REMARKS
Council Member De La Rosa calls for bold thinking in addressing housing and wage issues
0:52:14
·
71 sec
Council Member De La Rosa advocates for a bold reimagining of how affordable housing and fair wages can coexist. She draws parallels to other bold initiatives proposed by the administration and emphasizes the need to consider both tenant needs and worker dignity.
- Calls for reimagining the framework of building housing
- Suggests that affordable housing and dignified wages for workers can coexist
- Expresses frustration at the perceived conflict between tenant protections and worker needs
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:52:14
And I think that this is the opportunity part of the pond, but it's the opportunity for us to kind of reimagine the way that we're having these conversations.
0:52:22
And I know that we've had the conversation around term sheets and what that looks like and how we are are relying on other tax abatements and other help to finance affordability.
0:52:34
But there there we can imagine a reality where we can build affordable and also pay workers a dignified wage.
0:52:40
Right?
0:52:41
And so I'm asked asking us to kinda be bold in that way as well, the same way that the administration's asking us to be bold and imagine, you know, basement dwellings and no parking and all of these other things.
0:52:50
We also have to be bold and imagine that there is a worker at the other side of that affordability that we're trying to build in our city.
0:52:58
And so it's kind of aggravating to have the conversation that pits because, you know, I I wasn't Albany for 5 years.
0:53:04
We passed some of the strongest tenant protections in in in the history of our state.
0:53:08
I am so committed to tenants and the plight of tenants and the need to build affordable.
0:53:14
At at this time, I kinda feel like the conversation pits those 2 needs against each other where we should be looking at ways and opportunities where we can actually have both things co coexist.
