The Lack of Low-Income Housing

Abstract

This chapter details how Mayor Michael Bloomberg celebrated successes and suffered defeats when it came to low-income housing. It mentions 165,000 units of affordable housing that Bloomberg built or renovated during his three terms, a record surpassed only by mayors Fiorello La Guardia and Ed Koch. It also reviews the highly sophisticated system of financing that Bloomberg created to accomplish his feat on housing, which included funding the New York City Housing Trust Fund. The chapter recounts the establishment of the New York City Acquisition Fund that built affordable though not necessarily low-income housing, providing developers financial incentives through various federal and state programs. It highlights the housing policy in which Bloomberg suffered his greatest defeat as he lost more low-income housing than he built.