City Council Needs to Approve City of Yes
The proposal is an important first step towards abundant housing
(New York, NY) – The New York Apartment Association (NYAA) fully supports the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and we hope the City Council hearing clarifies that this is a necessity for the future of New York.
“We are in an affordable housing crisis and in times of crisis we need to act, not debate,” said NYAA CEO Kenny Burgos. “Zoning laws in New York City are more than 50 years out of date and they are failing New Yorkers.”
The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal has been touted as a major shift in housing policy, but in reality, only makes minimal changes. At best, it will address a fraction of the city’s long-term needs over the next decade.
Any changes to the proposal that would make it less robust will reduce the potential supply, which will result in higher rents, more homelessness, and higher property taxes for 1- to 3-family homeowners in the city.
In the first day of the two-day hearing, council members expressed concerns that there is not enough guaranteed affordability, and that a one-size-fits-all solution would hurt specific neighborhoods.
“Targeted government actions can address all the concerns that have been raised,” Burgos said. “But only if we increase the supply of housing, which will lower rents, raise revenue and strengthen our social safety net.”
While NYAA backs the City of Yes proposal, it is only the first step toward addressing the housing emergency that has gripped New York City for more than 50 years.
The next step is to bring down the high cost of building and operating housing, including reforming the unjust property tax system and eliminating the many unnecessary regulations that increase costs but don’t improve safety.
“The City Council and the mayor’s office can’t stop at The City of Yes,” Burgos said. “They must do more to address the systemic issues that make housing so expensive in this city. Until we bring down the costs of providing housing, we will always have a housing shortage, and we will struggle to maintain the housing we currently have.”
NYAA is submitting testimony in support of the proposal.
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The New York Apartment Association (NYAA) is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization that represents a diverse coalition of apartment building owners and managers who provide the majority of affordable multi-family housing in the state of New York. To put it simply, we are Housing New York. NYAA was formed through the merging of two organizations that historically represented rent-stabilized building owners: The Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) and the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP). The official NYAA website is HousingNY.Org. @HousingNY on X; @HousingNY on Instagram; @HousingNY on Youtube, and @HousingNY on TikTok.