The city is staring down its worst affordability crisis in decades: rents are at record levels, evictions and homelessness are rising, a majority of renters are paying over 30% of their pre-tax income toward housing, and the vacancy rate is at a historic low of 1.4%. It’s time to build more housing that New Yorkers need: the City must deepen its investment in permanently affordable and community-controlled housing. 

The NYC City Council's Progressive Caucus and the NYC Comptroller's Office are calling for a capital investment of $2 billion over the next four years into housing programs that will fund the construction and preservation of community-controlled affordable homes.  

These programs will provide stability and equity-building opportunities for low-income and working-class New Yorkers. The homes will be accessible, energy-efficient and climate resilient, owned and operated by community-based organizations, and permanently affordable. 

Winning this $2 billion capital investment in housing will:

• Empower tenants and address building neglect
  This funding would allow the City of New York to work with local partners to purchase buildings from negligent landlords, make renovations and maintain housing as affordable in perpetuity.

• Add to the City’s critically needed affordable housing stock
  Increased capital funding would allow for HPD to construct or preserve 5,000 climate resilient and accessible homes for New Yorkers who are becoming increasingly priced out of the city.

• Create new homeownership opportunities This funding would finance the new construction of shared equity homeownership, creating the opportunity for equity-building and the creation of generational wealth for thousands of New York families that have been left out of the traditional homeownership market.