Mayor outlines housing, zoning rewrite and $38 million Southworks award in 2026 State of the City
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Summary
In a 2026 State of the City address, the mayor named housing the top priority, announced a new housing development dashboard, previewed a citywide zoning rewrite and said Ithaca won $38,000,000 from the New York State Achieve program for the Southworks rehabilitation.
The mayor delivered the 2026 State of the City address, saying housing remains "the defining challenge of our time" and pledging measurable, durable progress on affordability and supply. He announced a publicly accessible housing development dashboard to track inventory, unit types and project status.
The address previewed a comprehensive zoning rewrite for 2026 that would permit small-scale multiunit housing—duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and row homes—reduce most off-street parking minimums and expand the planned unit development (PUD) framework citywide. "This is about building in Ithaca where more people can live," the mayor said.
On economic development, the mayor said Ithaca received $38,000,000 through the inaugural New York State Achieve program to rehabilitate Southworks, calling it the first award of its kind in New York and crediting intergovernmental coordination. He said the city will also pursue coordinated revitalization of the West Martin Luther King Jr. Street corridor and explore an arts-and-culture district focused on implementation, governance and funding.
On climate and energy, the mayor announced the Tompkins Green Energy Network community choice aggregation program, with education and outreach beginning next month and service launching in September to provide cleaner energy at competitive rates. He also noted a $1,500,000 federal grant to support an Energy Warriors program and clean energy investment tied to workforce development in the school district.
The mayor emphasized flood mitigation work, including pursuing letters of map revision and providing public updates, and thanked federal lawmakers for advocacy. He closed by listing governance priorities—completing outstanding city audits, hiring a permanent controller and HR director, reducing long-term debt, and asking a charter commission to examine election reform and the roles of mayor, council and city manager.
The council moved next to agenda review following the address.
