William Alatriste for the New York City Council
Bronx Councilmember Rafael Salamanca's proposal to require affordable housing developments to set aside units for the homeless is the subject of negotiations with the administration.
This year, the City Council’s focus will be on a range of bills aimed at eradicating lead poisoning and addressing the needs of the city’s homeless population, among other housing and land-use concerns.
Housing units for extremely low- income households are not being preserved or created in line with the level of need in the city, the report from ANHD found.
Speaker Johnson’s office says the Council is working to tweak the decades-old Small Business Jobs Survival Act. But advocates are frustrated and fear ‘a completely different watered down version’ of SBJSA is what will pass.
A key sticking point in the debate over the proposal is the proposed new treatment of land that had been zoned for heavy industrial uses. That’s a concern in other development hubs around the city as well.
Tenants of a rent-stabilized building testified in Brooklyn housing court after filing a lawsuit against their landlord and the city’s housing department over what they allege were a lack of repairs and enforcement that has prevented them from returning home since an August 2018 fire.
A new building that will generate funds to support Brooklyn Bridge Park could have been all luxury rentals, but instead will set aside a majority of its apartments for specific income groups. But some of those units will serve relatively affluent New Yorkers. So is this a minor victory, or another loss, for affordability in NYC?
Inwood’s rhythms and feel seem unchanged a year after the rezoning. But physical changes are underway, with more to come.
Advocates say the idea isn’t inherently problematic, but its case-by-case impact bears close monitoring.
The changes will increase access to affordable housing for many New Yorkers across the city, and “reduce the chances of a tenant being denied a unit due to poor credit history.”
A Department of City Planning report that examined 24 commercial neighborhoods across the five boroughs found a small increase in storefront vacancies over the last decade — but says the uptick cannot be blamed on rising rents alone.