Government
Housing Events in NYC This Week: NYCHA Preservation Trust’s First Board Meeting
Mariam Hydara |
Housing and land use-related events taking place in the week ahead, as well as affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.
Government
‘Policy Failure’: Audit Finds 3 Housing Placements From Months of Street Homeless Sweeps
Emma Whitford |
Of the 2,308 homeless New Yorkers present during the city’s encampment sweeps over more than eight months in 2022, only three people—about 0.1 percent—had landed in permanent housing placements as of January, according to an audit from Comptroller Brad Lander.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: New York Lawmakers Need to Consider 421-a Replacement
Austin Celestin |
“421-a or any alternative’s inclusion in our toolbox to tackle the housing crisis is by no means a silver bullet, but its absence has already and will continue to hamstring our ability to respond. We cannot accept this if we want to solve our housing crisis.”
Government
Where NYC’s Council Candidates Stand on Key Housing Issues
City Limits |
As the city faces dual affordable housing and homelessness crises, City Limits asked the candidates’ running in Tuesday’s primary for their stance on a number of key related issues. Are they a renter or a landlord? Do they support the idea of “member deference” on local land use votes? What’s the best route for funding repairs at NYCHA?
Government
Data Drop: Which Council Campaigns Are Real Estate PACs Supporting This Election Cycle?
Jeanmarie Evelly and Emma Whitford |
Of the $19,000 in donations to 14 sitting council members or candidates, $13,900 comes from Taxpayers for an Affordable New York, run by the Real Estate Board of NY. Another $4,600 comes from Rent Stabilization Association’s PAC, and $500 from the Neighborhood Preservation Political Action Fund, which appears to be linked to an RSA staffer.
Economy
Tenants, Advocates Call for City Budget Funds to Alleviate NYCHA’s Growing Rent Debt
Tatyana Turner |
“You think about a $106 billion budget—we’re asking for $400 million with an M,” Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa said at Thursday’s rally. “NYCHA tenants deserve more and we’re going to continue to stand with you until we see a budget that reflects the dignity that you have long deserved.”
Economy
Annual Vote Spells Further Rent Increases For NYC’s Stabilized Tenants
Emma Whitford |
In an unusual twist, the two tenant-aligned members of the Rent Guidelines Board, tenant lawyer Adán Soltren and organizer Genesis Aquino, voted in favor of Wednesday’s increases—3 percent for a one-year lease and a split two-year lease of 2.75 percent in year one and a further 3.2 percent in year two.
Government
Bills to Bolster NY’s Rent Stabilization Law Head To Governor’s Desk
Emma Whitford |
Bills aimed at helping rent stabilized tenants dig deeper into their rent histories to challenge suspicious increases sailed through the State Assembly, capping off an anticlimactic year for housing policy in Albany. One bill also amends rent regulation rules, limiting how much landlords can charge when they combine, or “frankenstein” apartments.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: The Rent Guidelines Board Sucks. It Could be Great—Here’s How
Andrew Schustek and Avi Garelick |
If the RGB is meant to protect tenants, its record is mixed at best. But the alternative, a city of free market rentals, would be much worse. How can this be explained? And what can it teach the tenants movement nationwide?
Government
Mayor Strikes Housing Voucher Waiting Period, as Further Reforms Hang in Balance
Emma Whitford |
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday that he will eliminate a 90-day waiting period for New Yorkers in shelters to apply for rental vouchers, even as he declined to endorse a broader package of reforms recently passed by the City Council.
