Speaker Adrienne Adams delivered opening remarks at the Council’s Committee on Land Use hearing on Introduction 958, her legislation that aims to increase affordable homeownership production in New York City.
Below are the Speaker’s full remarks as prepared for delivery.
Good morning.
Thank you to Chair Salamanca for leading today’s Committee on Land Use hearing, which includes Introduction 958, my legislation to increase the number of homeownership opportunities created by our city for New Yorkers. And thank you to everyone who has joined us today.
Affordable homeownership is key to promoting stable and economically healthy communities. It is integral to keeping working- and middle-class families in our city, especially at a time when it has become increasingly harder for them to remain here as a result of housing and childcare-related pressures.
I was fortunate to grow up in a home in Hollis, Queens. When it was time for my husband and me to put down roots and raise our family, we chose to buy a home in Jamaica. For my family, homeownership paved the pathway for us to stay in our community and to be part of investing in its success. That was the case for many families in my native Southeast Queens, and it is why I have advocated to protect and expand homeownership opportunities for New Yorkers who want to stay in their neighborhoods.
However, it has become far too unattainable for families to access similar opportunities previously afforded to live in this city and buy a home. The city’s median home price has more than doubled since 2000 when adjusted for inflation, and now stands at over seven hundred thousand dollars—putting homeownership out of reach for the majority of New Yorkers.
The lack of affordable homeownership opportunities is pushing more and more working- and middle-class families to leave the city they love. This is leading us to lose the strength that diverse families contribute to our city.
Access to homeownership remains profoundly unequal based on race. While 42.5 percent of white households in New York City own their homes, only 28.3 percent of Black households and just 16.7 percent of Latino households are homeowners. These persistent disparities reflect the legacy of racial discrimination, including practices such as redlining, that perpetuate wealth gaps that impact our city today.
Our city’s Black population has declined by nearly 200,000 people over the past two decades, and the lack of opportunities to own a home is a major factor. It is deeply alarming.
Neighborhoods in Southeast Queens, Central Brooklyn, and the Bronx have been havens for diverse homeownership that supports closing wealth gaps and mobility for working families. Yet, we are losing this.
To ensure our communities thrive, with the dream of owning a home remaining a possibility for residents today and for generations to come, our city must do more.
Part of the solution is my bill, which aims to at least double the pipeline of affordable homeownership opportunities throughout the city. We must dedicate more resources to build more affordable homes, support first-time homebuyers, and ensure homeowners can remain in their homes.
Introduction 958, which I first outlined in my State of the City address this year, would require the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to double its current rate of affordable home production, including new single-family, two-family, multi-family, co-ops, and downpayment assistance programs. It would also require that at least half of the subsidized homeownership units be newly constructed, in addition to the conversion of rental units into homeownership opportunities and down payment assistance programs.
I look forward to hearing about the City’s approach to creating new homeownership opportunities, how this legislation will impact that approach, and other feedback from stakeholders.
Thank you, and I will now turn it back over to Chair Salamanca.
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