Public housing in New York reaches a fiscal crisis, By Mireya Navarro, August 11, 2014, New York Times: “Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of New York City public housing. Advocates for homeless people are demanding more apartments for families living in shelters. School officials want space in public housing for new prekindergarten classes. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to use open land in the projects for new affordable housing. And just over a quarter of a million households sit on the waiting list for an apartment in one of the New York City Housing Authority’s 334 developments. But the demands on Nycha, as the housing authority is known, clash with a grave financial reality. After years of shrinking government investment in public housing, the agency has a $77 million budget deficit this year and unfunded capital needs totaling $18 billion, its officials say…”
Tag: New York City
Affordable Housing and Tenant Rights – New York
As New York landlords push buyouts, renters resist, By Mireya Navarro, July 9, 2014, New York Times: “The first offer from the landlord’s representative came in April: Take $90,000 to move out, the tenants said they were told, or the landlord would sue and they would lose their apartments anyway. Lin Thai Ng, who lives in a cramped $500-a-month studio in downtown Manhattan with her husband, said no. The landlord persisted and offered $100,000. After they refused again, the couple got a notice saying they were not the lawful tenants and declaring them squatters. They were told they had 18 days to get out or they would be evicted. . .”
Homelessness – New York City
New York City street homelessness rises 6%, By Michael Howard Saul, June 6, 2014, Wall Street Journal: “The number of homeless people living in New York City public spaces increased 6% in 2014 compared with 2013, according to records released Friday by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. An estimated 3,357 people were living on the streets, in city parks and other areas during an annual survey conducted in January, marking an increase of 177 people from January 2013. This year’s estimate showed 1,808 people living in subways, a 2% decrease from the year before. Unsheltered homelessness rose the most in Queens, surging 158%, and on Staten Island, rising 43%, records show. In Manhattan, the borough with the most street homelessness . . .”