Image from the second mayoral debate featuring several of the mayoral candidates. Image Credit: WABC-TV
The Mayoral Election will help shape the City’s land use and housing policymaking decisions. Between now and June 20th, early voting is available for the NYC Primary, in which New Yorkers will help decide who will be the next Mayor of New York City. Over the course of their campaigns, mayoral candidates have developed and shared their positions on a variety of land use and housing issues including developing affordable housing, handling the eviction and homelessness crisis, revising land use review processes, how to develop underutilized space, NYCHA, and building inspections.
Below, CityLand staff have compiled summaries of the mayoral candidates’ positions on these issues. Candidates are presented in alphabetical order by last name.
Candidate: Eric Adams
Website: https://ericadams2021.com/housing/
Affordable Housing:
Mr. Adams plans to increase affordable housing by repurposing city office buildings and decreasing the number of in-person workers, and changing zoning laws to allow vacant hotels and private office buildings to transition into affordable housing. Mr. Adams would also change zoning laws to allow the leasing of basement apartments, SROs (single room occupancy units) and other small units. Mr. Adams would also fast-track the City’s 15/15 Supportive Housing Initiative by five years, aiming to create 15,000 units of supportive housing in ten years instead of fifteen. Adams’ plan would increase the value of housing vouchers to match the current housing market rate, and streamline rent-relief programs by creating a common application and a centralized location to check application status. Lastly, Adams would also support Mitchell-Lama housing, an affordable housing stock for middle class New Yorkers, and combat discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders with legislation specifying penalties for real estate brokers who engage in source-of-income discrimination.
Other housing/land use issues:
Adams proposes creating more live/work communities with a mix of residential, commercial, and retail space to replace some single-use areas that have suffered during the pandemic. Adams also suggests granting community development corporations and non-profit land trusts funding and property to bring economic investments into their neighborhoods. Adams would also give faith-based institutions the tools to provide housing, shift the property tax burden off of renters and homeowners in less-affluent areas, and end the City’s lien sale system. Adams would cut costs by allowing building inspections to be completed by drones, and would also adopt pet-friendly housing policies to prevent renters from having to bring animals to shelters.
In order to reform NYCHA, Adams would force agency transparency, and would support residents impacted by lead paint exposure with rent relief and with an investigation into officials responsible for the exposure. Adams would generate revenue for NYCHA by selling air rights above NYCHA properties, which would generate roughly $8 billion in funding, and would engage the federal government’s PACT to Preserve program to transition some housing complexes into private management to provide extra funding for improvements.
Candidate: Art Chang
Website: https://www.chang.nyc/housing
Affordable Housing:
To address the affordable housing crisis, Mr. Chang wants to re-assess City-owned property in underutilized spaces like parking lots and through air rights to start for places to increase density and build low-income housing. He wants to help fund more affordable housing through a redistribution of the City Budget. Mr. Chang wants more transparency with housing data, and to facilitate the conversion of underutilized office space into residential or creative spaces like for the arts. Mr. Chang also supports community-led rezoning plans that prevent displacement of families, small businesses and local organizations.
Other housing/land use issues:
Mr. Chang proposes extending the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums to March 2022, and open discussions with banks to restructure mortgages and extend payments, with the aim of alleviating rental debt by cancelling landlords’ accrued debt. Mr. Chang wants to rethink temporary emergency housing, and how to bring people into shelter quickly, with the next goal of coordinating the delivery of supportive housing services to unhoused people. Mr. Chang is opposed to proposals that turn NYCHA over to private control and wants to explore forms of tenant ownership for NYCHA residents through social ownership, limited cooperatives or other structures. Mr. Chang supports the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act.
Candidate: Shaun Donovan
Website: https://shaunfornyc.com/issues/housing/
Affordable Housing:
Shaun Donovan is the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama. Mr. Donovan believes in using a new mixed-income model to create more affordable housing with deeply affordable units. He wants to invest $4 billion per year in capital funding for affordable housing creation and preservation. Mr. Donovan believes the need to reform outdated zoning laws that keep underutilized commercial and manufacturing buildings from the reach of the city’s residential needs. To change these zoning laws, he suggests an expedited reform of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
Other housing/land use issues:
Mr. Donovan believes NYCHA is underfunded and mismanaged. In order to bring new cash to the program, he seeks to reroute $2 billion in funding to NYCHA. Further, he aims reduce its operating costs by implementing energy-efficient investments that capture savings upfront and lead to healthier and more comfortable living experiences. To address the management issues, Mr. Donovan suggests a departure from the current top-down strategy by giving NYCHA’s residents the opportunity to participate in a neighborhood-based management structure. For example, he suggests putting tenant representatives on the Board of Directors of the NYCHA and then having the Board elect their own CEO. Mr. Donovan’s housing plans include a shift from investments in emergency, temporary housing to investments in more accessible and permanent housing. To do this, he plans to implement a large-scale Rent Assistance Program, which would help to keep struggling households in their current homes.
Candidate: Kathryn Garcia
Website: https://www.kgfornyc.com/policy/housing-2/
Affordable Housing:
Ms. Garcia wants to create 50,000 new affordable housing units for those making 50 percent below the area median income. She also wants to end discriminatory zoning and rezone land to build affordable housing in neighborhoods that are rich in transit, jobs, and schools. Ms. Garcia wants to purchase empty or underused private properties, and convert those properties into 10,000 supportive housing units for those at-risk of or experiencing homelessness. She also wants to legalize basement, accessory dwelling, and single-room occupancy (SRO) units to provide housing for single-adult households, which account for one-third of City households.
Other housing/land use issues:
Ms. Garcia is a former interim Chair of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). She plans on leveraging federal dollars from Section 8 and other federal programs to make repairs like fixing elevators, mold issues, and installing new boilers to NYCHA buildings. She also wants to accelerate new housing construction by streamlining the Uniform Land Review Procedure (ULURP), environmental review process, and permit applications and inspections.
Candidate: Ray McGuire
Website: https://www.rayformayor.com/housing
Affordable housing:
Mr. McGuire plans to increase the amount of housing by ten percent with an increase in 350,000 units over eight years, including rent-regulated housing, market rate housing and using existing space that can be activated for affordable dwellings. Mr. McGuire plans to use city capital funds for deeply affordable housing, focusing a majority of the $2.5 billion spent on building housing for units at 50 percent AMI or less. Mr. McGuire’s plan includes a citywide rezoning, changing zoning regulations to prioritize construction on existing underutilized city-owned properties and selling or transferring ari rights of city-owned buildings. His plan also includes converting up to ten percent of the city’s hotel stock into affordable housing. Mr. McGuire wants to explore employer-subsidized housing and zoning bonuses. Mr. McGuire wants to expand legal basement apartments and other accessory dwelling units, and change floor area ratio restrictions to allow homeowners to build ancillary units on their property. Mr. McGuire also has plans to dedicate up to $500 million in city capital to help create affordable housing for seniors and developing a tax credit to incentivize building senior housing.
Other housing/ land use issues:
Mr. McGuire wants to prevent evictions with an increase in up to $400 million in rental subsidies and vouchers, address the bureaucracy in accessing rental assistance, improving shelter support services and targeting support for individuals at high risk of homelessness. Mr. McGuire wants to reduce construction costs by reducing the bureaucracy involved in getting project approvals and permits, adjusting building codes and using more prefabricated and modular construction projects. Mr. McGuire wants to invest up to $1.5 billion a year into NYCHA and help secure federal and state resources for NYCHA to fund repairs, lead and mold removal, and safety improvements. Mr. McGuire wants more workforce training and other employment opportunities for NYCHA residents. Mr. McGuire has plans to expand the Home First down payment assistance program and other programs like zoning bonuses to promote home ownership.
Candidate: Dianne Morales
Website: https://www.dianne.nyc/housing
Affordable housing:
Ms. Morales believes in a right to housing for all. Ms. Morales wants to get rid of the 421a and 485a tax incentives, which she believes are an inefficient way to create affordable housing. Ms. Morales supports Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA), which allows tenants the right to intervene in the sale, foreclosure or demolition of their building to convert it to permanently affordable and community controlled housing. Ms. Morales wants to make better use of existing housing infrastructure by eliminating single-family zoning and legalizing basement and accessory dwellings and flexible zoning that allows for the conversion of hotels and vacant office space into affordable housing.
Other housing/land use issues:
Ms. Morales plans to appoint a deputy mayor to coordinate a citywide effort to address housing displacement and vulnerability, including shifting the $3 billion annual shelter budget toward preventative measures. She plans on increasing city rental assistance and eligibility, and advocating to extend the eviction moratorium and rollback rent to pre-pandemic rates. Ms. Morales plans to pilot a resident management corporation in a NYCHA complex in each borough to center resident decision making . Ms. Morales does not support projects aimed at privatizing section 8 housing. Ms. Morales supports funding the right to counsel for tenant services and protecting other tenant rights.
Candidate: Scott Stringer
Website: https://stringerformayor.com/plans/housing-affordability/
Affordable Housing:
Mr. Stringer plans to make every neighborhood affordable for residents through a Universal Affordable Housing Mandate that will require developers to make 25 percent of their units permanently affordable. He also plans to replace developer-driven rezoning with more comprehensive planning and allow tenants to build credit through their rent payments. Mr. Stringer plans to help renters stay in their homes and keep small landlords financially sound by expanding both voucher usability and the right to counsel for residents and providing financial assistance to small landlords and non-profits.
Other housing/land use issues:
Mr. Stringer plans to create more housing for residents, reduce homelessness, and invest in NYCHA. To create more housing, he is looking to convert vacant hotels and commercial spaces into various kinds of housing, build new social housing, build permanent housing for low-income families, and allow homeowners to build accessory dwelling units. To combat homelessness, Mr. Stringer is looking to set aside 15 percent of all city-funded units to house the formerly homeless and reduce shelter population. He is also looking to increase the availability of stabilization and safe-haven beds, increase domestic violence shelter capacity, provide supportive housing, and more. Mr. Stringer also plans to reform NYCHA and invest billions of dollars to make repairs.
Candidate: Maya Wiley
Website: https://www.mayawileyformayor.com/housing/
Affordable Housing:
To address the affordable housing crisis, Ms. Wiley wants to ensure that the City only invests public money or land where there is a clear public benefit; that there is affordable rent for all individuals and families making 50 percent or less than the area median income; reform and expand the rental assistance program; expand and preserve the affordable housing on public land to promote equity; and create a community land bank to help provide the funding.
Other housing/land use Issues:
Ms. Wiley wants to keep public housing public. She wants to invest in NYCHA, improve the quality and habitability of NYCHA housing and integrate it into the City’s enforcement code. Ms. Wiley wants to invest in and create NYCHA resident programs that support the families there and address the violence in and around NYCHA by addressing the root causes. Ms. Wiley wants to expand homeownership and wealth-building for New Yorkers. Her plans include reforming the tax lien sale, creating affordable housing through the Accessory Dwelling Unit (AUD) conversions, and supporting first-time owners through community land trusts. Ms. Wiley wants to create opportunities for renters to purchase properties where they already live to avoid further gentrification. Ms. Wiley wants to decrease homelessness by enforcing a solid eviction moratorium for the duration of the pandemic and ensuing economic crisis and creating permanent supportive housing to reduce the single adult shelter population and street homeless. She wants the city to acquire hotels and other distressed properties to convert into permanent housing and provide specific support. Ms. Wiley wants to stop landlord discrimination against those who have used government assistance or involved with the criminal justice system.
Candidate: Andrew Yang
Website: https://www.yangforny.com/policies/
Affordable housing:
Andrew Yang has developed numerous policies to address the affordable housing crisis. Mr. Yang wants to invest $4 billion annually in affordable housing. Through this funding, Mr. Yang intends to convert empty and underused hotels and office buildings into permanent residences suitable for families, singles, and couples. Additionally, Mr. Yang wants to create avenues to simplify the process of locating rent-stabilized housing and encourage landlords to provide rent-stabilized leases. Mr. Yang intends to create more partnerships with community-based organizations that put the tenant’s needs first and grow the number of community land trusts in the City.
Other housing/land use issues:
As the pandemic exacerbates the homelessness crisis, Andrew Yang proposes increasing the amount of homeless outreach community centers and fortifying eviction protection to prevent homelessness rates from increasing. Further, Mr. Yang is a proponent of the Green New Deal for public housing. This deal reduces carbon pollution, which will have a significant impact on cutting down energy costs. Lastly, Mr. Yang intends to remedy the crumbling infrastructure within the public housing system that causes psychological and physical strains to public housing residents.
Early voting runs through June 20th, and the Primary election is on June 22nd. For more information about where to vote and other elections that will be available on your ballot, click here. For more information about ranked-choice voting – the new form of voting being used in New York City – please check out CityLand’s prior coverage here.
By: Victoria Agosta, Taylor Barje, Haley Fallin, Patrick McNeill, Nicholas Negron, Juliet Spile (CityLaw Interns and New York Law School students, Class of 2022) and Veronica Rose (CityLaw Fellow and New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2018.)