Mayor Adams’ executive order announced Wednesday requires all city agencies to review all city-owned or city-controlled land and vacant buildings for conversion into affordable housing.
This is in the context of the housing crisis in New York City, where only 1.4 percent of housing is available for rent and is also unaffordable.
“Look at my case. I earn 1,556, I work 13 hours because I lost my pension. So the money is not enough to even eat,” said Elizabeth Polanco. “You rent a room. The room costs 1,000 dollars and you have to pay a refund of 300. And sometimes there are places that don’t treat you well. And that’s what gives you depression, anxiety, stress.”
The goal, the mayor said, is to have half a million new affordable apartments by 2032. The properties would be built, for example, on underused parking lots owned by the Sanitation Department.
“It helps a lot because there is already support for people who cannot afford an apartment, you know that mainly here in this area it is quite expensive. But I think it is very good because it would be a great incentive for the minority class,” said Ramon Casado, a resident of Inwood.
“And what one earns is not enough to pay and it is very difficult because then everything is expensive, but the salary is not here. So that would be good, good. Good for us who cannot pay a very expensive rent because it is between a thousand and 2500 and it is super expensive, it is not affordable yet,” said Sandra Parra.
The plan is not to remove libraries or build in parks, but rather to utilize spaces that are not in use.
This is just one of Mayor Adams’ plans to increase the number of public housing units in the city. His administration is also trying to remove restrictions on the development of affordable housing by changing zoning regulations; just last week the City Council approved the possibility of building more than 7,000 new units in the Bronx.
-What do you think of the mayor’s proposal?
“It’s very good, because with this income I can pay rent and have some left over for food, for electricity, for anything I want to do. But with this income it’s not possible,” said Nika Salazar.
In response to the announcement, the Legal Aid Society said the decision is a step in the right direction, but they asked the city to stop rent increases imposed by the rental board for low-income people.
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