Res. No. 467
Title
Resolution calling upon Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg to require that developers using Liberty Bond financing make at least 20% of the units developed with such financing affordable to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.
Body
By The Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members DeBlasio, Gerson, Provenzano, Sanders, Reyna, Baez, Barron, Clarke, Comrie, Felder, Fidler, Gennaro, Gioia, Jackson, Koppell, Lopez, McMahon, Monserrate, Nelson, Recchia, Rivera, Seabrook, Serrano, Stewart, Vann, Weprin, Yassky and Brewer; also Council Members Perkins and Quinn
Whereas, The Federal government, in response to the World Trade Center attacks, authorized the Mayor and the Governor each to issue $800 million in triple tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds, better known as "Liberty Bonds," to finance residential development in Lower Manhattan; and
Whereas, By July, the Governor proposed using these bonds to subsidize the development of three upscale apartment buildings (two in Battery Park City and one in the Financial District) that will use $340 million of the Liberty Bonds to create 840 new apartments; and
Whereas, The projects will set aside only 5% of the units in each building (a total of 45 units) for non-market rate units that will nevertheless remain unaffordable to most New Yorkers since they will be available to households that earn approximately $94,200 per year for a family of four, 50% more than the New York City area median income; and
Whereas, The agency charged with allocating Governor Pataki's portion of the Liberty Bonds, the New York State Housing Finance Agency, typically requires that developers using tax-exempt bonds set aside at least 20% of the units for use as affordable housing for families with incomes up to 50% of the New York City area median income; and
Whereas, The New York State Housing Finance Agency unanimously passed the three projects on August 7, 2002; and
Whereas, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, on August 14, 2002, put a temporary hold on two of the projects at the Public Authority Control Board meeting citing the need for more information about why so few affordable units were included; and
Whereas, The Mayor has not yet released a plan for how he will allocate the $800 million in Liberty Bonds available to him for residential development in Lower Manhattan; and
Whereas, New York City is in the grip of a growing housing crisis that threatens its economy and the health and safety of all New Yorkers; and
Whereas, The housing crisis affects people in our community at virtually every level of the economic spectrum, from homeless families to middle-income families that cannot find decent, affordable housing in the neighborhoods where they grew up; and
Whereas, Affordable housing helps New York City's businesses to recruit and retain the best employees, thus strengthening our economic recovery; and
Whereas, Affordable housing helps families provide safe, nurturing environments for their children, thereby improving educational outcomes; and
Whereas, Affordable housing allows the people who make New York work - teachers, police officers, nurses, firefighters, and construction workers - to live in the communities that they serve; and
Whereas, developing affordable housing in Lower Manhattan is a critical component of creating a stable, integrated community there; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Council of the City of New York calls upon Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg to require that developers using Liberty Bond financing make at least 20% of the units developed with such financing affordable to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers.
LS # 1081
9/11/02
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