Dear John,
The pandemic has deepened the crises of housing affordability and homelessness facing our city, even as it showed us just how critical stable housing is for public health.
We will need many tools to prevent a massive wave of evictions in the wake of COVID-19 and stave off a private equity feeding frenzy like what followed the 2008 mortgage crisis.
But to truly confront the scale of New York City’s long-term housing challenges, we also need a bold new vision for developing truly affordable housing that is permanently insulated from real estate speculation.
That’s why I’m proposing a social housing plan for New York City. By treating housing as a public good rather than a vehicle for profit, we can ensure that all New Yorkers have a home they can afford. Add your name to support the plan for a new generation of social housing →
We announced the plan today with housing advocates outside the Village East Towers, a Mitchell-Lama coop in Alphabet City.
Social housing is scattered throughout New York City. Limited equity Mitchell-Lama cooperatives are the best example, but coops, mutual housing associations, supportive and nonprofit housing like what I managed when I directed the Fifth Avenue Committee are all good examples too.
But it has been decades since any level of government has substantially invested in preserving existing units or expanding the model to serve more families. Instead, the city has increasingly relied on the private market to supply the vast majority of our housing stock, and is currently failing to provide enough quality, affordable, and accessible homes to New Yorkers.
New York City has a choice now: Allow the cycle of disinvestment, privatization, and displacement to accelerate. OR invest in permanently affordable housing that will provide stability for tens of thousands of families in the coming years.
The job of the Comptroller is to take the long-term view on the city, and make investments in a more equitable future. This is a plan for a new generation of truly affordable housing that will allow working class New Yorkers to own a stake in our city -- exactly what we need as a foundation of a just recovery and a more equitable future.
Brad
