(Photo: C Ceres Merry)
The Future of ’80/20′ Affordable Housing Hangs in the Balance: Can 421-A Be Fixed?
421-a
Hoping to Revive Affordable Housing Incentive, Cuomo Appeals to Developers
Affordable housing advocates protesting Brooklyn Real Estate Summit last fall, 421-a was among their many greivances (Photo: Nicole Disser)
After a week of “secret talks” with leadership from one of the state’s most powerful interest groups, details are emerging regarding Governor Cuomo’s first major steps toward reviving 421-a. The New York Times broke the news yesterday evening about the first sign of a turning point for the controversial billion-dollar, affordable-housing tax abatement that was allowed to expire in January.
Embittered By Corruption and Displacement, LES Neighbors Coalition Demands to See the Mayor
At the Chinatown coalition’s meeting (Photo: Anneke Rautenbach)
At an emotional Lower East Side town hall meeting on Saturday afternoon, hundreds of concerned residents, a number of small business owners, and representatives of community organizations were visibly upset. Instead of being met by Mayor Bill de Blasio himself, they were greeted by a representative from the administration. “We have been reaching out to him for months,” Jei Fong, a coalition representative, told B+B. “We personally invited him to this meeting. This is a real slap in the face.”
Rent-Stabilized Apartments Back on the Market After Crackdown on 421-a Non-Compliance
A protestor at a rally at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in June 2015. (Photo by Sam Gillette)
City and state government officials are cracking down on landlords who collect tax benefits for affordable housing incentives but don’t follow through on their obligations. This practice was one of the major criticisms of the 421-a tax incentive leveled by activists and city leaders in favor of repealing the rent laws that governed the incentive when they were up for renewal over the summer.