NYS Reform Party City Council candidates Paul Graziano (District 19) and Robert Holden (District 30) and Comptroller candidate Michel Faulkner unveiled their 3 part plan to reduce homelessness and create affordable housing in NYC yesterday outside the Pan Am Hotel, which has been converted into an 800-person family shelter.
The plan is as follows:
Part 1 – Emergency Homeless Shelter Placement
Instead of heading to a centralized intake center for assignment to a hotel, displaced families and individuals would visit faith-based organizations in their own area for placement locally. Many churches and not-for-profits are interested in providing immediate, short-term housing as part of their missions. Let’s remove the barriers which prevent them from providing services. Congregations tend to come together to foster caring and supportive environments, and provide safe, secure places for people in need in a much better way than the government, which up to this point has left the homeless languishing in dangerous shelters and hotels.
Part 2 – Community Advisory Board
The board would be comprised of local residents who have expertise in fields such as law, social work, financial advisement, human resources and home improvement. They would administer to the currently homeless as well as those threatened with homelessness by offering services like resume writing, job placement, mental health referrals, legal assistance, substance abuse counseling and repairs to homes, with the ability to hire outside help when necessary.
Part 1 and Part 2 could be funded for a lot less money than we are throwing at hotels and not-for-profit providers right now. A strong support system is what is needed in order to break the cycle of homelessness plaguing our communities.
Part 3 – Mandatory Affordability as Part of As-of-Right Zoning
Developers currently get “bonus” height or bulk allowances for offering to include affordable housing in their projects. But this housing often is not permanently affordable and it is only offered to those developers seeking to build out-of-context. In order for affordable housing to work, it needs to be a mandatory part of as-of-right zoning.
LOCATIONS
• Areas at high risk of gentrification (generally that are zoned R6 or higher)
• At least 15% of units in new construction projects will be reserved for low-income families or individuals. If units targeted middle income families, the requirement would be 25%. If supportive housing is provided instead the requirement would be 10% of units.
INCOME OF RESIDENTS
• 100% affordable units for households at or below 60% of the local area median income, calculated based on zip code or community district rather than current formula based on the greater NYC region.
PRIORITY COMMUNITIES
• Families, including families with children and intergenerational households
• Tenants on fixed incomes such as seniors and disabled
• Households experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness
Part 3 would require a zoning text change be adopted by the City Council after community board and City Planning Commission review.
16 comments:
You think Liz Crowley will put this on her legislative agenda next year?
Now that's is how a councilmember should be! Vote for Paul Graziano!
I don't understand the "Part 1 – Emergency Homeless Shelter Placement"
So instead of making the City responsible for the homeless, we will be putting the burden on churches and temples to provide shelters?
I doubt it and JVB is not going to like this at all
While some of these ideas seem good, Part 2 with the Community Advisory Board seems troublesome to me. Volunteers are usually great and well-intentioned but at the end of the day, there are only so many hours in the day.
Brilliant.
Liz is too busy getting her picture taken to be bothered with this problem. She lives in Breezy Point. Homelessness isn't a big problem there.
According to the plan, the board has the ability to hire help if needed so limitations on volunteer hours is not necessarily a dealbreaker. Plus I have found that when you are committed to helping people, you find more time. As for the faith based part, when the city was using the churches in the past, it seemed to have a better handle on the problem than after they handed all responsibility over to not-for-profits like Sam Village, etc. It doesn't have to be burden on them, they will be compensated for their work and a lot of congregations have the space and could use the funds.
At least this is thinking in the right direction instead of just throwing more money on poverty pimping.
Nice to have people proposing ideas, instead of just acting like blowhards. Are you listening Stinky?
True. Everybody is nimby on this. As long as they're not in my backyard.
Unfortunately, the homeless will continue to be dumped elsewhere.
I.e. St. Andrews in Broadway Flushing once offered short term homeless beds for awhile.
Oops....community "problems".
Are they still there?
No way! Everybody talks a good game!
Volunteers are usually great and well-intentioned but at the end of the day, there are only so many hours in the day.
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not if they are appointed by politicians in community boards - they pompously sit down and pull out their cue cards handed to them, then go home - generally outside their community board.
believe me, if people in Queens were given a real opportunity to do something the people actually want for their community you can tell Crowley and the boys the same thing our drill sergeant once said to us: "they can write home and tell mama to sell the sh*house because we now have your dog*ss." After all, volunteers won the Revolution.
Vote for Paul Graziano!!
Uh...is Sliwa gonna do them any good?
What about mandatory set-asides for middle income families?
This recent chart of unaffordable housing for the US puts Brooklyn at 4, Manhatten at 5 Queens at 11 and The Bronx at 16. So basically , we are all screwed and can move to Long Island , Staten Island or Jersey for the next few years until those cities are unaffordable .
http://digg.com/2017/most-unaffordable-housing-markets
What about mandatory set-asides for middle income families?
If they build for middle income, then it's 25% of housing that needs to be affordable, according to the plan.
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