New York CIty Council Member Ben Kallos

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing development must seek a better balance between market rate and affordable housing. Pioneers who have built our neighborhoods must not be forced to leave because they are victims of their own success, their housing should remain affordable so that they may realize the fruits of their labor.<br><br>As former Chief of Staff for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/apartment/mitchell-lama.shtml&quot; target="_BLANK"><strong>Mitchell-Lama</strong></a>&nbsp;Subcommittee Chair,&nbsp;<a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/ad=073&quot; target="_BLANK"><strong>Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing</strong></a>, I know the current issues facing affordable housing. I had the opportunity to work on the next generation of progressive&nbsp;<a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/bn=A00860&quot; target="_BLANK"><strong>legislation</strong></a>&nbsp;that would scale certain rent regulations to the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bls.gov/CPI/&quot; target="_BLANK"><strong>consumer price index</strong></a>, so that new laws are always current and housing remains affordable for generations to come. But there is more to do and as your City Council member I will continue this work by reforming rent regulation, using market indices like the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bls.gov/CPI/&quot; target="_BLANK"><strong>consumer price index</strong></a>, and expanding affordable housing.<br><br>In addition to fixing affordable housing and rent regulation laws, we must also create a centralized affordable housing resource. Affordable housing must be&nbsp;<strong>transparent</strong>, with easily accessible and searchable lists by address and qualification, rather than having to search through over a dozen different programs and agencies. We must&nbsp;<strong>open</strong>&nbsp;affordable housing by creating an easy centralized application process. Lastly, the waiting lists for all affordable housing must be publicly available to provide&nbsp;<strong>accountability</strong>&nbsp;where these waiting lists have been previously abused.

New York Daily News 21 City Council members push Rent Guidelines Board to OK first-ever rent freeze by Erin Durkin

21 City Council members push Rent Guidelines Board to OK first-ever rent freeze
Erin Durkin

Twenty-one City Council members made a final push for a rent freeze before Monday night’s vote of the Rent Guidelines Board.

“This year, striking a fair balance means voting for a rent freeze,” wrote City Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) and colleagues from all five boroughs in a letter to the board.

Capital New York City Council members to call for rent freeze by Ryan Hutchins

City Council members to call for rent freeze
Ryan Hutchins

 

More than half a dozen City Council members will speak out Monday afternoon in favor of freezing rents for the nearly one million New Yorkers who live in rent-regulated housing, Capital has learned.

The council members are expected to speak at a public hearing being held by the Rent Guidelines Board, which is set to vote on possible rent increases on June 23. This is the first time the 45-year-old board has considered a zero-percent increase.

Council members Margaret Chin, Dan Garodnick, Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Mark Levine, Ydanis Rodriguez and Helen Rosenthal are scheduled to testify at the hearing, which is starting this hour, according to a draft press release obtained by Capital. City Comptroller Scott Stringer is also scheduled to testify at 5:30 p.m.

The council members will argue that the board, for years now, has favored the interests of landlords over the interests of tenants and that it is time residents get some relief.