In the words of Marty McFly, this is heavy.
For realsies, heavy.
We already know that New York City is a hard place to live in. Whether it's godawful roommates or the wildly exorbitant cost of living, it's not an easy town.
Real talk: NYC seriously needs affordable housing, a lot of it, and as soon as possible.
Mayor de Blasio's plan has been in action for two years, and it's been no bed of roses. Of course, that's not at all surprising considering it's de Blasio.
Gothamist reported on this year's status update, there are a few things you need to pick up from it.
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1. The city says it's ahead of schedule
For the past two years, the administration has taken steps to build or preserve 52,936 units which they've deemed "affordable."
[anad]
This is above their goal of 50,000, but the real goal is 200,000 affordable units by 2024.
2. NYC's Housing and Public Development doesn't have a list of vacant properties
Across the five boroughs, Picture the Homeless tallied up over 3,500 vacant buildings. But Vicki Been, head of NYC's HPD, said inspectors don't keep count. They contact owners to understand the sitch, and they keep an eye on the buildings.
3. Most of the new affordable housing is in Manhattan and Brooklyn
The city's developed 16,935 units in Manhattan and 16,507 in Brooklyn within the past two years.
4. 25% of the units are going to people earning less than half the Area Median Income
For a family of three, that number is $40,800. In NYC, a third of households make less than $35,000.
5. When it comes to preservation, the owners prosper
The city's loans and tax breaks for a preserved unit only last from 15 to 30 years after the preservation.
[anad2]
And when those perks are gone, the affordability follows suit.
6. It's a real hot mess
Before de Blasio's plan, NYC needed 550,000 affordable units to house families making less than $42,000 a year. Even if everything goes according to plan, NYC will still need 350,000 apartments for those families alone.
[via Gothamist] [Feature Image Courtesy The New York Times]