ANHD 2016 Building the Community Development Movement
Mayor de Blasio has made “building a more equitable city” a central theme for his administration, and housing is one of the pillars of that vision. His stated goal of creating 200,000 affordable units is important and ambitious. In the next few months, the Mayor’s newly appointed housing team will draft the details of the plan to get us there.
ANHD is optimistic that the Mayor’s team has the right approach and the right skills. Alicia Glen, the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development was the energetic leader of Goldman Sachs’ well-respected community development group. The new Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Vicki Been, is among the most thoughtful affordable housing and urban planning figures in the city, known for the thorough, data driven approach she brought to the Furman Center. Gary Rodney, who is stepping in as President of the Housing Development Corporation, brings a solid reputation from his work in developing affordable housing with the Omni organization. Shola Olatoye’s experience and commitment to our communities in running Enterprise Community Partners will be invaluable in modernizing and preserving our public housing stock at NYCHA and Cecil House, who will be staying on as NYCHA General Manager, now has the resources – the $52 million de Blasio has saved the agency by eliminating the “double dip” for Police and Sanitation service – to compliment his skill and commitment as a manager. Finally, the new Planning Commissioner, Carl Weisbrod, will also have a crucial role to play as much of the housing plan will require a more efficient use of city planning tools.
200,000 units is an exciting goal – but what we build is equally important to how much we build. Getting the quality of those units rights, so that they create the greatest value and truly serve and stabilize our neighborhoods, is no less important a challenge. And, as is always the case in Affordable Housing, the details of the plan will make all the difference. The full plan will be announced on May 1, and we are looking for a plan that not just gets us to 200,000 units, but builds these units with the equitable vision that we need. This includes:
More Effective Use of City Incentives: All of the levers the city uses to incentivize the development of affordable housing need to work to the greatest benefit of the community and the taxpayer. From Inclusionary Zoning, to 421a tax abatements, to public land disposition, to direct city subsidy dollars, the city has in the past often negotiated with one hand tied behind its back. It’s time to restore the correct balance to those programs and ensure that developers get an appropriate incentive, but also that the community gets the affordable housing it truly needs. Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning will be the first fight, and the Mayor must stick to his principles against the growing opposition of the real estate lobby. We know that a strong and well-designed Mandatory Inclusionary Program can be effective, legal, and a central statement of the Mayor’s philosophical approach as well as a key tool to meet his affordable housing goal.
Affordable Housing can be a win-win-win for everyone – developers, neighborhoods, and the city as a whole. But we have to get the balance right. The members of the Mayor’s new housing team have a wealth of experience at the negotiating table – and we’re optimistic this will be put to good effect.
Affordability that is Real and Permanent:
One key benefit that the city has too often ignored is permanent affordability. In fact, much of the affordable housing built by past mayors will lose its affordability at exactly the moment when our affordable housing crisis is worsening. We don’t have the resources in city land or subsidy to squander in this way any longer. We have already made long-term and even permanent affordability a fact of some current housing programs – now the Mayor must make long-term affordability a baseline expectation of every program. Another deeply-felt public criticism of past affordable housing plans is that the new units often weren’t affordable for the local community, and so didn’t truly stabilize the neighborhood. It will take work for the City to create the new tools to get affordability levels right, but the right approach is for Mayor’s team to work with allies to develop new financing and cross-subsidization models that provide both the income mix and depth of affordability that neighborhoods need.
Build Strong Communities with Not-For-Profit CDCs:
The goal is not just more housing, it’s also stronger and more resilient communities. This is just one of the reasons that the administration needs to prioritize community-based not-for-profit developers, who, for decades, have built the resilient local civic infrastructure that addresses the challenges at-risk communities face. And not-for-profit developers are mission-driven to fill the above goals as well – they keep housing affordable permanently, address the local affordability needs of their community, and use city subsidies efficiently to build the type of affordable housing and other resources that their neighborhood most needs.
Blogger: Benjamin Dulchin
ANHD blog team: Benjamin Dulchin, Moses Gates, Ericka Stallings, Jaime Weisberg, Barika Williams, Eric Williams. Anne Troy, editor