NEW YORK—To ensure continued funding for affordable housing, Assembly Member Vito Lopez requested $500 million in capital funding to be allotted in the 2010-2011 budget, and has introduced a bill to create an “Empire State Housing Investment Fund.” He announced the initiative on Wednesday in front of city hall.
The fund is intended to provide a revenue stream to preserve and build low-income housing units across the city. The building process is also expected to generate construction and architecture jobs.
A variety of housing advocacy groups joined Lopez in calling for support of the bill, which will receive majority support in the state Senate. Members of Habitat for Humanity, Community Access, the Real Rent Reform Campaign, Make the Road New York, the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness & Housing, and St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation were among those showing their support for the bill on Wednesday.
The $500 million Lopez is asking for has been criticized as overly ambitious. “People say it’s insane; how can you do it? We are broadening existing programs,” Lopez said. “If we bond out over 40 years, we will have $500 million.” Lopez (D-Brooklyn) is chair of the New York State Assembly Housing Committee.
“New York City has been a leader in recent years by dedicating billions of dollars to the construction of new, affordable rentals, co-ops and two-family homes,” he wrote in City Hall News this February. “Sadly, New York state has been lagging far behind the city in its commitment to affordable housing.”
In his editorial he praised the example of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, and lamented the affordable housing funding situation at the state level. “In fiscal year 2008-2009, New York state increased the commitment in capital dollars for affordable housing from $100 million to $300 million,” he wrote. “This was a great achievement for the state, but it was short-lived. This year, the governor is proposing to cut that commitment back to $100 million.”
To combat the possible cut, Lopez and Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., the senate majority leader, developed investment fund legislation. They also increased the bond purchasing ability of city and state housing agencies.
Espada’s bill, S5727, was introduced earlier this session in the Senate. It creates the Housing Investment Fund, which will be held as a separate fund within the State Treasury. Lopez will introduce a version of Espada’s bill to the assembly.
The fund is intended to provide a revenue stream to preserve and build low-income housing units across the city. The building process is also expected to generate construction and architecture jobs.
A variety of housing advocacy groups joined Lopez in calling for support of the bill, which will receive majority support in the state Senate. Members of Habitat for Humanity, Community Access, the Real Rent Reform Campaign, Make the Road New York, the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness & Housing, and St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation were among those showing their support for the bill on Wednesday.
The $500 million Lopez is asking for has been criticized as overly ambitious. “People say it’s insane; how can you do it? We are broadening existing programs,” Lopez said. “If we bond out over 40 years, we will have $500 million.” Lopez (D-Brooklyn) is chair of the New York State Assembly Housing Committee.
“New York City has been a leader in recent years by dedicating billions of dollars to the construction of new, affordable rentals, co-ops and two-family homes,” he wrote in City Hall News this February. “Sadly, New York state has been lagging far behind the city in its commitment to affordable housing.”
In his editorial he praised the example of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, and lamented the affordable housing funding situation at the state level. “In fiscal year 2008-2009, New York state increased the commitment in capital dollars for affordable housing from $100 million to $300 million,” he wrote. “This was a great achievement for the state, but it was short-lived. This year, the governor is proposing to cut that commitment back to $100 million.”
To combat the possible cut, Lopez and Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., the senate majority leader, developed investment fund legislation. They also increased the bond purchasing ability of city and state housing agencies.
Espada’s bill, S5727, was introduced earlier this session in the Senate. It creates the Housing Investment Fund, which will be held as a separate fund within the State Treasury. Lopez will introduce a version of Espada’s bill to the assembly.
