Under de Blasio’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing zoning plan, new construction would have to include a certain number of permanently affordable housing units.
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One of the major changes involves reducing the affordability threshold.
The other component is Zoning for Quality and Affordability, which will rewrite parts of the zoning code to make it easier to build housing, especially affordable housing and senior housing. Genesis is a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) developer that took the City’s inaugural capacity-building workshop to promote the participation of M/WBEs in the development and management of affordable housing. The scale rises to those making $93,000 for a household of three.
The mayor’s testimony in front of the bipartisan subcommittee – which included several members of the New York-area delegation – was well-received.
Critics had argued that the rezoning would produce a glut of new apartments too expensive for long-time residents of these neighborhoods. Some of the affordable units will now be made available at 40 percent of the area median income (AMI) which is about $31,000 for a family of three in the city.
The administration also committed to legislation that would require landlords to prove they aren’t harassing tenants.
The City Council has secured concessions from the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The revisions to de Blasio’s plan are expected to be approved during the next full City Council session on March 22nd.
“It is great that the Council wants to get to ‘yes, ‘ but their design and affordability proposals add up to a more expensive, less flexible program that will likely produce fewer affordable units over all”, said President of the Partnership for New York City Kathryn S. Wylde, according to the New York Times.
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And some of the housing advocates who expressed concerns about the plans say they’re pleased with the final results. “New York City is now on the verge of implementing the strongest, most progressive affordable housing policies in the nation”, the mayor said. She said advocates will continue to push for even more affordable housing for lower-income New Yorkers.
