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Q&A

HPD representatives respond to concerns about affordable housing and worker wages

0:53:25

·

153 sec

Lucy Joffe and Ahmed Tigani from HPD address Council Member De La Rosa's concerns about balancing affordable housing needs with fair wages for workers. They explain the potential impact on HPD's budget and housing production, while also discussing the broader context of housing affordability in New York City.

Explain the estimated cost and potential reduction in housing units if wage requirements are implemented
Discuss the importance of rent-regulated housing and its limitations
Highlight the complexity of balancing various cost increases in housing development

Lucy Joffe

0:53:25

I think we share those concerns.

0:53:27

Why we're here what we're doing today is not trying to deepen that sort of that pitting of those values as you said.

0:53:34

We want to be really clear and transparent about how how we see this impacting HPD's budget.

0:53:40

There is a lot of confusion about, at which times, is this about something costing developers more money versus HPD more money, and what are the trade offs that we would have to make?

0:53:50

And we wanna be really upfront about what those are.

0:53:53

Our estimates are this would cost a lot of money per year and that the ways that we would address that are building fewer units.

0:54:01

Our estimates are that we would build anywhere from a 1000 to 2500 fewer units per year We probably would have to do less deep affordability.

0:54:11

Some of the programs that we talk about, we won't have as much access to.

0:54:14

So those are while someone may frame those as pinning against each other and I get that, We also wanna have a really serious conversation that looks at what are the impacts and how do we balance that to get the best outcome we can for the city, for New Yorkers, for everyone.

Ahmed Tigani

0:54:30

And the only other and the only other two things I would add is you mentioned rent regulated housing.

0:54:36

Rent regulation is one of the most important protectors affordable housing in the city.

0:54:42

And at nearly a million units, it doesn't in itself meet the affordability need of the city.

0:54:49

So we, as HPD, are constantly thinking of how many more units we can add to that before people can no longer, like, live here and subsist in New York.

0:54:59

Wages and job growth is a very important piece that.

0:55:02

We see primarily our ability to help with that by creating a stable roof and affordable housing, deeply affordable housing to be part of that solution.

0:55:12

And then, you know, the second part of it is that as you point out, with term sheets or other pieces, there are a lot of specific minutiae into what we're trying to do to make it possible for developers, nonprofits, be out there and compete, be able to get the lending that they need to pay the insurance that they need to get the projects.

0:55:30

Off the ground.

0:55:31

So there are a lot of different cost increases across the board we're trying to address.

0:55:36

And, you know, wages is one of that, but to your to that point, we're trying to look at all of these in balance, Tim.

Lucy Joffe

0:55:41

And not to just keep going back in here.

0:55:43

Yeah.

0:55:44

But one of what we see, unfortunately, is that for most New Yorkers, housing is their biggest cost.

0:55:50

And that is the lever that we are constantly trying to adjust, and that makes it a very important part of any economic development conversation.

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Council Member De La Rosa calls for bold thinking in addressing housing and wage issues

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Discussion on minimum wage for non-prevailing wage projects