ADAMS ADMINISTRATION, LABOR, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS, ADVOCATES UNITE BEHIND ALBANY HOUSING PUSH

 

Groups Warn Failure to Act Before End of Session Will Deepen Affordability, Migrant Crises

Senior officials from New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration today united with labor unions, civil rights leaders, and housing advocates to urge immediate legislative action in Albany to address New York’s dual housing affordability and migrant crises.

Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer and Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz were joined by members of 32BJ SEIU, Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York, and Laborers Local 79 as well as NAACP New York State Conference President Hazel Dukes and a coalition of elected officials — including New York State Senators Andrew Gounardes and Luis Sepúlveda as well as New York State Assemblymembers Alex Bores, Kenny Burgos, Brian Cunningham, Eddie Gibbs, Jenifer Rajkumar, and Tony Simone — to call for measures to be passed by the end of the current legislative session that will increase affordable housing production and allow for struggling New Yorkers and those in the city’s shelter system to find permanent housing.

 

Between the city’s different systems offering shelter to both long-time unhoused New Yorkers and asylum seekers, there are currently more than 95,000 individuals, including more than 45,000 who have come to New York over the last 13 months seeking asylum from other countries — a number that is only projected to keep growing. Yet, since the expiration of 421-a — the city’s main incentive program for building new affordable housing — in June 2022, New York City has seen a significant decline in new housing creation. New housing applications for the first four months of 2023 would produce just 3,365 total homes, less than half of the number seen in an average year. Rents in parts of the city have also exceeded pre-pandemic highs, further squeezing those at risk of eviction as housing supply dwindles.

 

“Our administration won a critical victory for affordable housing and working people with emergency rent relief for NYCHA residents in this year’s state budget — but there is so much more we can and must do to create the affordable housing New Yorkers so desperately need,” said Mayor Adams. “For the last several months and going back to last year, our administration has put forward serious plans to tackle the city’s severe housing shortage. In close partnership with Governor Hochul, our legislative partners, community and labor leaders, and advocates, we will continue to go to bat for working-class New Yorkers in Albany to make these commonsense changes and create much-needed affordable housing.”

 

“We are in a perfect storm of housing crises that threatens to devastate the people of our city and state unless immediate action is taken this year,” said Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer. “We cannot wait another year for legislators to come back to Albany. We must pass this common-sense agenda now so that we have the tools to build and prosper.”

 

“From new housing supply in core Manhattan to protecting tenants across all five boroughs, New York City has a robust legislative agenda on the table to tackle the housing crisis,” said Chief Housing Officer Katz. “We have just over a week left in Albany to bring these solutions home. Working with labor leaders, tenants, advocates, and elected officials, we must ensure that all New Yorkers have a safe and affordable place to live.”

 

The Adams administration laid out a clear agenda for action on housing this year, including tax incentives that would facilitate construction of new affordable housing, regulatory changes that would make it easier to convert unused office space to housing, and the elimination of a zoning cap that prevents the city from adding housing in midtown Manhattan. The production of more housing also complements the administration’s agenda to protect tenants, including increased funding to combat discrimination based on source of income, improving access to housing vouchers for individuals experiencing homelessness, and securing relief for thousands of New York City Housing Authority residents who fell behind in rent during the pandemic. 

 

“We’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating: We are in a housing crisis,” said Manny Pastreich, president, 32BJ SEIU. “Our state needs to take action now without any further delay. There can be no long-term solutions that don’t involve building more housing. This is a large-scale problem, but to begin to tackle it, we need to enact the policies that are right in front of us now. Extending the completion deadline for 421-a projects, converting empty commercial office buildings to residential housing, and raising the FAR cap are common-sense measures that our legislature should pass before this session is over.”