Session 8 – Affordable Housing

As for the readings, here goes:

Here is a text of Mayor de Blasio’s housing plan:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/housing/assets/downloads/pdf/housing_plan.pdf 

And here’s a 2012 report on the housing situation by the city’s quite reliable Independent Budget Office. It’s kind of heavy on statistics, enough to make your head hurt, but it’s useful:

–http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/nhmp2012.pdf 

Then, via Wikipedia, a couple of broad looks at rent control in the city and had the New York City Housing Authority, which supervises (often controversially) subsidized housing here:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent_control_in_New_York

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Housing_Authority 

The Furman Center at NYU provides a fact sheet on rent stabilization, which is different from rent control:

http://furmancenter.org/files/publications/HVS_Rent_Stabilization_fact_sheet_FINAL_4.pdf 

From the publication Business Insider, two pieces: the first, offering reasons for why rents are so high here (not sure I agree with all these reasons), and the second, a look at Mayor de Blasio’s housing plans:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-8-reasons-why-new-york-rents-are-so-ridiculously-high-2013-7 

 http://www.businessinsider.com/get-ready-for-the-de-blasio-construction-boom-in-new-york-city-2013-11

There is also this NY Times article on the mayor’s ambitious housing plans:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/nyregion/de-blasio-sets-ambitious-goal-for-affordable-apartments.html?_r=0 

The mayor and the City Council this week came to an agreement on proposals to encourage developers to set aside fixed percentages of so-called affordable housing in exchange for the right to put up taller buildings. Here are several articles on this from The Times and from The Daily News, including a detailed look at an imperiled government-subsidy program known as 421-a:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/nyregion/housing-plan-gains-new-york-councils-backing-with-expanded-affordability-rules.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/nyregion/end-of-tax-break-program-may-blunt-impact-of-new-york-zoning-change.html 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/de-blasio-city-council-strike-affordable-housing-deal-article-1.2564407

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/bill-de-blasio-builder-nails-article-1.2567195

From a year ago, evaluations of how well de Blasio and the city in general were doing to meet housing goals:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/nyregion/by-highlighting-housing-gains-de-blasio-raises-a-counting-question.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/16/nyregion/report-finds-a-city-incentive-is-not-producing-enough-affordable-housing.html

Also, a few more related issues:

How NYC rents outpace inflation: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/nyregion/new-york-rents-outpaced-inflation-over-3-years-census-data-say.html 

The near-hopeless lottery for subsidized apartments:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/nyregion/long-lines-and-low-odds-for-new-yorks-subsidized-housing-lotteries.html

The high costs of construction in NYC:

http://www.buildingcongress.com/outlook/

And for a look at how the other half lives, the dizzying heights reached in the prices of luxury apartments:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/nyregion/at-dizzying-heights-prices-of-luxury-apartments-may-have-found-ceiling.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

The City Council passed legislation this week containing the zoning changes that de Blasio sought:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/nyregion/new-york-council-passes-zoning-changes-de-blasio-sought.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=17&pgtype=sectionfront

Neighborhood activist pledge to fight the mayor on this, via DNAInfo:

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160323/civic-center/activists-vow-fight-mayors-gentrification-plan-neighborhoods