De Blasio Bolsters Affordable Housing, but at What Price?

By J. David Goodman

Under Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City is financing affordable housing at a breakneck pace, creating or preserving over 24,500 units last year — more than any year on record. To do so, the administration spent $1.1 billion, the most ever by the city in a single year, according to City Hall officials.

Part of the reason for the increased spending is simple mathematics: A plan that seeks to preserve the affordability of 180,000 units of existing apartments and build 120,000 new ones is going to cost more.

But there is another factor: The administration is trying to expand affordable housing at a time when the market has been increasingly unfavorable, following changes to the tax code under the Trump administration.

Marc Jahr, who ran the city’s Housing Development Corporation under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, said that changes in the tax code had hurt the expansion of affordable housing, not just in New York City but across the nation. “It’s reduced the price of credit and increased the amount of subsidy the city has to put in deals,” he said.

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Source: The New York Times (via Empire Report New York)