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John, Every day, New York City’s teachers, cops, firefighters, public hospital nurses, social workers, school crossing guards, IT specialists, accountants, sanitation workers, and so many more show up to serve our city. Unfortunately, for far too many of them, the rising cost of living – and especially of housing – makes it harder and harder to afford to live here. And homeownership has become an elusive dream. That’s not only a problem for them, it’s a problem for all of us. It’s gotten harder to recruit and retain City workers. Vacancy rates across agencies have doubled. And you can see the results in too many places – like how long it takes for the City to process food stamp applications. To address this issue, New York State Assembly candidate Micah Lasher and I recently proposed a new program to help City workers purchase homes. The proposal is called “Homes for City Workers,” and you can read our op-ed here. Modeled on an approach used by universities, the City’s pension funds would invest up to half the purchase price — alongside a City worker looking to become a homeowner — for a home in the 5 boroughs. This proposal is a win-win for the workers and the City because NYC pension funds would retain equity in the homes, and therefore earn good returns over time, as those homes appreciate in value. The New York City pension funds have a long history of investing in housing for low- moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers, and Homes for City Workers would be another step in the right direction to help tackle the City’s dual challenges of housing affordability and municipal worker retention. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your split donation between Micah Lasher and Brad Lander will go through immediately: Thank you, Brad |
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