The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan is moving forward quickly. It’s meant to bring residential units to 42 Manhattan blocks where housing isn’t currently permitted because of outdated zoning. Flatiron/Nomad is one of those areas. People who work in the area say living here would make life a breeze.

“I tried to live here five years ago and I couldn’t afford it...I’m commuting everyday, so I would love to live here,” Nilüfer Gürler told News 12 New York.   “It would be very helpful for me to live in this area, for my son to go to school in this area,” said Martha Quintero, who works at a nearby hotel. 

But right now, that’s nearly impossible for most New Yorkers. James Mettham from the Flatiron/Nomad Partnership says the limited amount of residential housing in this area is in high-end luxury buildings. According to real estate websites, the average rent is just under $6,000 per month. 

“It’s amenity rich in many ways when it comes to dining, shopping, access to Madison Square Park...one thing it’s lacking though is places for people to live...especially more places for people to live near where they work,” he said.  

Flatiron/Nomad is only a part of the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan. The plan covers four quadrants between 23rd and 40th streets between 5th and 8th avenues. The city says it aims to bring 4,000 new homes to these areas – and up to 1,100 would be income restricted.  News 12 New York first reported on this plan in the fall. 

“The city has held a number of stakeholder roundtables, they held a townhall just a week ago to kind of gather information from residents, from small businesses, from offices, from Real Estate, social service constituents to kind of think about how this neighborhood currently works and how it needs to grow with a plan of this nature,” Mettham said.  The Department of City Planning says the formal public review process will begin by the end of 2024. To find out how to get involved, you can head to www.midtownsouthplan.nyc.