New York City Hotel Conversion to Affordable Housing Faces Challenges Despite State Law
A former JFK Hilton hotel in Queens is being converted into the Baisley Pond Park Residences, a 318-unit affordable housing complex for low-income and formerly homeless New Yorkers. This project, set to open in October 2025, is a result of the 2021 Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA), a state law designed to facilitate the conversion of hotels into housing. The $167 million conversion is partly funded by $48 million in state money from the $200 million allocated to HONDA. Despite initial high hopes during the pandemic when many hotels were empty, the Hilton project is one of the few successful conversions under HONDA. Challenges have included insufficient funding, shifting market forces in the hospitality industry, bureaucratic hurdles, union opposition, and outdated zoning laws. Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul have championed the project, with Hochul recently including tax breaks for developers undertaking office conversions if 25% of units are affordable. 
