NEW YORK—Council Member David Yassky, who is a Democratic candidate for New York City Comptroller, outlined his plan to expand New York City’s low-cost housing stock on Wednesday.
The four-part proposal includes:
-Improving the Economically Targeted Incentives (ETIs) Program of the City’s public pension investments by adding the “affordable housing” definition in order to properly target investment opportunities. The plan aims to double the ETIs from $500 million to $1 billion to facilitate additional construction of affordable housing.
-Expanding the Public-Private Apartment Rehabilitation (PPAR) Program to increase partnerships with private sector pension funds. The PPAR Program invested $447 million and created 25,111 units of affordable housing through March 2007.
-Ensuring proper spending of funds allocated for low-cost housing through Comptroller’s oversight of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in order to prevent the use of such funds for other projects.
-Encouraging energy-efficient practices at city-owned housing properties through the Comptroller’s audit power.
“From demanding that affordable housing be written into the rezoning of the Brooklyn waterfront to helping close tax loopholes to ensure that luxury developers create middle class housing throughout the city, I have been a consistent advocate for expanding our city’s affordable housing stock,” Yassky said.
“As Comptroller, I will use the vast power to invest the City’s pension funds and aggressively audit city agencies to guarantee affordable housing is available to all of the New Yorkers who have been forgotten and left behind through this economic downturn,” he stated.
Yassky, last week reiterated his intent to increase oversight, transparency and accountability across city government. His previous actions to support this position include increasing city budget transparency through the use of an online form located on www.ItsYourMoneyNYC.com, exposing wasteful spending at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and passing the False Claims Act that rewards whistleblowers for reporting fraud within city government.
