Page 14 - The Indian EYE 071924

COMMUNITY OP-ED JULY 19, 2024 | The Indian Eye 14

City of Yes: A Little More Housing

in Every Neighborhood

There is a growing chorus of voices all across the city saying ‘yes’ to our City of Yes proposal

ERIC ADAMS

ERIC ADAMS

ur city is facing a generational
housing crisis with a vacancy
Orate at 1.4 percent, and half
of all New York renters are paying
more than 30 percent of their income
in rent. The only way to solve this The Department of City Planning estimates that our City of Yes plan could produce as many as 108,850 new homes over the next 15 years (File/Agency photo)
crisis is simple: build more. That re-
quires all of us to say ‘yes’ to a little Yorker who has spent a lifetime in the neighborhoods, and we respect that. housing vouchers.
more housing in every neighborhood family business only to find herself That’s why the Department of City Together, with the City Council,
and ‘yes’ to ‘City of Yes for Hous- unable to pay rent on a fixed income, Planning held extensive outreach and we recently delivered an adopted
ing Opportunity’ plan — the most and the new parents who cannot af- engagement with New Yorkers, in- budget that invests $2 billion more
pro-housing zoning proposal in New ford a big enough apartment to raise cluding holding 10 public information in capital funds across Fiscal Year
York City’s history. their family. These are the everyday sessions and two years of meetings 2025 and 2026 to the Department of
There is a growing chorus of New Yorkers impacted by this hous- with impacted stakeholders to make Housing Preservation and Develop-
voices all across the city saying ‘yes’ ing crisis. sure we did this right. We want to build ment and the New York City Housing
to our City of Yes proposal. Last The crisis reached its peak be- more and protect what New York- Authority’s capital budgets. In total,
week, the New York City Planning cause for too long, New York City ers love about their neighborhood, our administration has committed a
Commission held an all-day hearing has been at the mercy at folks who and we can do just that. City of Yes record $26 billion in housing capital
on the proposal with over 200 New have said ‘no.’ In our administration, allows us to meet this crisis head on in the current 10-year plan, ensuring
Yorkers testifying — the majority we continue to proudly say ‘yes’ — and ensure that no one neighborhood that our dollars go towards solving
of which voicing their support. And ‘yes’ to a little more housing in every has to carry the responsibility of de- this housing crisis.
they weren’t alone. Last week, the neighborhood. livering all the housing the city needs. It is time for a powerful new
borough presidents in the Bronx, The changes we are proposing will From the very start of this admin- housing agenda — one that acknowl-
Brooklyn, and Manhattan, as well as do more than just add new buildings. istration, we have been advocating for edges the need to build more hous-
LGBTQ+ advocates and AARP also The Department of City Planning bold, forward-thinking solutions to ing is more important than preserv-
stood up to proudly say ‘yes’ as well. estimates that our City of Yes plan deliver the housing that New York- ing the old ways of doing things. By
If passed, City of Yes would allow could produce as many as 108,850 ers need and make our city more af- building a little more housing in every
us to finally address the longstand- new homes over the next 15 years. fordable. We have already notched neighborhood, we can set our city on
ing housing shortage that has made These are not just numbers, they are important victories, including creat- course for a more equitable and af-
life difficult and unaffordable for far homes that will allow New Yorkers ing the second-most new affordable fordable future. Our administration is
too many hardworking New Yorkers. to stay in the city they love, retire in homes in one year, producing the saying ‘yes’ and we are calling on the
Everybody has a story: The would-be the communities they grew up in, and most-new supportive homes and City Council this fall to stand with us
homeowners outbid by cash buyers or welcome new generations of young homes for formerly homeless New and vote ‘yes’ for the City of Yes for
a private equity firm, the firefighter people, families, and immigrants. Yorkers ever, and connecting more Housing Opportunity.
who cannot afford to live in the neigh- We know that New Yorkers feel New Yorkers than ever before to Eric Adams is the Mayor of
borhood he serves, the older New strongly about the character of their permanent homes with CityFHEPS New York City, NY

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