De Blasio Unveils $41 Billion Plan for Affordable Housing
By Henry Goldman May 5, 2014 11:07 AM ET
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio presented plans to build and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing in the next decade by increasing rent protections for the poor and requiring developers to include below-market apartments in newly zoned areas.
The $41.1 billion program, paid for with city, state, federal and private funds, would focus 60 percent on preservation and 40 percent on new construction. About $8.2 billion of the cost would be borne by the city, according to a 116-page report detailing the plan, which de Blasio called the “largest, fastest” affordable-housing program ever attempted at the local level.
De Blasio, 52, a self-described progressive and the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years, took office in January after describing income inequality as the most serious issue facing the most populous U.S. city. He turned his attention to housing today after pushing the state legislature in March to grant the city $300 million to institute universal all-day pre-kindergarten.
“In a progressive city, everyone should have the opportunity for affordable housing, and that’s what this plan sets out to achieve,” de Blasio said today at a Brooklyn news conference. “It’s a housing plan, yes, but it’s also a plan to address income inequality.”
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-05/de-blasio-unveils-41-billion-plan-for-affordable-housing.html
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