Opinion: The Housing & Zoning Tools NYC Needs to Fix What’s Broken

We need to reverse the tide now not in particular imagined future by building new affordable homes reclaiming neglected properties and defending our masses assets from federal threats Mayoral candidate and former city comptroller Scott Stringer rolling out his housing plan on April Courtesy Stringer s campaign Editor s Note City Limits will offer similar op-ed space to the other candidates running for NYC mayor this year to share their housing plans If you re a candidate interested in submitting a piece email editor citylimits org New York City is at a crossroads Families the lifeblood of our neighborhoods the foundation of our financial market the future of our city are being pushed out every day Our housing field is plagued by sky-high rents tiny apartments and too scarce affordable and family-friendly options If we don t act now New York will become a city that only works for the wealthy limited not the families who make this city great As a lifelong New Yorker raising two boys with my wife in a two-bedroom apartment I know exactly what s at stake I know firsthand the financial stress that families experience and the hard decisions they make while still recognizing that if we make the right choices the five boroughs can be a place where middle-class families can thrive That s why I believe we need to chart a different unit We can rebuild a city where working families can not only survive but thrive The challenges we face require more than pie-in-the-sky promises that do very little to address the housing dilemma in the near or even medium term We need to reverse the tide now not in several imagined future by building new affordable homes reclaiming neglected properties and defending our constituents assets from federal threats My housing plan offers exactly that practical solutions backed by the effective experienced leadership necessary to turn good ideas into reality The foundation of my housing agenda is Mitchell-Lama a proposal to create a new generation of permanently affordable family-sized housing by unlocking our city-owned vacant land Right now New York owns more than vacant lots lots that have sat empty sometimes for decades while the housing situation gets worse and worse Under Mitchell-Lama we would use these lots to build new affordable homes where families can live in the long term not just survive We would be more targeted to our city s requirements than just building any kind of housing we would establish a New York City Land Bank to develop affordable housing on vacant city-owned sites and give these tax-delinquent properties back to New Yorkers and those who wish to live here We would prioritize long-term land leases over sales keeping the land populace and ensuring that affordability lasts for generations And with Robin Hood Housing we will when necessary use eminent domain to take back distressed properties from absentee landlords who leave buildings to rot reclaiming run-down housing and turning it into opportunity To build on that foundation of Mitchell-Lama last week I distributed ROOF which stands for Residential Options for our Families ROOF prioritizes families and larger households in how we build and preserve affordable housing committing the city to evolving and preserving family-sized homes ROOF requires that at least half of all new affordable housing units built on city-owned land have two or more bedrooms with a minimum of percent being three-bedrooms spacious apartments that can be real homes for families and larger households Under my mayoralty ROOF will also work hand-in-hand with the Robin Hood Housing Plan seizing mismanaged and tax-delinquent properties and converting them into affordable family-sized apartments The priority for placement in the apartments would be given to families with children attending nearby masses schools helping to strengthen neighborhoods and schools alike ROOF would also ensure that when new housing developments are located on city-owned vacant lots near transit parks and childcare centers families get first priority for the apartments and the buildings are designed with the day-to-day demands of families in mind Building and preserving affordable homes is only part of the approach especially as we face threats from the White House Now more than ever we also must protect the general spaces and services that operation New Yorkers That s why my housing and zoning agenda also includes SHIELD Safeguarding Historic Infrastructure through Effective Land-use Defenses When President Donald Trump floated a dangerous plan to sell off federal buildings in cities like ours it became clear we needed more than righteous outrage we needed real weapons to defend ourselves SHIELD would create a new zoning classification locking in community use for these critical facilities and requiring full inhabitants review before any attempt to privatize or convert them If Trump or anyone else tries to auction off the buildings that working New Yorkers rely on SHIELD will give us the power to stop them Mitchell-Lama ROOF and SHIELD aren t just standalone ideas They are part of a comprehensive strategy one that meets the multiple crises we face as it relates to housing and land use by building new affordable family-sized homes reclaiming neglected properties and defending our residents assets Other candidates have offered housing plans But here s the difference I don t just talk a big meeting I know how to use every tool in the city s toolbox to deliver results As city comptroller I protected billions of taxpayer dollars and rooted out waste and corruption As Manhattan borough president I reformed broken land use processes and gave neighborhoods a real say in their future To get there New York doesn t need another politician pursuing an agenda that inflates his ego rather than meets the city s demands or others offering empty unrealistic promises Instead we need practical plans effective tools to fix what s broken and true leadership The crises are severe The solutions are ready What s missing is effective experienced and ethical leadership and that s what I offer Scott Stringer is a lifelong New Yorker and father of two children who attend New York City populace schools and live in a two-bedroom apartment He has served as city comptroller Manhattan borough president and state assemblymember and is presently running in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City The post Opinion The Housing Zoning Tools NYC Requirements to Fix What s Broken appeared first on City Limits