The Brian Lehrer Show What SEQRA Reform Means for Housing
Mar 26, 2026
Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York and veteran land-use professional, discusses proposed changes to SEQRA. She explains how streamlining reviews could speed infill housing, reduce costs, and align housing with climate goals. She also addresses concerns about scope, safeguards to prevent sprawl, and how language can protect local and historic resources.
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SEQRA's Original Purpose Has Been Outrun By Process
- SEQRA was created in the 1970s to stop polluting mega-projects but now adds thousands of pages of paperwork that often delays climate-friendly infill housing.
- Annemarie Gray says the process can add about $82,000 per new apartment in NYC and be weaponized by single opponents.
Fast Track Infill Near Transit To Cut Delays
- Fast-track smaller infill projects that meet climate and transit goals to avoid unnecessary SEQRA delays.
- Gray recommends moving clearly beneficial projects, like apartments on parking lots next to transit, into a streamlined review category.
SEQRA Has Been Expanded Into Nonenvironmental Claims
- SEQRA's scope has expanded to include matters like neighborhood character and shadow impacts that are not strictly environmental.
- Gray argues opponents can exploit those added criteria to delay democratically approved projects with unrelated objections.