AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Real solutions to decade old problems, and ownership for longtime residents. No RAD. #HomesGuarantee
For too long, residents of Public Housing have been left behind. Of the City's 95 billion dollar budget, only 3% goes to housing. The city must do more. It is not enough to keep the walls from falling or to keep the water running (something the city has failed time and time again). We must invest more to better these communities. As Mayor, I would not only give our public housing areas the resources they deserve, but also provide dedicated residents a path to ownership. I would give those who have invested for years and are dedicated to improving themselves, their families, and their communities a real chance at the American Dream, a place they can truly call home.
The subject of housing is a very critical issue and one that must be addressed as currently it is only continuing to get worst and create more of a crisis. We have generations of young people coming up behind us that could potentially face homelessness and are currently basing their decisions on whether or not to have a family on their ability to afford housing. Many will never have the ability to purchase a home given the current market costs. This has also become a safety issue that is not being mentioned or addressed in that there are many young people who have been forced to room share with people that they do not know because they cannot afford to live on their own. We must correct this issue if we anticipate that future generations will have housing as a basic right. The lack of response and the allowance of greed to be pervasive when it comes to housing will be done at the detriment of those that come behind us.
From my perspective there are two issues that need to be addressed related to housing. The first issue is the lack of affordable housing. Most of the apartments which the city is currently working with developers to build only have a 25% affordability factor meaning that 75% of those apartments are rented at market rate. This is unacceptable. Even the rates that are deemed affordable are not affordable to the average New Yorker. Definitive research must be conducted to determine the population of the individuals or families that need homes, not the median income, but the actual incomes of those needing housing and then determine, how many apartments we need to build, the size of those apartments and what the cost should be based upon actual incomes.
In addressing the housing crisis, we must also consider returning to the American dream of home ownership. This should be an attainable goal for all individuals. In addition, the ownership aspect will afford the city the opportunity to recoup or lower the cost of building. Were the city to consider building more co-ops and condos the developers and/or the city would recoup building cost after the sale. In addition, home owners pay property taxes and renters do not. This would be another means for the city to also generate additional long term revenue after the purchases. Finally there is the factor of pride in ownership that will resonate with the owners and trickle down to how they interact and care for their communities. Most homeowners understand importance of maintaining a close knit, safe and cleanly community for themselves and their children. It will create more an investment from the residents of the community, knowing that they will be there long term. Knowing that they will be long standing community residents will incentivize them to have more of an investment in their schools, playgrounds, and work to create opportunities for social interactions for their youth.
The second issue that must be addressed is the issue related to the disrepair of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The reality of the situation is that that NYCHA has been in disrepair for some time. This did not happen overnight nor will it be fixed overnight. The solutions as it relates to NYCHA need to be specific and it needs to leave the residents of NYCHA better off than we found them.
The first fact related to this issue is that while public housing is a necessity, the City of New York should not be in the housing business. It is not our forte; we are just not good at it. There are management companies all of the over city that have established best practices that work, buildings that are running efficiently and we should model those entities. As it relates to housing the City’s role should primarily be one of providing the financial resources need to ensure that public housing remains an option for those who are elderly, disabled or in need of assistance.
The repair of NYCHA will take some time. To address the issues related to the disrepair it has been determined that the cost would be in the range of $38B - $45B depending upon who you ask. Those funds are not needed in a lump sum because even if the Federal Government provided $45B to New York City today the City does not have the resources needed or the number of construction firms needed to do the work within a year.
Having said that I would want to examine what upgrades/repairs are needed for each development and prioritize the work. I would next want to consider what work could be done by unions and what work can be done by independent contractors and/or small businesses. There are some things that union firms are good at and there are some things they are not good at. I imagine most union firms would have more interest in the bigger projects related to elevators, boilers, windows, lobby upgrades etc. and less interested in interior apartment work. Obtaining support from the unions related to this approach will help to create opportunities for small general contractors and/or home improvement firms and will allow them to grow and increase their capacity; thereby increasing the pool of contractors available to assist with this work and creating more employment opportunities. This will reduce the timeframe it will take for all of the work to be completed.
To cover the cost and generate additional funds for the repairs, I propose that the Federal, State and City provide more of a financial investment in NYCHA. In addition, the city should provide the option for tenants, who have an interest in homeownership the opportunity to purchase their apartments. The city could utilize those funds for repair of the developments common areas as well as consider providing the tenants with a grant that assist with their interior repairs. This model also provides for the opportunity to generate income through property taxes which renters do not pay. This model also affords the tenants to manage the repairs of their individual apartments.
We can obtain the buy in of tenants and start off with utilizing those developments that have brought in as part of a pilot program. Using the experience as an opportunity to establish best practices and lessons learned.
This model will also reap the same benefits as those obtained with the affordable housing ownership model related to impact on the community. Studies have shown that ownership creates change in mindsets and communities, bringing back the sense of pride.
