Reality Check for Affordable Housing in NYC

Tom Angotti writes that Mayor Bloomberg has ambitious goals for solving NYC's affordable housing problems, but they may not be in step with today's real estate market.

1 minute read

July 22, 2011, 9:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Angotti says that PlanNYC, has a goal of creating 165,000 affordable units by 2014, and it has been successful to some degree. But:

"As commendable as the accomplishments may be, meeting the 2014 target will not solve the city's more deep-rooted affordable housing problems. The city's housing plan is all about increasing supply, mostly by encouraging market-rate development, yet the real crisis has been the loss of existing affordable units. If the past is prelude to the future then the city may end up losing more affordable housing than it is able to create. The mayor has on many occasions claimed that attracting more people with higher incomes is a sign of a successful city, yet more upscale housing is likely to increase rents and house values in existing affordable neighborhoods."

FULL STORY: Mayor Still Looks to Building and Zoning to Ease Housing Crunch

Friday, July 22, 2011 in The Gotham Gazette

Housing New York Affordable Housing New York Mayor Bloomberg

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