FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2022 Contact: david@newdealstrategies.com
“REZONING IS NOT AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN, FULL STOP:” INVEST IN OUR NEW YORK STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING “AGENDA”
NEW YORK, NY—In response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s expected State of the State address, in which she plans to unveil her rezoning plan to solve the affordable housing crisis in New York, Jawanza Williams, Director of Organization at VOCAL-NY and steering committee member of the Invest in Our New York campaign issued the following statement: “At first, Governor Kathy Hochul’s housing plan sounds nice…but the reality is, rezoning is not an affordable housing plan, full stop. Greedy corporate landlords and developers are pushing out tenants, raising rents, and leaving homes in disrepair—and these are who we expect to solve the housing crisis? Absolutely not. All developers want is free access to build as many luxury developments as possible to maximize their profits—but luxury developments won’t do a thing to solve our statewide housing crisis, which is so severe that 104,000 children in New York City alone are housing insecure. Governor Hochul has the power to be truly proactive in addressing housing by investing $10.4 billion in housing to increase access for New York’s most vulnerable & to drive down the costs of rent and utilities. Until those investments are made, we will continue treating this plan as yet another unserious cash grab for the donor class.”
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About Invest in Our New York
Invest in Our New York (IONY) is a state-wide coalition fighting to rebuild the state’s economy by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and investing in working-class New Yorkers and their communities. After achieving a series of revenue-raising victories in 2021, IONY is calling on the Governor and State Legislature to invest the budget surplus and a portion of FY2024 economic development spending towards universal childcare, higher education, social housing, and climate justice programs as a common-sense approach to driving economic growth and building broader prosperity in New York.
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