Affordable Housing

Affordable housing development must seek a better balance between market rate and affordable housing. Pioneers who have built our neighborhoods must not be forced to leave because they are victims of their own success, their housing should remain affordable so that they may realize the fruits of their labor.

As former Chief of Staff for Mitchell-Lama Subcommittee Chair, Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing, I know the current issues facing affordable housing. I had the opportunity to work on the next generation of progressive legislation that would scale certain rent regulations to the consumer price index, so that new laws are always current and housing remains affordable for generations to come. But there is more to do and as your City Council member I will continue this work by reforming rent regulation, using market indices like the consumer price index, and expanding affordable housing.

In addition to fixing affordable housing and rent regulation laws, we must also create a centralized affordable housing resource. Affordable housing must be transparent, with easily accessible and searchable lists by address and qualification, rather than having to search through over a dozen different programs and agencies. We must open affordable housing by creating an easy centralized application process. Lastly, the waiting lists for all affordable housing must be publicly available to provide accountability where these waiting lists have been previously abused.

Manhattan Council Members Push for Rent Freeze: Council Members Testify in Support of Rent Freeze at Manhattan Hearing of the Rent Guidelines Board

New York, NY – New York tenants need a rent freeze. That was the message from the City Council today at the Manhattan hearing of the Rent Guidelines Board, as the Board moves closer to its June 23rd vote on rents for rent stabilized apartments. Council Members Ben Kallos, Dan Garodnick, Margaret Chin, Corey Johnson, Ydanis Rodriguez, Mark Levine, and Helen Rosenthal all called for New York City’s first ever rent freeze, arguing that for too long the Board had overrepresented landlords’ interests.