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The Labor Crisis Nobody Is Talking About: Who Is Actually Building New York
Roughly half of New York City’s construction workforce is foreign-born.
That is not a side note. It is the foundation of the entire system.
These are the people pouring concrete, framing walls, installing systems, and doing the daily work that turns drawings into buildings. Without them, nothing moves.
Over the past year, that workforce has become less visible — and in many cases, less available.
Between February and June 2025, the foreign-born workforce declined by approximately 150,000 workers nationally, after increasing by 186,000 during the same period the year before.
That reversal is not theoretical. It is showing up on job sites.
The 99-Unit Loophole: How 485-x Is Reshaping What Gets Built
When 421-a expired in 2022, the effect was immediate and predictable. Development slowed, projects stalled, and many in the industry stepped back entirely. The program had its flaws, but it did something essential: it made rental housing financially viable in New York City.
Its replacement, 485-x, is the new tax abatement program passed at the state level, designed to reinvigorate the development of affordable housing by private sector developers. It does that by offering multi-year property tax relief in exchange for the developer’s commitment to hitting specific affordability targets.
The law aims to fix the flaws of 421-a, bringing more affordability. stronger tenant protections, and better wages for construction workers. On paper, it is a more equitable program.
In practice, it is producing something more complicated.
NYC is Building More Housing Than in the Past 60 Years, Why Aren't Developers Optimistic?
NYC is Building More Housing Than in the Past 60 Years, Why Aren't Developers Optimistic? By the second quarter of 2025, something had shifted. 424 new building filings were made at the Department of Buildings, a 28 percent increase over the prior year and a 43 percent increase over Q1 2025. On the completions side, the story looks even better — on the surface. New York City was on pace to complete 50,000 new homes in 2025, far exceeding 2024's 34,000 units, which itself had been the highest number of new homes built in the city since 1965.