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Why are affordable housing advocates not fighting to bring Mitchell lama back? It was obviously New York's most successful housing program. 421-a lotteries are a joke, produce just a couple of units for a small income bracket.
Mitchell-Lama much like other federal housing "projects" only worked when there were large tracts of land easily (and somewhat cheaply) available for development or redevelopment. That is not the case for NYC today, and besides neither the city nor state own enough land for such a project.
One of the main tools that produced both Mitchell-Lama and "project" housing was urban renewal/slum clearance schemes. Both relied heavily upon eminent domain and were responsible for many of the sites where ML and "projects" sit today.
Urban renewal got a very nasty name in the day (famous African American writer James Baldwin called it "negro removal"), because many saw the application of "blighted" as a way to clear out poor but otherwise stable and functioning communities (of color or otherwise), to build new housing.
Developers having seen what happens when getting into bed with NYS or NYC likely wouldn't fall for the exact same ML scheme again without some built in protections in their favor.
As originally designed ML projects were free to come out from under subsidized rents/co-op ownership after 20 years (usually by paying off the underlying mortgages). Politicians then didn't worry about the consequences but things hit the fan one by one places like Rupert Towers (built on the site of a former brewery), paid off their financing and left the program. This turning into market rate housing enraged some sections of local and state government and community "activists". So now all are attempting in various ways to change the rules during the middle of game. Things such as forcing ML units that come out of the scheme to go under RS laws and such.
Only thing is the state isn't stepping in and condemning/taking land from private owners. Rather working with them to provide some measure of affordable housing.
Mitchell Lama, or something very much like it, will stage a comeback. All it takes is a severe recession with building projects going bust and falling into City and State hands through foreclosures and tax liens. Don't for a minute ever think that every building boom (like we are having now) isn't followed by a building BUST, and experience has shown, the bigger the boom the bigger the bust.
Nobody has ever repealed the boom-bust cycle. If anything the swings have become greater.
They just need to upzone the city and stick with the 80/20 ratio. 20% of permanent middle class housing is pretty generous and balanced. Tax the market rate units extra and use the proceeds to build low income housing on NYCHA land.
They just need to upzone the city and stick with the 80/20 ratio. 20% of permanent middle class housing is pretty generous and balanced. Tax the market rate units extra and use the proceeds to build low income housing on NYCHA land.
Excuse me? You are being rather generous with your taxation.
Middle class and above are already taxed to death in NYS and NYC to fund various welfare or whatever schemes. It is one of the reasons why so many of the former at least are busting a move out of this city or state. How much more do liberals want to dig into other people's back pocket to fund their various wealth redistribution schemes?
Excuse me? You are being rather generous with your taxation.
Middle class and above are already taxed to death in NYS and NYC to fund various welfare or whatever schemes. It is one of the reasons why so many of the former at least are busting a move out of this city or state. How much more do liberals want to dig into other people's back pocket to fund their various wealth redistribution schemes?
I'm far from a tax and spender, we can certainly cut elsewhere to offset this.
Why are affordable housing advocates not fighting to bring Mitchell lama back? It was obviously New York's most successful housing program. 421-a lotteries are a joke, produce just a couple of units for a small income bracket.
Mitchell-Lama is still with us and there are lots of Mitchell Lama buildings around the city that have short waiting lists.Why don't more people who are playing the affordable housing lotteries put their names on Mitchell Lama waiting lists? Even the ones that have longer waiting lists like 3 to 5 years? The time goes by quickly.
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