Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso has released The 2025 Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn, aiming to provide a long-term strategy for equitable growth in the borough. The updated plan builds on the 2023 version and introduces an Access to Opportunity Index, which assesses five key factors—education, transit, jobs and job resources, health and active living, and climate risk—to highlight disparities across neighborhoods.
“From worsening climate change to skyrocketing rent, many of the challenges we face in New York City are the same challenges cities around the world are experiencing. But while cities like Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro respond by building comprehensive plans for the future, New York City simply hopes for the best,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “It’s time for us to rethink how we manage this city. For too long, New York City has defaulted to zoning as our primary mechanism for planning – leading to the crisis loop we’ve been stuck in for decades. Comprehensive planning, however, allows us to simultaneously respond to our most pressing challenges while creating a long-term, forward-looking vision that ensures New Yorkers today, and those yet to arrive, have the resources they need to access opportunity. Brooklyn is leading the way to bring comprehensive planning to New York City, and I am so proud to offer this resource to advocates and organizers fighting for a more equitable city.”
Unlike other major global cities such as Los Angeles or Shanghai that have adopted comprehensive plans guiding their development strategies over time (https://www.lacity.org/your-government/government-information/city-charter-rules/comprehensive-plan), New York City lacks such a unified framework. Instead of holistic planning approaches that integrate housing needs with infrastructure or economic development goals (https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/comprehensive-planning/comprehensive-planning.page), NYC primarily relies on zoning regulations—a practice some critics argue leads to piecemeal solutions and growing inequality.
New York City has become home to one of the world’s highest concentrations of millionaires while also seeing its poverty rate reach twice that of the national average; approximately two million residents struggle with basic necessities. A majority of renters spend a significant portion of their income on housing costs (https://furmancenter.org/research/publication/state-of-nyc-housing-2024). Public schools remain highly segregated compared with national averages (https://www.apmreports.org/story/2017/08/17/new-york-city-school-segregation) and more than half of families with young children cannot afford childcare.
“The thing about a borough, a neighborhood, a block – it’s not just a geographic location. It’s a gateway to a suite of resources – to schools, to jobs, to trains, buses, healthcare facilities, parks, libraries – all of the things that shape our daily lives and our future possibilities,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
According to data visualized in The 2025 Plan’s Access to Opportunity Index tool—which aggregates education quality metrics alongside transit availability—areas like Greenpoint and Park Slope show high levels of opportunity but slower housing growth despite proximity to essential services. Conversely neighborhoods such as Coney Island or Canarsie score lower on opportunity indicators; targeted investments here could address entrenched disparities.
The plan identifies proposed infrastructure projects such as the Interborough Express (IBX) transit line as potential catalysts for improvement in southern and eastern Brooklyn by connecting underserved communities directly with employment centers—potentially benefiting over 900,000 residents living near its route.
“What this index makes clear is not where Brooklyn is failing, it’s where government is failing Brooklyn. And we can use this index as a tool of advocacy, accountability, and planning to build opportunity into the neighborhoods long deprived of it,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
The document includes over 100 maps within its more than 350 pages detailing current conditions throughout Brooklyn along with policy recommendations organized under eight thematic elements: Housing; Health; Climate; Jobs; Education; Public Realm; Transit + Freight; Community Infrastructure.
While The 2025 Plan is intended as guidance rather than enforceable policy—it does not constitute rezoning nor can it be implemented solely by the Borough President—it serves as both an advocacy tool and informational resource designed for continual updates based on evolving community needs.
Reynoso continues his push for citywide comprehensive planning efforts after previously introducing related legislation during his tenure on City Council. This year he called again before Charter Revision Commissions seeking amendments requiring regular updates every decade—including thorough needs assessments—for all five boroughs.
