NYC Council Progressive Caucus, Comptroller, Public Advocate & Housing Orgs Launch Affordable Housing Budget Campaign

New York, NY — The New York City Council Progressive Caucus today joined Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the Association of Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), Housing Justice for All, New York City Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI), the Professional Staff Congress of CUNY (PSC-CUNY), CIR-SEIU, UAW-9A, United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and dozens of grassroots housing organizations to launch Homes Now, Homes for Generations—a city-focused affordable housing campaign for the Fiscal Year 2025 budget cycle. City progressives joined forces in light of the worst affordability crisis New Yorkers have faced in decades—driven in large part by housing costs—to put forward common-sense investments in affordable home ownership and tenant protections.

The Homes Now, Homes for Generation campaign aims to quadruple the City’s investment in affordable homeownership (through investing in NYC Department of Housing & Preservation Development’s (HPD) Open Door program) and make good on the City’s promise from 2018 to prevent the displacement of tenants by preserving 7,000 rent-stabilized units (through revitalizing HPD’s Neighborhood Pillars Program).

“Cities like New York are cities of opportunity, and if we don’t provide spaces for people to come and live and stay—and stay for generations—then we’re failing. The market will never deliver homes at the affordability levels that low-income and working-class New Yorkers need, and the investments we call for in this campaign present an opportunity to permanently create and preserve homes for them, ensuring our city remains a city of opportunity,” said Council Member Pierina Sanchez, Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings.

​​”New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet, with many feeling rent-burdened and others at the brink of homelessness. As we navigate the housing crisis, we must consider long-term solutions to create better pathways to home ownership and housing stability. My district has the largest number of rent-stabilized housing, yet 48% of households are rent-burdened. Homes Now, Homes for Generations is a way to uplift existing programs and increase housing stock that is dignified and stable,” said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, Chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor.

“The greatest challenge for New Yorkers is how to afford living in New York City—and the number one expense is housing,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. “As the city faces fewer and fewer units of available affordable housing and rising rents push more and more low-income and working class New Yorkers out of the five boroughs, the City must finance housing programs that will ensure generations of New Yorkers who have lived in and built New York City can stay here. We’re proud to launch the Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign alongside the Progressive Caucus and a strong coalition of housing advocates, faith leaders, and labor because together, we can chart a path out of the housing crisis.”

While the Mayor has prioritized loosening zoning regulations, private market solutions alone won’t fix this crisis. The most powerful tool the City has to address the housing crisis is the ability to finance and preserve new, permanently affordable housing. This $2 billion, spent over 4 years, would lay the groundwork for the City to scale up its long legacy of permanently affordable housing. These two programs will create new homeownership opportunities for an additional 3,500 New York families and preserve and rehabilitate rent-stabilized units for nearly 7,000 households.

Background on Neighborhood Pillars 

• HPD’s Neighborhood Pillars Program started in December 2018 and was intended to help affordable housing developers and community-based groups compete in the private real estate market.
• Neighborhood Pillars provides loans and tax exemptions so mission-driven organizations can rehabilitate and maintain rent-stabilized units at risk of deregulation as permanently affordable housing.
• The City put this program on the back burner in June 2019 and preserved less than 400 units since the program was launched in December 2018. Increased funding would scale this program back up to its original vision, which is to preserve nearly 7000 rent-stabilized units.
• The City should revitalize the program and update its term sheets to more effectively facilitate the removal for housing from the speculative marketplace, renovate, and retrofit units to improve living conditions, achieve climate goals, and put regulatory agreements in place to ensure ongoing affordability. For more on Neighborhood Pillars, see here.

Background on Open Door:

• The City currently finances very little homeownership – less than 1,500 units since 2017.
• Additional funding for new construction could create wealth-building opportunities especially for communities of color who have been historically excluded from homeownership.
• The city has existing models for multi-family homeownership development such as the Open Doors program; however, this program is currently funded at a minimal amount of $100M per year.
• We are proposing increasing the annual Open Door budget by four times, which would create new homeownership opportunities for an additional 3,500 New York families.

“Working class and people of color are being squeezed out of New York because there isn’t enough affordable housing,” said Council Member and Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Sandy Nurse. “Despite billions in subsidies and exemptions over the last few decades, the private market has failed to deliver on its affordable housing promises and it is clear that the City must put more resources into creating affordable housing. Today’s launch of the Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign is not only a positive vision for community-controlled and permanently affordable housing – it is also a rejection of the Mayor’s cruel austerity budget games. There is no greater challenge facing our City than affordable housing and I look forward to securing more housing for all working class New Yorkers.

“The housing crisis is threatening the ability of so many New Yorkers to remain in the City that they love,” said Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Shahana Hanif. “From the renters being pushed out of their longtime neighborhoods, to the asylum seekers being evicted from shelter, to families seeing their dreams of homeownership falling further out of reach—this is affecting all of us. In this urgent moment, I’m proud that the Progressive Caucus is leading the Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign alongside the Comptroller, the Public Advocate, and our partners from the labor and housing movements. With this powerful coalition fighting shoulder to shoulder, I know we’re going to win.”

“According to the NYC Housing Tracker, over half of residents in District 38 are rent burdened. Plus, with last year’s Fiscal Policy Institute report showing working class people are choosing to pack their bags and go rather than stick it out, status quo housing policies are radically transforming our city into a playground for the very rich. Our people are hurting and the City of New York must use all of the tools in the box to guide us out of a mess manufactured by the greed of the real estate industry. With inaction in Washington and Albany, the Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign allows us to lead by example, preserving and building the kinds of dignified housing that advocates have been rallying for for years. Let’s get this done,” said Council Member Alexa Avilés.

“I support this initiative. We need an all-of-the-above approach: social housing, zoning for density near transit, tenant protections, eliminating parking minimums, accessory dwelling units, abundant supply, and more,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher. “Let’s reject the either/or scarcity mindset and act with urgency to produce hundreds of thousands of units of housing for all incomes.”

“To achieve the public safety outcomes everyday New Yorkers need and deserve, the time is now to invest in permanently affordable homes, democratically owned and controlled by the people who live there, in conjunction with the public,” said Council Member Tiffany Cabán. “The essence of public safety isn’t obedience extracted under the threat of violence, but healthy communities, with the local resources, public goods, and economic security necessary for residents to form rich social bonds with those around them. That’s what investing in social housing gets us.”

“New Yorkers can only thrive if they have access to affordable, safe, and dignified housing. Keeping people in their homes is a necessity for our city’s vitality. Homes Now, Homes for Generations isn’t a novel concept; it’s a call to invest in proven programs. Investments in housing not only provide shelter, but also foster stronger, more diverse communities. By honoring our promises to preserve and build affordable housing, we ensure a healthier future for all residents,” said Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.

“The Homes Now, Homes for Generations Campaign will be an important component in alleviating New York’s crushing housing crisis,” said City Council Member Chi Ossé. “We face trouble on multiple fronts, from a crippling housing shortage to a decline in rent-stabilized stock. Working-class people are being driven out of the city that they and their families built in a trend we are obligated to stop. By emphasizing the importance of long-term family-oriented solutions like investment in homeownership and rehabilitating rent-stabilized units, this plan will be one bold progressive step toward an end to this crisis.”

“New York City is becoming more and more unaffordable. We need to prioritize major new investments in affordable housing to create the affordable housing our constituents urgently need,” said City Council Member Lincoln Restler.

“The housing shortage and affordability crisis deserve urgent action and are resulting in displacement and impacting the collective identity of our city. Stable housing is a pillar of wellbeing, and City leadership is taking action to address supply needs, explore zoning changes, and invest in community ownership opportunities to get housing back in the hands of New Yorkers,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “I’m proud of my work to advance community land trusts and social housing policies and look forward to working with City leadership and the Progressive Caucus on the Homes for Now, Homes for Generations campaign.”

“If our city is to solve this housing crisis, we must treat housing as a basic right of all New Yorkers. This plan does exactly that. By investing $2 billion over the next four years, we will make sure that the city does its part to provide New Yorkers with affordable homes and opportunities for affordable homeownership. I am proud to stand with the Progressive Caucus, the NYC Comptroller and housing advocates across this city to call for Homes Now, Homes for Generations,” said Council Member Shekar Krishnan.

“I know first-hand what it’s like to be evicted from your home—it’s what my family went through when I was a kid, it’s what my clients went through when I was a tenant lawyer, and it’s what I still see happening every day in Upper Manhattan. For too long, our city has restricted the amount of housing, driven down affordability, and stripped families of the dignity of staying in their homes,” said Council Member Shaun Abreu. “The solution is well known: to house New Yorkers, we need to protect rent stabilized units and we need to build. That is what we are doing today by calling for the revival of and reinvestment in the Neighborhood Pillars and Open Door programs.”

“Community-controlled housing – built and preserved by New Yorkers for New Yorkers – will make our city more affordable, more livable, and more equitable while creating new, high-paying jobs. The UFT stands ready to help make this happen,” said Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers. 

“Our membership demands permanent, truly affordable housing, so the working class folks who make New York City run, can thrive in New York City. In UAW Region 9A, we know that our record tcontract victories mean nothing, if the rents continue to outpace our gains,” said Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A Director. “We are proud to be part of the Homes Now, Homes for Generations launch because it is long past time we fight back. Along with Comptroller Lander, Public Advocate Williams, and the Progressive Caucus, UAW Region 9A is proud to stand up for our future.”

“Wages have not kept up with the skyrocketing cost of housing in and around NYC, impacting the lives of our faculty, staff and students,” said James Davis, President of Professional Staff Congress (PSC) CUNY. “It is refreshing to see a plan respond to this crisis to empower communities to preserve homes and scale up existing programs, facilitating cooperative, affordable home ownership. On behalf of the 30,000 workers represented by the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, we are proud to support the Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign, for our members and the future of our students.”

“The current housing crisis demands that all levels of government do their part to make housing affordable and accessible for all,” said Ana María Archila, Co-Director of the New York Working Families Party. “We’re proud to join our allies in city government in support of the Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign. By making deep investments in affordable home ownership and tenant protections, we stabilize our neighborhoods and ensure safe housing for more New Yorkers.”

“After years of struggle against their landlord, the tenants of a 20-unit rent stabilized building in East New York and the East New York Community Land Trust (ENYCLT) launched a campaign to acquire their building in June 2023. Just one week ago, ENYCLT purchased their building,” said Hannah Anousheh, Campaigns Director, East New York Community Land Trust. “Now we begin the critical work of stabilizing building conditions after years of deferred maintenance and working with the tenants to collectively manage their building and ultimately own their apartments. We have proven that a grassroots resident-led CLT like ours and a group of tenants can come together and purchase a private building quickly. Now we need city capital funding to rehab this building and COPA legislation to scale this model of community-controlled and deeply affordable housing across NYC.”

“New York City urgently needs community land trusts (CLTs) and resident-controlled housing to combat displacement and address our city’s deepening affordability crisis,” said Elise Goldin, Campaign Organizer at New Economy Project. “Our organization and hundreds of others are fighting for the Community Land Act, a set of bills to dramatically expand the supply of deeply and permanently affordable housing stewarded by CLTs and other qualified nonprofits. Homes Now, Homes for Generations would provide critically needed funding to these groups to build and maintain the deeply and permanently affordable housing our communities desperately need.”

“We are organized, we are on rent strike, we have worked with Community Voices Heard and legal services, but we need other solutions,” said Carlos Rodriguez, Tenant Leader with Community Voices Heard. “If we had Neighborhood Pillars, my neighbors and I could work with community organizations to rehabilitate my building so we wouldn’t have to rely on our greedy and unresponsive landlord. We shouldn’t have to fight so hard to live with dignity.”

“New York’s Mitchell-Lama program is the most successful affordable housing program in the nation,” said Katy Bordonaro, Board Member of Tenants & Neighbors and the Mitchell-Lama Residents Coalition. “Sheltering low and middle-income New York renters and owners for over 60 years, Mitchell-Lama needs to be preserved and strengthened.”

“The Homes Now, Homes for Generations campaign is not just a policy initiative; it’s a moral imperative. We cannot tolerate a city where families are forced out of their homes due to skyrocketing rents and unfair housing practices. It’s time for our city leaders to prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable among us and invest in solutions that provide stability and opportunity for all New Yorkers,” said Whitney Hu, Director of Civic Engagement & Research for Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH). “By quadrupling the City’s investment in affordable homeownership and preserving rent-stabilized units, we can lay the groundwork for a future where housing is truly affordable and accessible for all New Yorkers.”

“Our clients and all New Yorkers desperately need permanently affordable housing in the face of the worst housing and affordability crisis in decades,” said Judith Goldiner, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “We are proud to join this coalition of Council Members, citywide electeds, labor unions, and others, to launch ‘Homes Now, Homes for Generations,’ and quadruple the City’s investment in affordable homeownership, and preserve rent-stabilized housing.”

“New York’s housing crisis is driven by real estate speculation and an industry that demands excessive profit on the backs of working class families and low income tenants,” said Cea Weaver, Director of the Housing Justice for All coalition. “Homes Now, Homes for Generations provides a path towards resident controlled housing, protected permanently from the private market. We are looking forward to working with Comptroller Lander and members of the New York City council to ensure our city’s leaders invest in affordable homeownership, protect rent stabilization, and chart a pathway towards social housing for all.”

“Forging pathways to construct and preserve permanently affordable housing is crucial to building a more equitable New York,” said Karen Haycox, CEO Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County. “This critically-needed investment would help unlock and increase our city’s housing supply and ensure its affordability for hardworking New Yorkers and their families for generations to come. Our city’s housing strategies must increase opportunities to build both household and community equity and we can start by drastically increasing our investment in the Open Door and Neighborhood Pillars programs.”

“With New York City’s housing crisis reaching new heights, we need homes now, and we need them to last for generations,” said David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York. “Investing in programs like Neighborhood Pillars and Open Door will send the message that our city is getting back into the business of backing social housing: housing that is permanently affordable, socially integrated, and resident controlled.”

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