‘Housing affordability can seem like an intractable problem – an issue where local policy makers are powerless in the face of national economic forces. The reality is quite different.’
Even taking Section 8 and other assistance programs into account, it’s still the poorest New Yorkers that struggle the most with housing costs.
‘In a recent discussion, some very basic assumptions of our sector were challenged.’
Bitterly opposed by many neighborhood residents, the rezoning passed the Council with a single no vote.
Advocates from Buffalo to Brownsville and the LES to LA are voicing concerns about displacement. One local group has compiled a menu of policies to fight it.
Tenants in illegal basement and cellar apartments typically have no lease and limited rights while living in substandard conditions.
Two Councilmembers invited neighborhood stakeholders to draft a rezoning plan. But it could encounter the same misgivings that top-down plans have faced.
The city’s announcement of a developer for one site and financing for the first phase of work at another encountered cautious optimism among neighborhood stakeholders.
The reality is that, no matter how streamlined its management nor how transparent its spending plans may be, NYCHA just does not have the resources it needs.
The Landlord Ambassador initiative aims to recruit small- and medium-sized buildings into the city’s preservation programs.