HOUSING FIRST!
Building for the Future
Building for the Future:New York's Affordable Housing Challenge
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
2
The Need for Affordable Housing
Housing Availability 5Housing Affordability 7Housing Adequacy 8A Need for Action 9
Why Act Now?
10Housing and the Future of New Yorks’s Economy 10Housing and Families 12Housing and Education 13Housing and Health 13Housing and Safe Neighborhoods 14
What Must Be Done
16
The Role of Public Investment
17
Meeting New York's Housing Needs
20Table: Ten-Year Capital Investment Scenario 21
How to Pay for this Critical Investment
22
Call to Action
26
Appendices
27Expanding Development of Affordable Housing: An Action Plan 27The “Housing New York” Ten-Year Plan 31Housing Programs in the Housing First! Plan 33Affordable Housing: The National Perspective 37
Endnotes
38
*
This is a substantial revision of a paper originally issued by Housing First! in May 2001 under the title: "New York'sAffordable Housing Crisis: Context, Principles and Solutions."
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HOUSING FIRST!
Building for the Future
INTRODUCTION
This Year in New York City
2001 will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most extraordinary years in thehistory of the City of New York. On the morning of September 11
th
– the primary electionday on which voters would begin to elect a new Mayor and an almost entirely new set ofgovernment leaders – a terrorist attack destroyed the World Trade Center complex andkilled thousands of people. The unimaginable scope of the destruction horrified us all,and was mitigated only by the heroism and resolve of New York's uniformed servicesand citizens as they met the crisis head-on.In the wake of this tragedy, New York'snew leaders now face unprecedentedchallenges. They must rebuild downtown,meet critical security needs and restore asense of normalcy and well being withoutundermining the City’s fiscal health andeconomic competitiveness. At the sametime, they must confront a number ofperennial issues, like education, thatcontinue to elude consensus.
"… Michael R. Bloomberg said the cityshould embark on a huge housingconstruction project, to make itattractive to corporations that mightotherwise be tempted to leave. 'You canmake the case that we need housingmore than we need office space,' hesaid."-
New York Times
, September 20, 2001
Before the events of September 11
th
, one issue had become so pressing that it affectedvirtually all New Yorkers: the severe and growing shortage of affordable housing. Thisshortage already impacted New York in myriad way increasing homelessness, forcingmiddle class families to abandon the city and complicating the ability of employers – corporations, nonprofits and public agencies -- to attract qualified employees. In theface of the World Trade Center tragedy and the economic downturn it exacerbated, theaffordable housing shortage is a significant threat to New York City’s economicrecovery.
Rebuilding New York and the Challenge of Affordable Housing
Without question, the top priority for the next mayor will be to rebuild New York,restoring what was physically and economically damaged or destroyed in theSeptember 11
th
attacks. Taken alone, the challenge of rebuilding on the World TradeCenter site and repairing the damaged infrastructure is daunting. But rebuilding mustgo farther: it must fundamentally reaffirm the sense of security and confidence that allNew Yorkers have in the city they call home. Without that, we face an exodus of jobsand workers that will devastate our economy and tear apart the social fabric.
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