NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill on Wednesday requiring city agencies to create and submit a fair housing assessment and plan every five years, with a specific focus on the production and preservation of affordable housing and investment in underserved communities, the mayor’s office said.
The bill, Intro. 1031-A, requires the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and the Department of City Planning (DCP) to collaborate with relevant agencies to assess long-term citywide housing needs, housing production goals for each community district and put together a “strategic equity framework” that will report obstacles and strategies to overcome these obstacles.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, the bill’s sponsor, said “My Fair Housing Framework legislation will help create a plan that is a foundation for building and preserving housing, prioritizing affordability, and improving access to neighborhood investments and resources. By setting the expectation that every community must help address the housing crisis, the law will establish an important tool of transparency and accountability for solving our housing crisis.”
At Wednesday’s bill signing, Adams reflected on “outdated” regulations that have prevented the city from building much-needed housing, like the 1961 zoning resolution which he said promoted discrimination and was a measure pushed for by people who “aimed to promote racial segregation.”
“For far too long, government has let restrictive laws and zoning rules keep us from building the housing New Yorkers need,” Adams said. “I am proud to stand side-by-side with Speaker Adams to fight the factors that have contributed to housing discrimination and inequality.”
At the conference, Adrienne Adams confirmed that the city’s top priority is developing more affordable housing that will allow New Yorkers to raise families in the city, keep long-term residents in their neighborhoods and give residents more financial freedom.
Adrienne Adams also noted that the fair housing framework is a way to address the disparities in housing production and investments across neighborhoods, noting that some neighborhoods with abundant infrastructure and amenities haven’t produced enough affordable housing units. Through her framework, the expectation is set that each district to contribute equitably in addressing the housing crisis.
“We know that housing is a key determinant of health and safety and one of the best ways we can help secure stability of New Yorkers. It is our responsibility as a government to provide these opportunities for residents to thrive,” Adrienne Adams said.
The Fair Housing Framework builds on other City Hall programs promoting fair housing practices, like HPD’s elimination of credit checks for New Yorkers selected for affordable housing and the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal released in September that aims to build more housing in every neighborhood through pro-housing reforms.
“Today we have two leaders of this city of color – both the speaker and myself as the mayor – we have a Working People's Agenda and we are helping to end the era of injustice,” Adams said.