Affordable housing has played and continues to play an important role in New York City. The city has the oldest public housing system in the entire country, with the first public housing developments created in New York in 1935. This occurred two years prior to the Housing Act of 1937, which began to subsidize housing on a national level. Along with being the oldest in the country, New York City also contains the largest public housing system in the nation. In “Next Generation NYCHA,” Alicia Glen, the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, states that “Today, the Authority is home to more than 400,000 New Yorkers,” (Glen 2015). Despite the importance of affordable housing to the city, New York finds itself in a state of crisis in regards to issues of affordable housing and homelessness. Levels of homelessness throughout the city are at an all-time high, and conditions throughout the public housing system add to the level of crisis.
Homelessness in the City
As of 2015, “the number of homeless New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters is now 64 percent higher,” than it was ten years’ prior (Coalition for the Homeless 2015). This increase does not account for the many New Yorkers who find themselves sleeping in the streets and on subway trains. The city is attempting to decrease the number of people living on the streets through the creation of ninety new shelters within the next five years. But what exactly causes this problem? Although there are many immediate causes for homelessness such as job-loss and eviction, one of the main causes of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, “Federal support for low-income housing has fallen 49% from 1980 to 2003,” (National Coalition for the Homeless 2009). The lack of federal support for low income housing makes it much more difficult for many to afford already high rents which take up a large percentage of income. The increased cost of living in New York City also adds to the problem. Over the last twenty years the average monthly rent has increased by approximately forty percent. One of the main reasons for this lack of housing is the alluring essence of living in the Big Apple. Rather than leaving after retirement, many older residents are staying in the city, and young people ready to start families are preferring to stay in the city rather than to go live in suburbia. Add this to the incoming masses pouring in from other states and around the world. Nikita Stewart at The New York Times, discusses that the city could possibly reduce twenty-five percent of the shelter population by creating policies focused on rental subsidies and creating more affordable housing units, (Stewart, 2017).
What Exactly is Affordable Housing?
Housing is deemed affordable when, a family spends no more than 30% or their income in order to live there. In order to identify which groups qualify for affordable housing programs the government uses the Median Family Income (MFI), which is “what the family right in the middle of the income distribution earns,” (Mangin and Woo 2009 p. 18). In New York City, the MFI is $61,600, with the Bronx having the lowest MFI at $38,000 and Staten Island having the highest at $83,000. Despite having the lowest MFI, the Bronx is not the borough with the most New York City Housing Authority(NYCHA) units, but Staten Island, with the highest MFI is the borough with the least NYCHA units. The various types of housing programs are directed at different income categories within this Median Family Income. Within the affordable housing system there are various variables that account for who receives housing. Some of the factors that come into play when looking at housing on a private scale are: rents are often times based on income off of the income of other tenants or what the landlord says and very long waiting list. The average time a family spends on a waiting list is eight years.
Throughout the city there are a variety of affordable housing programs such as Section-8, Mitchell-Lama, 80/20, and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Most of these programs use subsidies, but most housing throughout the city has some form of subsidy, whether affordable or not. Just because affordable housing exists does not mean it is accessible for everyone below the Median Family Income. Section 8 housing exists in two forms: Tenant Based Section 8 and Project Based Section 8. Both of the programs are very similar, with the major difference being that for project based Section 8 tenants cannot take their vouchers elsewhere and apply for specific buildings. In order to encourage landlords to create affordable housing units the government provides them with subsidies and tax incentives. The problem is the level of difficulty there is in order to get into Section 8, with thousands of people on waiting list. The program is more accessible to “domestic violence victims, referrals from Children’s Services, or participants in the witness protection program,” (Mangin and Woo 2009 p.51). In Section 8 housing tenants only pay thirty percent of their income, relying on vouchers to account for the rest. Another program is the Mitchell-Lama program, which was started in 1955. The Mitchell-Lama program targets moderate and middle income families. In order to qualify for this program, “a family’s income must be less than seven times the annual rent for the family,” ((Mangin and Woo 2009 p.). The 80/20 program gives developers tax breaks it they leave twenty percent of units in their building for very low income families. The main program that the included map entry focuses on are the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments.
NYCHA
NYCHA was established in 1935 in order to provide affordable housing for lower income families. The New York City Housing Authority, “serves 174,282 families and 396,581 authorized residents,” (New York City Housing Authority, 2017). Despite serving so many families there are approximately 250,000 on the wait list for public housing and currently only about 180,000 public housing units in existence with the vast majority of them being occupied. About twenty years ago former Govenor George Pataki ceased providing subsidies to NYCHA, due to a lack of state and federal funding, NYCHA’s developments saw a decline in their condition. Living in NYCHA developments myself, I have been witness to some of the deteriorating conditions and lack of services that occur. Many across NYCHA developments find themselves, “living with leaky roofs, mold, unreliable heating systems, broken elevators, and a host of other problems at any given time,” (Glen 2015). The issues that occur throughout NYCHA are to blame on the extreme deficit of millions of dollars each year. Rather than focus on funding repairs, NYCHA focuses on the cost of operation.
Next Generation NYCHA
Mayor Bill De Blasio’s proposed solution is a ten-year plan called Next Generation NYCHA. The main goals of Next Generation NYCHA are to :“1. Achieve short-term financial stability and diversify funding for the long term, 2. Operate as an efficient and effective landlord, 3. (Re)build, expand, and preserve public and affordable housing stock, [and] 4. Engage residents and connect them to best-in-class social services,” (Glen 2015). Next Generation has already started implementing these goals through various ways. One such way is through the creation of the NYCHA App so that residents do not have to deal with slow customer service. Some developments have even included cameras to ensure the safety of residents. Through Next Generation NYCHA “5,663 residents [have] been placed in jobs” and “10 new youth councils” have been created ( New York City Housing Authority 2, 2017). Within the first two years Next Generation NYCHA has made significant improvements.
Conclusion
It is very important that housing be affordable and safe for everyone. The lack of affordability within the housing system and the long waiting list cause levels of homelessness to be at an all-time high, and increases the amount of people turning to shelters. Even though there are multiple programs to provide affordable housing it is difficult for many to obtain housing. For those who currently live in affordable housing due to the lack of funding conditions are not always ideal, as their health and safety consistently put at risk. In order to address this issue of lack of affordable housing much reform must be done. Through the efforts of programs such as Next Generation NYCHA, the public housing system in New York City should be able to see much needed change.
Bibliography
Coalition for the Homeless. 2015. New York City Homelessness: The Basic Facts. Prod. Coalition for the Homeless. January.
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/NYC-Homelessness-Fact-Sheet-11-20145.pdf
Glen, Alicia. 2015. “Next Generation NYCHA.” New York City Housing Authority.
http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/nextgen-nycha-web.pdf
Mangin, John, and Rosten Woo. 2009. “What is Affordable Housing? NYC Edition.” Edited by John Mangin and Rosten Woo. Envisioning Development /Guide No.1 (The Center for Urban Pedagogy).
http://welcometocup.org/file_columns/0000/0011/cup-fullbook.pdf
National Coalition for the Homeless. 2009. “Why are People Homeless?”
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html
NYC. n.d. Our Current Affordable Housing Crisis. Accessed April 20, 2017.
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/housing/problem/problem.page.
New York City Housing Authority, 2017 “NYCHA 2017 Fact Sheet” Accessed March 21st, 2017.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/factsheet.pdf
New York City Housing Authority 2, 2017 “Next Generation NYCHA: Two Years of Progress”
http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/ngn-2-year-anniversary.pdf
Stewart, Nikita, “Harder for Homeless to Enter N.Y.C Shelters, Report Finds” The New York Times, March 21st, 2017
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 |  Total population-463 Development Outage- Compactor 1010 East 178th Street New York, United States of America |
 | Total Pop-69 728 East New York Avenue New York, United States of America |
 | Total pop-191 1052 Teller Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-170 Development Outage- Gas 1740 Madison Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-165 1090 Rosedale Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 83 1090 Rosedale Avenue New York, United States of America |
 | Total pop- 553 20 Lewis Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total Pop-442 228 East 28th Street New York, United States of America |
 | Total pop- 241 50 Pitt Street New York, United States of America |
 | Total pop- 386 185 Nevins Street New York, United States of America |
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loading map - please wait...
| Total population-463 Development Outage- Compactor 1010 East 178th Street New York, United States of America |
| Total Pop-69 728 East New York Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-191 1052 Teller Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-170 Development Outage- Gas 1740 Madison Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-165 1090 Rosedale Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 83 1090 Rosedale Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 553 20 Lewis Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total Pop-442 228 East 28th Street New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 241 50 Pitt Street New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 386 185 Nevins Street New York, United States of America |
106 markers per page | |
loading map - please wait...
| Total population-463 Development Outage- Compactor 1010 East 178th Street New York, United States of America |
| Total Pop-69 728 East New York Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-191 1052 Teller Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-170 Development Outage- Gas 1740 Madison Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop-165 1090 Rosedale Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 83 1090 Rosedale Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 553 20 Lewis Avenue New York, United States of America |
| Total Pop-442 228 East 28th Street New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 241 50 Pitt Street New York, United States of America |
| Total pop- 386 185 Nevins Street New York, United States of America |
106 markers per page | |
