Democratic Candidate for Comptroller’s Position Paper is His Second of Campaign; Begins to Lay Out Vision for the Office and the Future of the City of New York
New York, NY – May 27, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Council Member David Yassky, Democratic candidate for New York City Comptroller, today unveiled his plan to use the vast tools of the Comptroller’s Office to expand and improve New York City’s affordable housing stock. It is the second position paper issued by the Yassky campaign, and begins to put forth his vision for the Comptroller’s Office and the future of New York City.
“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,” said Council Member Yassky. “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.” Specifically, the four-point plan would renew the City’s commitment to affordable housing by:
1. Reforming and expanding the Economically Targeted Incentives (ETIs) Program of the City’s public pension investments.
—The Yassky plan includes doubling the ETIs from $500 million to $1 billion to encourage additional construction of affordable housing.—Currently, the ETI program does not officially define “affordable housing.” The Yassky plan would develop and define the term so investment opportunities can properly be identified and capitalized upon.
2. Expanding the Public-Private Apartment Rehabilitation (PPAR) Program and similar policies to further identify partnerships with private sector pension funds to support desperately needed workforce housing.
—Through March 2007, the PPAR Program invested $447 million and created 25,111 units of affordable housing. The Yassky plan argues that these investments should be expanded.
3. Use the Comptroller’s Office to serve as an aggressive watchdog of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to ensure that funds allocated for affordable housing are used properly and not funneled into other projects.
4. Use the Comptroller’s audit power to encourage energy-efficient practices at City-owned housing properties.
“The next Comptroller has an enormous responsibility when it comes to providing low-cost housing for working families across New York City,” Yassky added. “I intend to pursue innovative solutions that demand accountability and results in order to achieve this critical objective.”
David Yassky is the only Brooklynite in the race for New York City Comptroller. Last week, the Yassky campaign unveiled its position paper on reform of the City’s budget process to increase Council oversight, transparency, and accountability. The New York Times has praised David for his “stellar record…leading groundbreaking work on gun control, affordable housing, the environment and job creation.” As Chief Counsel to Chuck Schumer, he helped pass the most significant anti-crime statutes of the 1990s, including the Brady Law and Violence Against Women Act.
On the City Council, David has fought for hard working New Yorkers by standing up to special interests and demanding accountability and responsibility. He sued Exxon-Mobil to clean up the Greenpoint oil spill, closed tax loopholes to ensure that luxury developers create middle class housing, and has already put the City budget online in a fully transparent, easy-to-use form (www.ItsYourMoneyNYC.com). He has helped root out wasteful spending by exposing tens of millions of dollars of abuse at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and by passing the False Claims Act to reward whistleblowers who report fraud in City government.
To view David Yassky’s plan for expanding and improving our City’s affordable housing stock, please click here.
