Stable housing in Aqueduct?

THE CITY 

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams laid out her annual vision for the city Wednesday, focusing on the affordability of living in the city ahead of another budget battle with the mayor.

The speaker delivered her State of the City remarks at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, praising its cultural significance before pivoting to the rising cost of living in the five boroughs. 

“For too many New Yorkers, the housing and affordability crisis has presented an impossible dilemma: you cannot afford to live in the city, so you struggle or you leave,” she said. “The situation is dire.”

Despite her enthusiasm, key initiatives from the speaker’s previous State of the City address last year remained unfulfilled or paused. As she did last year, Adams stressed the importance of hiring at understaffed agencies across the city, but many roles are still empty.

An exodus of working and middle-class residents, she said in Wednesday’s speech, points to a failure of civic leadership — and has disproportionately impacted communities of color. 

“As a government, we are not fulfilling our duty to New Yorkers,” she said. 

Adams, who has represented neighborhoods in Southeast Queens since 2018, announced initiatives to help with the cost of housing, education and child care. She focused on rebuilding a government and city hobbled by the pandemic, and stressed strengthening libraries and the City University system.

“Our economic and job recovery has been uneven, and we must provide opportunities for people at every level to succeed,” she said.

One package of bills touted Wednesday aims to tackle deed theft, which predominantly affects working-class communities of color. The legislation will require the city to inform homeowners and people who inherit property of the fair-market value of their homes, and will also provide legal assistance to help them protect their assets. The move comes in response to an investigative series from THE CITY.

“We must build a city where all New Yorkers, especially working people who make up the backbone of our communities, can build their legacy right here in our city,” Adams said. 

The speaker also discussed the possibility of transforming the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, saying the 172-acres of state-owned land in Queens “represents a generational opportunity” to build more housing and amenities. The land is also next to a city-owned site near the A train, which would also be a good location for housing, she said. 

“Repurposing the land for housing and other amenities can uplift this community district — which has produced the lowest amount of housing of any in Queens,” she said. 

Adams did not mention the pending proposal from the site’s operator, Resorts World Casino, to obtain a coveted state casino license and fully develop the site.