By Naeisha Rose
Community groups advocating for affordable homes amid the housing crisis delivered more than 1,000 postcards, festively wrapped, to the district office of City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) in Jamaica on Monday.
The so-called “gifts” had pleas from members of the New Economy Project, a social justice group, tenants and other organizations in support of protecting land from developers. They urged the speaker to support the Community Land Act, a package of bills that would give community land trusts and nonprofits the tools to expand permanently affordable, public-controlled housing and spaces.
Will Spisak, the senior program associate at NEP, the group leading the postcard campaign, who also co-founded the NYC Community Land Initiative, a coalition of more than 150 social justice and housing groups, told the Chronicle that land trusts could help assuage the fears of people who have concerns about a speculative market after the passage of Mayor Adams’ City of Yes for Housing Opportunity bill on Dec. 5. The mayor’s plan allows building new housing units in every neighborhood throughout the city via zoning changes.
“Community land trusts are nonprofit organizations that are community-run that seek to take land off the speculative market to hold it in perpetuity for the advancement of the community to make sure that housing and land remains permanently affordable,” Spisak said. “We know that one way or another, [CoYHO] is going to spark speculation in the housing market. These bills would be really well-suited to help mitigate some of those effects and address some of that speculation.”
The CLA consists of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or Intro. 902; Public Land for Public Good, Intro. 78; Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Resolution, Res. 374; and Abolish and Replace the NYC Lien Sale, Intro. 962.
If passed COPA would allow CLTs and nonprofits a first right to purchase multifamily buildings when landlords sell. Intro. 78 would require the city to prioritize CLTs and nonprofit developers when disposing of land it owns. Res. 374 calls for the state legislation to give tenants first right to collectively purchase a building when a landlord sells. The last measure would prohibit a tax lien sale of a financially distressed building so that a CLT can convert it into permanently affordable housing. The goal is to keep New Yorkers in their homes, according to NEP.
COPA has 25 co-sponsors, Intro. 78 has 26, Res. 374 has 16 and Intro. 962 has six.
Spisak, of Glen Oaks, believes that passing bills like COPA would cap speculation once CoYHO is in full force.
The program associate said the coalition supports some parts of CoYHO, but there are parts of the housing plan it is skeptical about.
“As a coalition we recognize that supply is an important part of addressing affordable housing,” said Spisak. “Ultimately, it is not enough to bring housing costs to the level that we need in order to consider it sustainable for working New Yorkers.”
Spisak said some of the housing that will be built under CoYHO is going to be luxury apartments passed off as affordable housing.
“We are highly skeptical that [CoYHO] is the solution that is going to solve our affordable housing crisis,” said Spisak. “One thing that we are happy about is that the speaker did fight for the City for All amendment, where we got a lot of the budget items that we were fighting for like the $5 billion invested in housing programs and infrastructure.”
The amendment includes more money for CLTs.
“Our city’s housing and affordability crisis remain top of mind for New Yorkers and the Council,” said a spokesperson for the speaker via email. “The bills that are part of the Community Land Act will go through the legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough public engagement and input.”
Paul Graziano, a land use expert from Flushing, said the CLA “may” curb speculation in higher-density areas, particularly ones that are primarily lower-income communities of color where people wish to form CLTs.
But, he said, lower-density areas such as St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale and Springfield Gardens, will still be devastated by the zoning changes, which allow for massive apartment complexes where they were never allowed before.
“CLA will have zero effect on these areas,” said Graziano.
Spisak said that transformational legislation needs to be passed in order to change the way real estate is done in New York City.
“That is what those bills will accomplish,” he said.