On September 16, 2025, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), together with the city’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) released the NYC Industrial Plan draft report, which is the city’s first step in creating a comprehensive strategy to support and strengthen New York City’s industrial economy. The city is soliciting feedback on the draft report and the final NYC Industrial Plan will be released at the end of 2025.
“New York’s industrial businesses are essential to the city’s ongoing success and vibrancy. But as the sector has evolved, our planning tools have not kept pace. This draft report outlines how we boost the competitiveness of our industrial centers, and ensure that businesses, workers, and surrounding communities all thrive,” said DCP Director and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick in a press release. “With these strategies, we can ensure that industry remains an essential part of New York City’s economic fabric well into the future.”
The draft report outlines five goals, one of which is to create a city-wide industrial and land use strategy. To achieve this goal, the draft report proposes:
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Strengthening existing industrial areas by establishing a new land use framework and zoning changes that create three tiers of industrial areas to allow and encourage varying intensities of industrial use.
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Making it easier to build new industrial space by helping industrial businesses take advantage of City of Yes for Economic Opportunity regulations; studying zoning requirements, such as parking and loading regulations, that may be deterring industrial development; and streamlining the process for building on unbuilt private streets.
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Identifying a model for mixed-use industrial-residential development and encouraging that mixed-use development through targeted marketing of tax incentives.
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Updating city processes, including exploring changes to environmental review to better account for industrial business displacement.
The draft report includes additional goals and proposals related to supporting industrial businesses and areas to innovate and modernize with green infrastructure; facilitating new and efficient freight movement with investments in maritime, rail, and micromobility networks and electric vehicles; improving cleanliness and safety through environmental remediation, urban design investments and restrictions on last-mile facilities; and preparing for climate threats such as flooding and urban heat impacts. The city has released the Industrial Data Explorer, an interactive database to support the development of the Plan and long-term improvement of the city's industrial areas.
In addition to soliciting written feedback, the city will be holding town hall meetings to discuss the NYC Industrial Plan in October and November. We will monitor the NYC Industrial Plan as it is developed.