“If Mayor Adams is serious about addressing the affordability crisis, he should direct his city agencies to use planning tools to slow land speculation, tax warehoused property and pied-à-terres, and subsidize housing outside of the profit-making system.”
City Limits’ Executive Editor Jeanmarie Evelly recently sat down with Vicki Been, former deputy mayor of housing under Mayor Bill de Blasio, for a conversation about the role of community engagement in solving the housing shortage.
“The reality is that we have a housing crisis, but the South Bronx cannot bear the burden of affordable housing on its own,” said Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, whose district produced the greatest number of affordable units last year and over the past decade. “We need all 51 council districts to do their fair share.”
Councilmember Crystal Hudson’s development framework details criteria that projects in her district should meet if they need city approval for zoning changes. “We can all contribute to the housing crisis that we’re in and build more housing, but do so in a way that’s really responsive to the needs of our local communities,” the lawmaker said.
“It is always worth exploring developments on other sites. However, they should be additional sites for housing, not alternatives, and support for additional developments should not be contingent on the outcomes of other projects.”
The draft plan marks the first step toward a formal land use proposal from the city for 42 Manhattan blocks where housing is currently restricted.
While lawmakers continue to negotiate housing initiatives and tenant protections in Albany, supporters of the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act are positioning the bill as one of the state’s best shots at passing meaningful housing legislation this year. “It’s hard to put your guard up when it’s the neighborhood church saying we want to build,” sponsor Andrew Gounardes told City Limits.
City Limits looks back at a story from 31 years ago, when developers and politicians were pursuing plans to revitalize and develop “The Hub” in the South Bronx.
The latest housing proposal to hit the state legislature would create a new Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA) to oversee the development of social housing—homes created “for the public good,” instead of profit.
Mayor Adams’ ‘City of Yes’ housing proposal includes a 20 percent density bonus for developers—if the additional units are income-restricted. While City Hall has yet to finalize exact affordability levels, officials said they would be aimed at households that earn lower than 80 percent of the Area Median Income, roughly $101,680 for a family of three.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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