Opinion: A Housing Blueprint for New York

My comprehensive housing initiative called the Blueprint for New York proposes the addition of over units annually with a groundbreaking approach to affordability setting rents at percent of each borough s median income Jim Walden an attorney and former federal prosecutor who is running for mayor in November Courtesy Jim Walden s campaign Editor s Note City Limits has offered 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 Read Zohran Mamdani s housing op-ed here Every day New Yorkers face the challenging choice between paying rent and meeting their other basic necessities The city s housing dilemma is not just a protocol failure it s a moral one Our housing system has left too a large number of behind with sky-high rents options that are not truly affordable an aged and deteriorating housing stock and populace housing in disrepair This problem is not insurmountable With bold leadership and innovative solutions we can rebuild New York s promise for all who call it home My comprehensive housing initiative called the Blueprint for New York proposes the addition of over units annually with a groundbreaking approach to affordability setting rents at percent of each borough s median income Too often affordable housing is affordable in name only Rents are pegged to the Area Median Income AMI a metric skewed by the city s wealthiest zip codes as well as parts of Westchester Putnam and Rockland counties leaving a large number of New Yorkers priced out One summary aptly concluded that the current AMI calculation was wildly divergent from actual income levels in New York City We will replace this broken model with a revolutionary approach rent set at percent of each borough s median income At the core of any meaningful housing approach must be a commitment to revitalizing NYCHA our city s inhabitants housing lifeline My plan centers on increasing NYCHA s quality of life through a pilot initiative that builds out to the street transforming underused lawns and parking lots into new modern homes The added benefit is transforming segregated and capital-starved communities into economically integrated ones but with supports to guard against gentrification By adopting a build-first approach current residents will move into new buildings before older ones are demolished so that no one is displaced The plan also offers a path toward economic independence a initiative for ownership and a key to unlock the door to generational wealth My initiative tackles New York City s housing shortage through a variety of other strategies including a re-evaluation of laws like -x to restore effective developer incentives that spur both construction and job creation It also proposes repurposing underused assets among the city s properties to make them available for new residential rise To convert vacant commercial buildings into homes the plan would adjust zoning codes and relax certain design requirements making these transformations faster and more cost-effective More than acres of abandoned lots including sites in need of environmental remediation would be rehabilitated and put to productive use as affordable housing We will auction unnecessary properties pre-approve building designs to speed construction and allow flexible design rules for affordable units maximizing every square foot for the benefit of New Yorkers We will also acquire and auction vacant commercial spaces and zombie buildings which are a blight on our neighborhoods and a wasted opportunity In short we will use all available tools and leave no stone unturned But we will not force large developments in communities that do not want or need them giving local communities more control over maturation We will empower local boards to approve targeted upzoning so that housing meets the demands and character of each neighborhood To cut through bureaucratic red tape my plan creates a single dedicated agency partnering with the Real Estate Board of New York to shepherd projects from approval to ribbon-cutting with a goal of six months for small developments and months for larger ones While doing all this we will also innovate to make our existing system better for landlords and tenants To better protect tenants we will create a new licensing system that holds bad landlords accountable and in extreme circumstances will take away their right to be landlords at all For landlords we will create a better system to extract abusive tenants through private arbitration streamlining the process and reducing the backlog that plagues our housing courts This means faster resolutions and real consequences for bad actors Absolutely with all these benefits realized developers will certainly make considerable profits But there is one more major innovation after projects are completed we will impose a value-added tax VAT on profits Why Because my plan aims to give disadvantaged kids a head start in life paid for by developers The VAT will fund a Kids in Poverty activity which I devised based on an idea from Bill Ackman For the roughly kids born into poverty the KIP will assign a numerical account to each newborn where the money will grow during their pre-adult lives As long as these kids attend school regularly it will provide at least to each at adulthood which would be ample for funding college putting a downpayment on a home or totally having a nest egg In this way we can use our housing solutions to help erase poverty Unlike other proposals the Blueprint for New York is supported by a comprehensive -page blueprint which identifies funding sources for its components By speeding the advance we will add more than truly affordable units annually In the earliest years of the initiative there will be set-asides for seniors community servants and young professionals These set-asides reflect a necessary commitment to our senior and general servants and will help with recruiting more police firefighters and corrections officers but will also help our business public attract the best and brightest young workers on which our business activity and prosperity depends While detailed and ambitious this plan is specific and achievable It is a plan that puts people ahead of politics and delivers real results not more excuses Jim Walden is an attorney and former federal prosecutor who is running as an independent in the November general vote for New York City mayor The post Opinion A Housing Blueprint for New York appeared first on City Limits