NEW YORK CITY-Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio's plan to mandate developers to include below market rate housing in projects being built in newly rezoned neighborhoods has received praise from some housing officials, while raising some concern in real estate circles.
The plan comes with a goal of creating 50,000 below market rate units in eight years. The housing policy proposal is a break from Mayor Bloomberg's voluntary affordable housing program, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"I didn't think it has been a game changer everywhere, and I don't think it is a game changer here," says Vicki Been, director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University.
City Council Member Brad Lander says inclusionary zoning under de Blasio's proposal would be crucial and notes hat the current voluntary program was a good start but was "not working as well as we need it to be."
Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, says the real estate industry is open, but wary of the plan, “We don't object as long as the numbers make sense," he says. See story in the Wall Street Journal.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
