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Debate over building shelters vs. affordable housing and long-term planning
1:20:12
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4 min
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Council Member Brannan and Commissioner Park engage in a debate over the decision to build shelters instead of affordable housing, touching on payment speed, long-term planning, and the use of the term 'emergency' for shelter construction.
- Brannan presents a case where a developer is choosing to build a shelter over affordable housing due to quicker payments from DHS
- Commissioner Park emphasizes the need for both shelter and affordable housing
- Discussion on the appropriateness of using the term 'emergency' for long-term shelter construction projects
- Park explains the ongoing need for shelter due to systemic issues like income inequality and housing shortages
- Debate over the balance between addressing immediate shelter needs and long-term housing solutions
- Commissioner Park contrasts New York's approach to homelessness with other cities, emphasizing the moral obligation to provide shelter
Justin L. Brannan
1:20:12
Yeah.
1:20:12
I mean, the the situation I'm thinking of in my district is I've got a vacant lot, which is a unicorn in Southern Brooklyn, where I'd love to build affordable low income housing or any kind of housing, and the developer is in contract to build a shelter thatis going to take 2, 3 years to build.
1:20:34
And the reason why is because they're saying because they can get paid quicker from DHS and HPD.
1:20:39
They'd love to build housing.
Molly Wasow Park
1:20:41
So So
Justin L. Brannan
1:20:42
it's a different dynamic of retrofitting a building where you're talking months versus right now, it's just a vacant lot that it could be housing to to house folks, but it's gonna be a shelter?
Molly Wasow Park
1:20:54
So, again, I think it is incredibly important that we are citywide talking about shelter and housing, and we are also very committed as as you you and I
Justin L. Brannan
1:21:05
talked about people in shelter to ultimately end up in housing?
Molly Wasow Park
1:21:09
Absolutely.
1:21:10
That's a huge priority for us.
1:21:11
Last year, we moved 18,500 households out of shelter into permanent housing as a record for us.
1:21:17
So we think about permanent housing all the time.
1:21:19
But making sure that we do have an adequate and appropriate and and well managed and maintained shelter footprint that can accommodate need, is important.
1:21:32
Right?
1:21:32
We're the analogy that I use is that shelter is the emergency room of the housing sector.
1:21:38
Right?
1:21:38
We don't want anybody to be getting our primary care for the emergency room, and we don't want anybody to be living in the shelter system long term.
1:21:44
But while people are facing emergencies, and right now we have an awful lot of low income rent burdened households, we do need an adequate emergency room.
1:21:55
You know, the difference between, the HPD pipeline and the DHS pipeline, I think, does really relate to that low income housing tax rate.
Justin L. Brannan
1:22:03
I just think that the the word emergency is being used a lot.
1:22:06
And when you're talking about building something that's 2 or 3 years away, 2 or 3 years is not an emergency.
Molly Wasow Park
1:22:13
It is an emerge the emergency that I am talking about in that case is the emergency of that household.
1:22:19
Right?
1:22:22
Homelessness exists in New York City as a function of, you know, decades of growth in income inequality, decades decades of underinvestment in affordable housing, housing in general, you know, long term policies around, wage
Justin L. Brannan
1:22:41
I I don't
Molly Wasow Park
1:22:42
I don't I don't disagree.
Justin L. Brannan
1:22:43
And I we're on the same page.
1:22:44
I just think what's happening here is these developers, they're ag they'll build whatever.
1:22:49
They're agnostic.
1:22:50
They're building shelters simply because DHS is paying them quicker than HPD.
1:22:54
They rather they're in the business of building housing, but they're building shelter for for this reason.
1:23:01
They're not building shelter for any other policy reason.
Molly Wasow Park
1:23:05
So I the point that I am trying to make is that it is as much as we need housing, it is not a problem to also build shelter because we need a robust shelter sector.
1:23:17
Not only is it our legal obligation, I frankly think it's a moral obligation.
1:23:22
Right?
1:23:22
I grew up in California.
1:23:24
I go back to visit family, and on every highway off ramp, there is a tent.
1:23:29
It is it's frankly horrifying that in some of the most expensive real estate in the city, that that you have mass unsheltered homelessness.
1:23:39
In New York City, 95% of the people experiencing homelessness are sheltered.
1:23:44
Is the goal permanent housing?
1:23:46
Absolutely.
1:23:47
Is the need for shelter going to continue exist to exist for the foreseeable future because of all of those macroeconomic factors that I talked about?
1:23:55
Unfortunately, yes.
Justin L. Brannan
1:23:58
Does DHS have any, contract with DATCO?
Molly Wasow Park
1:24:04
Not at this time.
1:24:04
We did during COVID.
Justin L. Brannan
1:24:06
And who do you have now?
1:24:07
You have Garner?
Molly Wasow Park
1:24:09
No.
1:24:09
All of our emergency sites are operated by not for profit organizations.
Justin L. Brannan
1:24:14
Okay.
1:24:15
Okay, Jared.
1:24:15
Thank you.
Gale A. Brewer
1:24:17
Thank you very much.
1:24:17
We've been joined by council members Joseph and Stephens.
1:24:20
And now, council member Wang.