Summary of new proposals
North Brooklyn saw market-rate rents increase 80 percent or higher in 2022. Local electeds are working hard on ways to help residents afford homes and stay in them.
“Each of North Brooklyn’s elected officials has developed legislative initiatives to address this challenge. Local elected officials are leading efforts to acknowledge challenges faced by residents,” said Michael Rochford, the executive director of St. Nicks Alliance (a North Brooklyn community organization). “In Washington, Albany, and City Hall, legislators are forging ahead with new ideas.”
U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez
U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez funded two housing-related projects in fiscal year 2024. Velázquez funded the ENYCLT Affordable Homeownership project, which will create affordable home ownership by removing a vacant building within the Brownfield Opportunity Area and allowing the existing tenants to own their building collectively. The tenants have been experiencing harassment from the landlord, and now they will have more autonomy.
Velázquez has been a large supporter of Federal Section 8 vouchers and the Low Income Tax Credit (LIHTC), which are core resources for direct residential services and a major tool for affordable housing development.
In an interview with the Greenline this February, Velázquez said, “I’m proud to fight for residents and will continue to work to ensure Congress funds the affordable housing programs that working families depend on.”
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso released The Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn in October 2023. The plan addresses the increased burden of the median rent rising more than 20 percent between 2010 and 2021. Reynoso’s goal for Brooklyn is to increase access to affordable housing by developing new housing in areas where production has not kept up with population growth, supporting transportation development, and preserving and improving government-regulated housing.
“Yet what neighborhood you call home shouldn’t influence the opportunities you have access to, your safety, or your health. It shouldn’t mean that you’ll face dangerously unbearable heat in the summer or travel farther just to make a living wage,” said Reynoso in a letter addressing The Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn.
On Monday, February 12, Reynoso and City Council member Erik Bottcher of Manhattan sent a letter to 160 public officials asking them to join their new “housing league.” They will gather public officials willing to fight for expanded housing production.
NYS Senator Julia Salazar
NYS Senator Julia Salazar has sponsored Good Cause Eviction (S305), legislation preventing landlords from evicting or not renewing tenants without a good cause since she first introduced the bill in 2019. Good Cause Eviction would still allow eviction due to nonpayment of rent, but it would protect good tenants who live in market-rate units from losing their homes, where landlords can raise the rent however much they wish.
“Unregulated tenants don’t have any right to protest ultrahigh rent increases — or prevent their eviction if they pay their rent every month but can’t get repairs. It’s a risk [for them] to call 311,” said Salazar in a 2022 Greenline interview.
Several landlords, the community, and other elected officials have pushed NYS Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYS legislature to pass Good Cause Eviction. On Monday, April 22, Hochul announced an agreement as part of the NYS FY2025 budget to address the housing crisis. The agreement includes a new tax break called 485X and some but not all of the protections suggested in the“Good Cause Eviction” bill.
“Every single family and every tenant in the state of New York deserves protections against unreasonably high rent increases and unjust evictions,” said Salazar. “We will continue to fight until we win Good Cause protections for all of our neighbors.”
NYS Senator Kristen Gonzalez
NYS Senator Kristen Gonzalez is also a supporter of Good Cause Eviction. She has supported multiple housing bills. In October 2023, Gonzalez rallied behind S2980C, which passed, and prohibits “frankensteining” (when the owner combines two rent-regulated units into one to deregulate it). She also rallied behind A4047B which was meant to apply the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 to rent calculations but was ultimately vetoed by Hochul. Lastly, Gonzalez supported A6843, which passed, and allows for information to be released to perform vacancy rate studies.
“Tenants, not landlords, are the heart of NY, and they deserve to feel the benefits of these bills now to keep that heart beating long into the future, and create a New York we can ALL call home,” Gonzalez said on an Instagram post about the October rally.
NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher
NYS Assembly Member Emily Gallagher has introduced a bill (2023-A9088) for a Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA)—the proposal for a new public developer that can build and preserve affordable housing using union labor. The housing would be permanently affordable, protected from market forces, and prioritize community ownership.
SHDA would eliminate the need for profit by reducing developer fees and relying on public action rather than private finance. Public funds would keep the rents low, and the SDHA would use sustainable construction using union labor. Unlike the current affordable housing built with tax incentives of 421-a, SDHA houses would stay permanently affordable instead of expiring tenant protections after 30 years.
“This legislation builds on New York’s historic legacy of building affordable social housing, including limited-equity cooperatives, Mitchell-Lama developments, and housing built by unions. Social housing plays an essential role in the urban fabric of many cities across the world,” Gallagher said. “My bill, A9088, proposes creating a public developer governed by a mix of tenants, labor representatives, experts, and political appointees dedicated to building, acquiring, and rehabilitating permanently affordable housing. By removing the profit incentive and developer fees, cross-subsidizing across its portfolio, and partnering with unions, this authority can build housing for the people, by the people, wherever the private market cannot meet existing needs.”
NYS Assembly Member Maritza Davila
NYS Assembly Member Maritza Davila has allocated funds for vital resources such as the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and has provided millions of dollars to support NYCHA.
“As a passionate supporter, I will continue to work towards enacting a real “Good Cause Eviction” law to protect tenants’ rights and stabilize communities,” Davila said. ‘Moreover, I have actively championed initiatives such as the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) which would allow people to remain in their homes and out of Shelter system. We created the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), which was allocated $40 million to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Recognizing that there is limited affordable land available for development in our community, it is imperative that we also focus our efforts on the preservation of existing housing stock. By keeping residents in their homes and ensuring permanent affordability, we can safeguard the fabric of our neighborhoods and promote stability for all members of our community.”
NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez
NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez sponsored several bills that council members introduced as part of the Back Home Act package. The act aims to aid New Yorkers who are displaced from their homes by floods, fires, and other emergencies.
Three Back at Home Act bills (Int. 0750-2024, Int. 0749-2024, and Int. 0751-2024) will help displaced residents. These bills would require the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) violations to be corrected within 30 days and the NYC DOB to release a report on the time elapsed from order to correction. Also, building owners must submit additional documentation when trying to demolish a building.
The legislation would create a central support system for residents displaced from their homes due to natural disasters called the Office of Residential Displacement Remediation. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY), NYC Emergency Management, and other agencies would create a guide with educational resources and instructions for residents who a fire has displaced.
The package also includes a resolution (Res. 0307-24) that calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation that limits the amount of time that a landlord can collect from loss of rent insurance before making repairs to uninhabitable units.
“The Back Home aims to make it a little bit easier. This package of bills supports tenants and landlords in the aftermath of home displacements caused by fires, floods, and other emergencies. Informed by firsthand experiences, this package addresses critical gaps in City support, and provides much-needed guidance to tenants,” Gutiérrez said in an Instagram post.
NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler
NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler introduced a bill (Int. 0791-2024) on April 11 that would require the Department of Social Services (DSS) to post vacant supportive housing units on its website. DSS would provide data from up to twelve months before the law’s enactment and update it monthly. This bill would help fill all of the vacant units that are sitting unoccupied.
“This will help us ensure more homeless NYers move into stable housing with onsite services,” Restler said in an Instagram post regarding the bill. “Supportive housing is a cost-effective, evidence-based solution for chronic homelessness. We know that the City must do more to support street homeless NYers struggling with mental illness, and maximizing thousands of vacant supportive housing units will make a critical difference.”
Rent cost in Brooklyn has stayed at a record high at an average of $3,495, and 40 percent of tenants in rent-stabilized units are paying over 50 percent of their income on rent. Local electeds, Hochul, and the NYS legislature continue to work on boosting housing production and tenant protections.
The Greenline 