New York City is facing a worsening housing crisis. Decades of restrictive public policy including a regressive property tax system that discourages rental housing development, profligate landmarking, and onerous public approvals coupled with rising land and construction costs has resulted in lackluster housing production.
Simultaneously, New York has remained a beacon for talented and ambitious people. Population and jobs have grown at an enviable rate. The result is that demand far outstrips supply, driving up rents and creating housing scarcity. The city must build half a million new rental apartments by 2030 — and we are not even close to that pace today.
In a city where two-thirds of residents are renters, the rising cost of housing poses an existential threat to New York’s 400-year-old formula of success — that people, including my grandparents, come to our city and build a better life for themselves and their families. When rents become unaffordable, talented people are discouraged from moving here, long-term residents are priced-out, working people struggle to pay rent, and young families flee cramped apartments to more affordable places.
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Thankfully, over the last few years, even the most stubborn refuseniks have abandoned the mantra that “we cannot build our way out of the housing crisis” and have acknowledged that we must increase supply. The challenge now is that we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We must build more apartments — both at market and below-market rates — in every way possible.
The steps forward are clear. Changes must be made to outdated zoning rules to enable more density, especially in transit-rich areas; incentives are needed amid high construction and land costs with a universal understanding that housing production is expensive. Lingering “NIMBY” voices must not be given veto power over housing that could offer a lifeline to families of all backgrounds and income levels.
Unfortunately, New York continues to struggle with a development pathology in which the path is obstructed by endless handwringing and debate. Some say taller buildings are fine, but not in certain neighborhoods or without approval. Others say that even if a project includes affordable housing, can’t it be made even more affordable. Others push for prevailing wage rates that go beyond market rates and make it virtually impossible to build.
For example, 421a was created to generate housing, not as an affordable housing program. Layering greater amounts and deeper levels of affordability onto mixed income projects produces less overall housing. The workforce housing option of the former 421a produced a tremendous number of units but was politically unpopular because they were targeted for the income of municipal workers, not the very poor.
The real estate industry takes all these issues seriously. We believe in thoughtful development that supports community growth, we understand the importance of below-market rate housing, and we value working with organized labor to ensure that workers receive fair and competitive wages.
If we are to address our worsening housing crisis and continue attracting new residents while reducing homelessness and rent burden, these discussions must be part of a results-oriented path forward — not as obstacles preventing progress. When obstacles become the norm, government must step in with subsidies just to make development possible — and that is not an economically viable long-term solution.
The good news is that we have recently seen more cracks in the calcified system paralyzing housing development. Mayor Adams pledged to make New York a “City of Yes” for mixed-income housing and is pushing for zoning and policy changes to make that possible.
Gov. Hochul proposed impressive housing plans earlier this year, and after those plans were thwarted by the Legislature — which let the perfect by the enemy of the good — she released an important new plan. The state Empire State Development Corp. will allow projects that are fully approved and qualified for the Affordable New York program to move forward despite a quirk in the law that required they complete by June 2026. The completion deadline, inserted by the previous mayor, did not contemplate the supply chain issue of the pandemic or the current difficult lending environment.
In a city and state where it is so challenging to find consensus on the issue of housing, leaders like the mayor and governor have every political reason to sit back and do nothing. But they know that the housing crisis will not resolve itself, and they are to be applauded for their action. It is vital for all elected officials and stakeholders to work to create new housing opportunities for New Yorkers and support the future of our great city.
Source : Daily News