The secret weapon that fought the postwar housing shortage
Historian Joshua Freeman's "Garden Apartments" sheds light on an often overlooked part of the nation's housing landscape. He discusses his research and its relevance for today.
Will HPD resist the zombie calls to narrow the housing lottery door based on “preferences”?
Several proposed changes to the rules of New York City's housing lottery could make the system work more smoothly and efficiently for everyone, but a fetish to uncover what applicants "really" want is a fairness-defeating dead end.
Revolving loan funds: The hottest trend in housing finance
A housing policy tool is gaining momentum that could stimulate lots of mixed-income homes for a relatively small investment. Will partisan ideology stand in the way of its spread?
Social housing coming to Seattle this year
Seattle is the only city in America attempting to recreate a Vienna-style social housing program. In an extended interview, Seattle Social Housing Developer's interim CEO discusses the authority's acquisition and construction plans, as well as many unresolved governance and financial questions.
Major capital improvements in rent-regulated buildings: still landlord-friendly
The element of the system that has not been getting much attention is how landlords of rent-regulated apartments recoup costs for major capital improvements (MCIs) — things like new roofs, boilers, windows, plumbing, and electrical wiring.
Three housing pilots Mamdani should jump on (and be judged by)
Let's put together a wider range of tools and prove that they can work.
Walden really is a true believer in "free markets" -- with a lot of government assistance
Extended audio interview focuses on housing plans; education, civil rights, and Walden's consolidation-of-the-field scheme also discussed.
Hochul's "Pro-Housing Community" program so far falling flat
A large percentage of municipalities in Westchester and Nassau Counties — two of the beating hearts of exclusionary zoning in the New York City metropolitan area — are saying in effect, “No, thank you, we like our exclusion just the way we have it.” The lack of progress is especially apparent in municipalities with the lowest percentages of non-Hispanic Black residents.
Market-rate condos as an affordable housing tool?
Legislation recently enacted by New York State as part of its budget process directly offers the prospect of preserving several thousand affordable housing units at risk for losing their tenant protections, and indirectly raises the question of why an obvious set of tools aren’t being used to change the day-to-day reality of luxury condominium buildings being developed with zero percent affordable units included.
Cuomo seeks to reinvigorate housing segregation in NYC
Wants re-expansion of segregation-perpetuating outsider-restriction policy in affordable-housing lotteries after nine-year battle limited it. Panders to neo-segregationists despite knowing that court order has already ruled out changed based on his rationales.