“The rent stabilized building bubble will persist as long as there are greater fools to cash out bad bets. If Albany bails out this market now, with bad data and before the market has started to price buildings properly, they risk turning taxpayers into the greatest fools of all.”
At a City Council hearing this week, the Department of Buildings said it has nearly doubled the number of staff members dedicated to implementing the city’s landmark law to lower building emissions.
“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.
The Dept. of Buildings has the power to offer a mediated resolution to landlords who don’t comply with the city’s building emissions law, bypassing fines if they promise to get back on track. But lawyers fear the provision leaves the door open for DOB to evoke it too freely, and question whether the agency has the staff capacity to monitor such deals.
“Gentrification is known to have profound effects on village life and the social fabric of cities. Ask any abuelita and she’ll tell you about new neighbors that don’t make the effort to get to know her.”
“When neighbors have the chance to connect across housing status, it makes all of us and our neighborhoods kinder and stronger. It allows us all to learn from each other and imagine a better world. Every one of us has something to offer in building a city where everyone feels welcome.”
Securing housing in a city known for sky-high rents is proving difficult for newly arrived immigrants. Of the six people City Limits spoke to about their recent searches, only one was able to find and rent a room; another is paying a coworker to sleep on a sofa, and the rest are staying in overcrowded spaces with friends of friends or acquaintances.
“People are bringing it up, people are talking about it and thinking about what can be done, but I don’t know that that has translated very well into action yet,” said Victoria Sanders, research analyst at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “We really want to see actions starting to play out.”
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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