Opinion: New York Has A Housing Problem, But It Can Be Solved

I ve not only shown dedication to residents of all backgrounds but I know how to deliver on my promises and make this city better Every other candidate has a housing plan but lacks the dedicated leadership to make it work The author former Assemblymember and current candidate for mayor Michael Blake at City Limits Mayoral Forum on NYCHA Family Homelessness last month Photo by Adi Talwar Editor s Note City Limits will offer similar op-ed space to the other candidates running for NYC mayor this year to share their housing plans If you re a candidate interested in submitting a piece email editor citylimits org Read Candidate Scott Stringer s housing pitch here Every day more New Yorkers make the tough choice of abandoning the city they call home because it has become a shell of itself littered with empty buildings that only the rich can afford For years our city leaders have allowed rents to skyrocket the number of affordable units to dwindle and families to live in apartments the size of shoe boxes More than million New York residents are spending over half of their paychecks on rent alone driving more working-class people to compromise on food childcare and employment decisions In our schools approximately one in every eight students experienced homelessness last year These issues affect every single New Yorker including me As the child of Jamaican immigrants whose mama overcame homelessness and a son of the Bronx I ve witnessed families of color pushed out of the city in search of affordable housing As a former White House aide to President Barack Obama a reverend husband and father I ve seen neighbors struggle to stay afloat forced to sacrifice more each day to still pay more for their homes While our current leadership has thrown in the towel and as the only candidate in the race who was part of a company that defeated Donald Trump we still have a chance to turn things around Our housing problem has a fix and my comprehensive housing plan offers a path for New Yorkers to both find affordable housing and start bringing money back into this city and its neighborhoods Barring contractual prohibitions my administration will within its first days pay and reimburse all open city contracts to nonprofits on the front lines of childcare housing aid and job placement These are the organizations that are fighting to keep working-class New Yorkers in the city Our current City Hall has denied them the right to timely pay and they deserve much better for their work I will also declare a cost of living crisis and utilize city reserves to provide urgent financial relief to residents struggling to make ends meet This will help working-class families afford not only rent but groceries childcare and transportation To provide further aid to our largest part vulnerable neighbors I will create a guaranteed income pilot effort to help New Yorkers with housing and childcare expenses Right now New York utilizes an outdated Area Median Income AMI formula to calculate the average income of residents within a neighborhood The city s sky-high rents skew this information though causing units labeled as affordable to be the opposite My administration will replace the use of AMI with a Local Median Income LMI specific to neighborhoods and zip codes This will not only more accurately capture what local New Yorkers are making but ensure housing affordability is no longer affected by inflated regional averages I also promise to raise income thresholds for housing eligibility giving working- and middle-class families better odds of obtaining a home We ll eliminate credit amount considerations from housing applications which disproportionately prevent communities of color immigrants and young adults from obtaining affordable units By promoting alternative tenant evaluation methods such as income verification and rental history New York City residents will make housing decisions based on their actual ability to pay instead of their financial pasts My administration will also educate landlords and brokers through workshops and technical assistance as well as monitor compliance with the help of the NYC Commission on Human Rights This includes requiring landlords to accept the crucial reservoir of housing vouchers where applicable I will launch Mitchell-Lama a new housing initiative focused on deeply affordable middle-income housing for masses sector workers and union members Under this new plan the city will build new units across the five boroughs to match the number of residents pushed out due to rising costs and housing scarcity Specific of these units will be reserved for returning veterans latest college graduates and native New Yorkers priced out of their home domain My Welcome Home plan will keep families together and ensure New York does not become a city where only the upper class can build a life To help New Yorkers access these information I plan to launch Instrument for Good a new populace institution platform that will connect people to city guidance Available on desktop and mobile devices the app will allow New York City users to apply for benefits track housing and repair statuses check payment timelines and request constituent services Amending the convoluted current system that discourages our the bulk vulnerable neighbors from getting the materials they need will provide New Yorkers greater accessibility ease and transparency New Yorkers are constantly gaslit by proposes that our city has no money The reality is that our current administration severely mismanages money Through my comprehensive economic justice plan I have devised multiple approaches to channel funds back into the city without raising taxes on working-class families In alone our City Hall failed to collect over billion in fines that occurred over the past five years including million in uncollected property taxes and emergency housing repair bills Multi-millionaire building owners are presently avoiding their property taxes putting more pressure on rent-regulated apartments and further gentrifying vulnerable neighborhoods My administration will work with civic tech partners like Promise Pay to recover these overdue fees and property taxes My plan would also end the nearly -year tax exemption that has benefited Madison Square Garden properties utilizing that money instead for goods and services benefiting actual working-class families Thousands of luxury buildings sit vacant while the city faces a housing predicament By amending the city tax code to define qualifying pied- -terre units and implementing a vacant apartment tax my administration will implement progressive tax rates based on a property s value and its time unoccupied Vacant commercial units are also going to be taxed under this new program bringing further money into the city and encouraging business owners to use the space they have purchased We will enforce this through owner disclosures and cross-checking utility usage while directing unused funds to housing programs population housing repairs and rent subsidies The top percent of New Yorkers are not contributing their fair share to the general Under my leadership city tax brackets for billionaires will be reformed and tax exemption loopholes for the rich will be closed generating more than billion in revenue I also project collecting an additional billion from fines and fee collections spawned by repealing tax abatements for luxury co-ops and condominiums priced over I m aware of how ambitious my plan sounds but unlike the rest of my mayoral challengers I have the proven leadership to make these changes happen As a New York Assembly member of six years and chair of the Mitchell-Lama subcommittee I addressed people being skipped on waiting lists and provided funding for renovations Moreover I led a bipartisan Prompt Pay bill that helped local businesses get paid in days instead of spearheaded the creation of the only statewide My Brother s Keeper project in America and co-led the Diversity In Medicine scholarships I ve not only shown dedication to residents of all backgrounds but I know how to deliver on my promises and make this city better Every other candidate has a housing plan but lacks the dedicated leadership to make it work New York cannot survive under another spineless mayor Our city demands people who have proven their devotion to all of its residents and have a track record of delivering on innovative policies that work Without ambitious leadership with comprehensive solutions we are only going to drive more families away My plan does not merely offer a key it promises one New Yorkers deserve better than we re getting We deserve change and a new generation of leadership and I m ready to be your mayor Michael Blake is a former member of the New York State Assembly and a former Obama administration staffer He is as of now running in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City The post Opinion New York Has A Housing Complication But It Can Be Solved appeared first on City Limits