Mayor de Blasio Delivers 2015 State of the City Address

In his second State of the City address, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced affordable housing would be the next front in his administration’s fight to lift up families and confront economic inequality. With housing the most significant cost facing New York City families, the Mayor laid out a sweeping set of programs to build a new generation of affordable housing, protect New Yorkers facing displacement from rising rents and harassment, and put in place the groundwork for denser, economically diverse communities with affordable homes for New Yorkers of all means.

From targeted new programs for populations like veterans and seniors, to specific neighborhoods being studied for growth and rezoning, to new resources to protect tenants, the State of the City put into practice key elements of the Housing New York plan to build and preserve 200,000 affordable homes in the coming decade.

Highlights of those initiatives include:

Building the Next Generation of Affordable Housing

Six Neighborhoods Now Slated for Mandatory Affordable Housing Requirements

In the first six neighborhoods now being studied for more residential capacity—East New York (Brooklyn), Long Island City (Queens), Jerome Avenue Corridor (Bronx), Flushing West (Queens), and newly announced Bay Street Corridor (Staten Island) and East Harlem (Manhattan)—a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing policy will require all new housing built under rezoning to include affordable units. The first rezoning will enter the formal land use process this spring.

Bring More Affordable Housing and Better Infrastructure to the Southwest Bronx

The City will invest $200 million in affordable housing, new infrastructure and job creation initiatives to the Lower Concourse area of the Southwest Bronx, which will include the construction of a new public open space, roads, local infrastructure upgrades, and remediation to spur development of up to 4,000 units of affordable housing. The design phase of the program will launch in the coming fiscal year.

Seize the Opportunity for Affordable Housing and Stronger Communities at the Sunnyside Yards

The City will work with communities in Queens to develop a new vision for the Sunnyside Yards in-keeping with the area’s working- and middle-class DNA. Development of the yards’ 200 acres represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build thousands of new affordable homes, knit together neighborhoods and meet vital needs facing western Queens for new open space, transportation and schools. The City will engage local stakeholders, the MTA, Amtrak and private owners to launch a feasibility study this month to determine the costs and infrastructure needs required to redevelop the rail yards.

Protecting New Yorkers from Displacement and Homelessness

Free Legal Defense for Tenants in All Areas Undergoing Rezoning

A new $36 million commitment will provide free legal representation in housing court to all tenants in rezoned neighborhoods facing harassment, building neglect or eviction proceedings. Approximately 90 percent of tenants enter housing court without a lawyer. The new funding will triple the City’s investment in these free legal services for tenants. Coupled with City efforts to protect and strengthen rent regulation in Albany, the City will aggressively protect the existing affordable housing in changing neighborhoods.

End Homelessness Among Veterans

Through new programs, new outreach, and a new priority for veterans in specific housing programs, the City will end homelessness by the end of 2015 for the approximately 1,000 veterans living in shelters and on New York City streets.

Help Seniors Live Independently

With half of seniors “housing-burdened,” the City will create and preserve 10,000 units of senior housing, supported by a $400 million capital investment as well as Section 8 vouchers. The first projects, many under a new Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) program, will begin in 2015.

Keep New York City Affordable for Artists and Makers

To help low-income artists thrive in New York City, the Department of Cultural Affairs will invest $30 million in 1,500 affordable live/work spaces for artists in the coming decade, working with cultural partners, housing agencies and the philanthropic community. The City will also convert underutilized City-owned assets into 500 below-market artist workspaces, creating new cultural hubs for communities to share in performances and arts education.

Baruch College

Midtown Manhattan

February 3,2015