For Immediate Release June 20, 2013

Contact: Barbara Morgan barbara@anthonyweiner.com (347) 480-8875

Weiner Announces 7-Part Plan to Build and Preserve Affordable Housing

--144,000 Units for Middle Class and Those Struggling to Make It --"60/20/20" Plan and "Mitchell-Llama for the 21st Century"
New York City In a speech today, Anthony Weiner released his plans for building and preserving 144,000 units of housing for the middle class and those struggling to make it across New York City. His 7-part plan includes new initiatives to create a new tier of housing for the middle class, a proposal to reform the real estate tax and a public private effort to save public housing. He announced his proposals at during a speech at LeFrak City as part of a regular stream of policy initiatives from his book, Keys to the City - 64 Ideas to Keep New York the Capital of the Middle Class. With the average price for a Manhattan apartment nearing $1.4 million and median monthly rents over $3,800 a month, the challenge of housing affordability has reached crisis levels. Today, vacancy rates are at an all-time low of 2.91% citywide, and even lower in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In the outer boroughs, which have long been considered more affordable for the middle class and those struggling to make it, rents and home prices have risen dramatically. The vacancy rate in Queens is at an 8-year low and rental prices have risen by 10% there since last year alone. In Brooklyn, the average price of a rental has gone up by over 13% in the last year. With over one-third of New Yorkers paying at least 50% or more of their income in rent, with the New York City Housing Authority facing a $14 billion deficit, and with over 75,000 apartments across the city being phased out of rent regulation since 2002, the challenge of finding quality, affordable housing for the middle class has never been greater. Weiners plans reflect a comprehensive effort to creatively utilize various programs, incentives, and the bully pulpit in order to reverse these trends: 1. Update our 80/20 Housing Program with a New Middle Class Requirement, or "60/20/20" Since 1986, the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program has been available to organizations putting aside 20% of the project for building units for those making less than $36,000. In today's booming real estate market, builders can afford to also put 20% aside for middle class citizens and Weiners plan creates a 60/20/20 formula so that citizens who make up to $78,000 can climb the housing ladder, too. 2. Create a "Mitchell-Lama for the 21st Century" Weiner s proposal seeks to create a Mitchell-Lama model for this century. The formula that created so many middle class co-ops in the 1970s and 1980's could be used to create a new stock of today's shortage: middle class rentals. Weiner plans to use tax incentives to garner the same commitment from to today's developers if they build workforce housing with a mix of units for different income levels, the city will ensure a modest but consistent long-term profit. With New York City metro area land prices skyrocketing by 336% in the decade up to 2012, this plan will be crucial in enabling developers to meet the needs of middle-class New Yorkers.

3. Preserve and Expand Senior Housing Options Weiners proposal will double the citys Section 202 housing over the next 10 years. Section 202 is a federal program that enables the development of affordable housing by non-profits on public land. By creating smaller, specialized units for older New Yorkers and the disabled, this program helps free up larger affordable apartments for families. To further alleviate the burden of housing on seniors, Weiner also proposes lifting the income cap for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program from $29,000 to $31,000. 4. Repeal the Urstadt Laws and End Renters Hostage Situation In 2015, when the citys state-controlled rent regulation laws expire, the city's renters will once again be held hostage to the whims of upstate and suburban state legislators. Weiner will advocate for the repeal of the Urstadt Laws immediately and reverse the citys loss of regulated apartments that have been accelerated by Albany's meddling. 5. Finally Tackle Property Tax Reform A byzantine New York City real estate tax formula is not good for anyone. Despite wages remaining level, residents of 1-3 family homes have seen their property taxes rise by 169% since 2002. This leads to inequity in the market with co-op owners on Park Avenue paying less in real estate taxes than renters in Washington Heights. Owner of office space all too often spend millions in legal costs to ascertain their opaque tax assessment. The tackle the multi-faceted issues of a long-unexamined potpourri of legal precedents, state laws, and institutional inertia, Weiner proposes a property tax commission that would ensure New Yorkers have a system that is clear, fair, and transparent. 6. Expand Zoning that Creates Jobs and Housing All too often, government officials create a false choice between the residential and commercial uses and development of scarce New York City real estate. Weiner will encourage both of these with the expanded use of M1-6D zones, which would permit new commercial space on the first floor below affordable apartments. The same neighborhoods challenged by the lack of affordable housing also have a shortage of jobs and commercial anchors like supermarkets. Through a combination of development usage, Weiners proposal reinvests in and reinvigorates our middle-class neighborhoods. 7. Create a Public - Private Marshall Plan to Restore Public Housing The New York City Housing Authority houses many of the citys most vulnerable residents in buildings that have been all but abandoned by our partners in the federal government. Unlike other cities, which have torn down their housing stock, New York City must continue to invest in ours. However, with NYCHA facing $14 billion in unfunded liability for repairs, Weiner proposes enlisting world-class property managers operating across the city to work with the thousands of skilled workers on the NYCHA workforce and the construction trades to create a triage and repair system. The wealth of talent already existing in the city can and should be utilized to ensure our neediest residents are treated with the respect they deserve. "Building and preserving housing that is affordable to the middle class and those struggling to make it in New York City is an existential challenge for the next mayor," Weiner said. "My plan confronts this task with help for all the pieces of the housing puzzle. Only with new approaches and innovative solutions will we be able to accommodate the future growth of our population and hopefully the strengthening of our economy." ### www.anthonyweiner.com