Developers could build new housing that an average New Yorker could afford — if it changed the rules on what developers could build, according to “21st Century SROs: Can Small Housing Units Help Meet the Need for Affordable Housing in New York City?,” a new report from the NYU Furman Center.

Under the current rules, a New York City developer would need to charge about $1,480 per month on average to pay for the development of a standard, 400-square-foot studio apartment in the a new building that receives a property tax exemption but no other subsidies. That new apartment would affordable to a single person earning at least $59,000 a year, well above median income in New York.

The same developer could charge about $840 per month for the development of a 160-square-foot, “efficiency” unit, with a shared kitchen and bath. That unit would be affordable to a single person earning at least $34,000 a year — about 51% of the median income here.

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