10. Long Island City Air Rights

Also in 2014, the city offered air rights it owned from parcels of land underneath the Queensboro Bridge on and off ramps as incentives for affordable housing. Instead of $1, these air development rights would actually be transferred for free to the developer who could come up “an affordable housing program that maximizes both the number of housing units and the level of affordability,” the NYCEDC Request for Proposals stated. There was also possibility to purchase the air rights outright, if developers did not want to create affordable housing. The air rights, as per city law, would have to be used on adjacent parcels of land, or nearby through a pass-through lot. There hasn’t been an update on this proposal since it was announced however and the RFP is no longer available on the NYCEDC website.

Next, check out 10 of Manhattan’s smallest parks and NYC’s superlatives from tallest building and more.