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Since this is such a huge issue to so many NYers, I wanted to provide a forum for people to discuss what they would do as a affordable housing program.
Me?
I'd dramatically up-zone the city to allow more density where there is good subway access. I would allow pricing to be free market, with a property tax levy against all homes sold over 1m or all landlords who charge more than what a working class family (30-50k/yr) would be able to comfortably afford. The windfall would go towards section-8 style housing vouchers for low income and working class income NYers that can be used not just in the 5 boroughs but in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland counties plus NJ. These vouchers can also be used on mortgages too, so low-income and minority homeownership can rise. The current NYCHA system would transition to emergency housing for homeless individuals.
Since this is such a huge issue to so many NYers, I wanted to provide a forum for people to discuss what they would do as a affordable housing program.
Me?
I'd dramatically up-zone the city to allow more density where there is good subway access. I would allow pricing to be free market, with a property tax levy against all homes sold over 1m or all landlords who charge more than what a working class family (30-50k/yr) would be able to comfortably afford. The windfall would go towards section-8 style housing vouchers for low income and working class income NYers that can be used not just in the 5 boroughs but in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland counties plus NJ. These vouchers can also be used on mortgages too, so low-income and minority homeownership can rise. The current NYCHA system would transition to emergency housing for homeless individuals.
So basically your idea is to let the rates go up then tax people to death and transfer the wealth to poor people who will most likely gonna waste the money.
The rich stay rich because they know how to keep their wealth. The poor stay poor because all they know is how to be poor.
You idea at best will end being the rich passes the taxes onto the tenants and make NYC even more unaffordable and the poor will get squeezed out even faster as the city will ensure there is more people paying taxes than collecting benefits.
It's already happening because De Blasio failed at economics, you can't transfer wealth to the poor with capitalism.
So basically your idea is to let the rates go up then tax people to death and transfer the wealth to poor people who will most likely gonna waste the money.
The rich stay rich because they know how to keep their wealth. The poor stay poor because all they know is how to be poor.
You idea at best will end being the rich passes the taxes onto the tenants and make NYC even more unaffordable and the poor will get squeezed out even faster as the city will ensure there is more people paying taxes than collecting benefits.
It's already happening because De Blasio failed at economics, you can't transfer wealth to the poor with capitalism.
That would happen under anyone's plan. Unless universal rent control is enacted, which it cannot be since property owners now need to be compensated for the loss of value due to changes in the law, you're always going to have rising rents. My plan helps more people than building permanent affordable housing which in the end will essentially end up being projects.
- Dramatically upzone neighborhoods along subway lines, especially in the outer boroughs. Use the money from selling off extra air rights, and 30 years worth of resulting increase in property tax revenue along the subway route zones to fund the MTA. If the development happens to be in an overcrowded school district, give the developer extra air rights for free in return for building a new school or expanding an existing school.
- Eliminate rent stabilization and rent control.
- Eliminate tax incentives such as 421a, 421b (only if rent stab is eliminated).
- Increase property tax on parking spots/garages for non-commercial vehicles.
- Gradually sell off NYCHA housing in expensive areas, restoring the street grid, and using the proceeds to fund NYCHA.
- Increase and enforce NYCHA criminal background ineligibility periods, making NYCHA much more safe and desirable for low income law-abiding families.
Improve and expand transportation options, primarily trains. The wave of gentrification has basically followed the train lines out of Manhattan in every direction (except the Bronx lol), which I think is the result of the unyielding increase of people taking jobs and moving to NYC. I think it would be easier to build more housing, and keep it affordable, outside of the city - as long as it's easy enough to get to and from Manhattan people will go there.
Other than that I would say to completely overhaul the tax code (federal and state) to help compensate for the gross inequality that drives so much of this.
That would happen under anyone's plan. Unless universal rent control is enacted, which it cannot be since property owners now need to be compensated for the loss of value due to changes in the law, you're always going to have rising rents. My plan helps more people than building permanent affordable housing which in the end will essentially end up being projects.
These govt programs opens the door for more fraud, let the market dictate. Investment in Technology and transportation improvement will solve the problem. I disagree that people have the right to live and pick their prices to live in NYC. You have a right if you can afford at market price.
Any program that compensate owners will get abused when some shady owner puts a closet for rent and applies for reimbursement. We need to stop depending on the govt to dictate prices and what we can and can't do with private property.
It's already bad enough that tenants in NYC can freeload on owners by making a false report about building violation.
I'm not wealthy (and probably will never be), but I fail to see the benefit of "forcing" affordable housing in high-income areas. The focus should be on improving the low-income areas; it just makes sense.
The only true bastion of affordable housing in NYC is NYCHA which is a broken system with some degrees of success and failures. What needs to be done is NYCHA reform. Some NYCHA developments need to be converted into coop or condo private developments. Some NYCHA space needs to be leased. While some NYCHA buildings can be mixed income for middle to lower income housing, while some NYCHA will be just slowly for lower income folks. NYCHA needs to have income limits on households. A household making more than 80k can afford moderate or market rate rentals in other parts of the city. Those who are grandfathered in NYCHA and making more than the threshold, NYCHA should pay these folks at most 5000 bucks to move elsewhere.
Give college kids of low income background access to professional jobs, in return private business will receive tax breaks and abatements for hiring college educated students from inner city environments vs hiring out of towners. This will reduce inequality and poverty in the longrun. MY biggest concern would be if these inner city youths wise up and take their money and newly earned skills to suburbia or else where causing an income flight, so safeguards need to be inplaced where these folks must stay in NYC.
Getting rid of rent control and rent stabilization is not going to do much but only make rents go up due to market forces.
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