maintaining legal frameworks designed to prevent building. Reform is not a matter of preference—it is a matter of necessity.
Our Approach
We work at the state level to align housing policy with constitutional principles.
Executive Engagement
Working with state agencies to develop guidance, enforcement approaches, and pilot frameworks
Legislative Clarification
Supporting targeted statutory reforms where existing law enables exclusionary outcomes
Judicial Pathways
Treating litigation as a backstop when necessary to establish precedent or enforce rights
Research & Demonstration
Grounding reform in real-world housing models and empirical evidence
Why New York
New York has both the urgency and the tools to lead. The state's commitments to civil rights, public health, and housing access provide a strong foundation for reform—and success here can serve as a model for the nation.
The housing crisis is not only a crisis of supply.
It is a crisis of rules that keep us apart.
Read the Legal Case