I do support a housing first model. To me, Housing First means that we find individuals and families permanent housing as the first option before putting them into a shelter system.

Housing is a basic human right that everyone should be afforded. My plan to address the homeless housing crisis is to build housing that is affordable or provides the subsidies needed with a long term plan for stability. The plans includes meeting people where they are with the understanding that homelessness is not just about joblessness, there are many people who are working that cannot afford to find a place to live.

Right now the system is broken in that 1) we are not building enough affordable housing; 2) when individuals are looking for housing many times they are only able to obtain assistance or Section 8 if they go into the shelter system. I am going to dismantle the current system and change the requirements. I will also provide more levels of flexibility as we cannot have systems that supposed to be designed to help people that instead know every reason why we cannot provide assistance. I am going to move away from the lottery system and move towards a more needs based system for housing. I am also going to move away from the $3.2 billion dollar shelter system we have that is currently unsafe. Homelessness cannot be about big business.

The NYPD should not play a role in homelessness outreach because homelessness is not a crime. Also, when you have police officers reaching out it seems punitive. If we want people to be open to assistance we have to build trust and you don't build trust with someone by calling the cops on them.

The things I would change about homeless outreach is that I would provide more resources and start to hire people who are empathic, give them the resources and support they need so that they can assist. We cannot have people struggling and also have the people who are charged with helping them struggling and not have the resources they need. We have to invest in better outcomes. While I am not a psychologist I also understand that for those with mental health issues it is going to take time and trust in order to help them and that's okay. We need to have patience.

Homelessness, at its core, is an eviction and affordability crisis. All New Yorkers are housing ready -- the question is whether we have housing they can afford and provide additional support for those who need them. I will take on these crises with energy and enthusiasm because New York City needs a Mayor who is unafraid to lead.

We need to find ways to immediately house people. Approximately 4,000 people are sleeping on the streets on any given night. At the same time, around 100 hotels will likely go bankrupt due to the pandemic. As Mayor, I will explore ways for the city to acquire these properties to convert them into permanently supportive housing. I have spent time over the last few months with the men of the Lucerne and with homelessness and housing experts and know that with a housing first approach we can end street homelessness.

We must increase the City FHEPs subsidy from the current $1200 per month and restructure it so that homeless New Yorkers can actually afford an apartment. Under the current system, less than 5% of voucher recipients are able to find an affordable apartment.

We must also look at community partnerships like those formed on the Upper West Side between Project Renewal, the residents of the residents of the Lucerne, Upper West Side Open Hearts Initiative and Goddard Riverside as a model for community support and integration of New Yorkers who are currently or formerly homeless. That partnership ensured onsite services and employment opportunities.

We must also ensure that people can stay in their homes. I support the expansion of right to counsel to provide free legal representation to tenants facing eviction. But in order to keep people in their homes and realize the humanitarian benefits and financial savings from doing so, we need to make a significant initial investment in direct rent relief.

In December, I introduced an Eviction Prevention Plan that begins by using the $251M in Emergency Rental Assistance funding from the Federal Stimulus for the City. This will provide much-needed relief, but it does not come close to addressing the massive housing crisis that has been exacerbated by this pandemic. In the long term, the best defense against homelessness and displacement is ensuring that New York’s housing stock is safe and truly affordable for all New Yorkers. We need to build on the success of the housing first model by moving homeless individuals to subsidized housing and then linking them to support services. We would save money by investing in permanent supportive housing and models such as supported SROS.

I support a Housing First model, and believe we should build on its success by moving homeless individuals to subsidized housing and then linking them to support services. We would save money by investing in permanent supportive housing and models such as supported SROS. Next, public housing MUST remain public. Within that, we need to find creative solutions to fund public housing, especially with NYCHA facing $40 billion in capital needs.

No, the police should not be involved in homeless outreach. Too often the NYPD responds to problems of poverty, not of crime. We need to ensure that if the NYPD receives a call about a poverty problem, the right city agencies are involved, and the NYPD is not.

Yes I would put an end to street sweeps. I agree with advocates for the homeless who argue that street sweeps defeat the purpose of shelter-in-place by essentially moving homeless individuals from one spot to another. The CDC has advised cities to avoid sweeps unless housing can be offered on the spot, and as Mayor I will adhere to that guidance.

I will focus immediately on supports and services to end street homelessness. My administration will better organize and align services and supports to outreach to the street homeless, and get them the mental health and addiction services they need. This will improve their lives, and the quality of life of New Yorkers.

In order to support homeless individuals experiencing mental health crises, some of the programs I will look to maintain, create or expand are:

-Support and Connection Centers: facilities that offer short-term, stabilizing services for people with mental health and substance use needs who come into contact with the police, as an alternative to avoidable emergency room visits or criminal justice interventions.

-Respite care centers, mental health urgent care centers, and drop-in centers for those with mental health concerns to avoid incarceration and involuntary hospitalization. These should be services people can access without a court order, with culturally competent training and language accessibility.

-Drop-In Centers--multi-service facilities for homeless New Yorkers that provide a variety of services including food, social work, and referrals to needed programs. Five of these centers currently exist in the City, but they are not equitably located. For example, Queens does not have one at all. I would expand the number of these centers and use city data to locate the centers where there is the most need.

-Mental Health Urgent Care Centers to provide individuals experiencing a mental health crisis with a short term alternative to hospitalization. This tactic has yet to be implemented in New York City, but has seen success in LA County, more specifically with reduced overcrowding in emergency rooms and reduced escalated crises. This is especially important during COVID, as our hospitals are already experiencing immense strain. Mental Health Urgent Care Centers are also far more cost-effective than jailing people.

-Safe havens for those with mental health concerns. These safe havens would provide immediate temporary housing for homeless individuals and offer supportive services, including mental health and substance abuse programming. Individuals are not required to be sober upon entry or during their stay, which will be instrumental in helping those with substance abuse issues. Additionally, I would integrate homelessness outreach and mental health services to build on this model, and utilize caseworkers to help find stable permanent housing.

Yes, I support Housing First and Housing for All. NYPD needs to be removed from intervening with the homeless. We should have trained, skilled outreach workers (including the formerly homeless) who have training in behavioral intervention strategies and supports and can engage with people in a trusted way and for the sole purpose of helping, not criminalizing or punishing. They should be supported by medics who can also assist. As for moving folks off the streets, NYC needs to access all the existing vacant spaces in order to begin to move our homeless off the streets. That includes empty hotels and apartments. We should also be flexible about the use of other vacant spaces that might not be zoned for residential purposes but could be converted - office spaces, commercial spaces, community spaces, etc.

I support a Housing First model. Shelters were not made for long term use, yet the average time spent for families in shelters is a staggering 443 days. As mayor, I will shorten the time frame that people are in shelters. I will put an end to street sweeps and invest in transitional services for those in vulnerable situations, so that they can lead independent lives and can find a good job. I will also hold providers responsible for the duration of stay in their shelters, and take my management experience to simplify the bureaucracy and streamline services across agencies.

My administration will shift more resources to social services and mental health professionals who are better equipped to handle situations that today end up being assigned to police officers. NYPD officers have been forced to deal with any number of situations for which an armed response is not required. Shifting some of the responsibility for those interactions to social workers, healthcare specialists, or civilian staff is not only good for our communities and will avoid situations for which they are not properly trained. A 911 call about a person experiencing homelessness should instead go to trained workers who will also act as first-responders to mental health and substance abuse crises. These responders would connect the person to a shelter and mental health services. Adequate support services will be provided to secure permanent housing and there will be frequent follow ups. Families experiencing homelessness could also call to get immediate help for themselves. This will create a long-term solution by connecting the New Yorkers to care providers to treat the individual and not just the incident.

First and foremost, we need housing that heals. Health and housing are linked. Residents who do not have stable or quality housing are less healthy. Safe, secure, affordable housing is a basic human right. That means moving away from shelter strategy and to a housing strategy. We spend ~$3 billion annually on homeless shelters and services that fail to adequately serve NYC neighborhoods and families. Of that $400M goes to rent hotel rooms that are temporary and don't provide necessary support. Instead, we need to address street homelessness as a housing issue, with urgency and compassion, and the right solutions for families, single individuals and people living with mental illness.

My administration will build 10,000 units of supportive housing to provide permanent shelter, services and support for people experiencing street homelessness and those most at risk -- including buying empty or underused private properties for conversion. For families, women and children, we will ensure wraparound services in shelters, including education, health, and job readiness. We will open 10 drop-in centers in key neighborhoods to provide bathrooms and critical services 24 hours a day and begin the engagement process to get homeless New Yorkers into shelter.

It’s beyond time for New York City to fuse its housing policies with its homelessness policies and create real, viable alternatives for those living on our streets and in our shelters. Currently there are more than 20,000 single adults in our shelter system, a population which has been steadily increasing by 1,000 new adults each year. I support a “housing first” model for approaching homelessness as well as investing in Safe Haven, stabilization, and supportive housing to help unsheltered New Yorkers into safe, dignified housing with the services they need to maintain stability while addressing mental health, substance abuse and other challenges.

As Mayor, I will review existing supportive housing contracts and ensure that the system has the wealth of services necessary to serve homeless individuals. Further, with homelessness among single adults rising by 1,000 individuals per year, the pace of development of supportive housing is too slow. I will work with the State to expand our supportive housing network by an additional 30,000 beds over the next 10 years to meet the growing need. And I will expand the use and value of vouchers to help New Yorkers move from shelter to permanent affordable housing, relieving pressure on the shelter system.

We also need to improve shelter conditions, dramatically, as audits from my office have exposed the deplorable conditions that can keep New Yorkers from seeking shelter in the first place. “Housing first” also means cutting through bureaucracies and coordinating agencies to create a rapid rehousing program that creates a priority of streamlining both supportive housing and general affordable housing placements. As Mayor, I will ensure that agencies work together to streamline the process for housing homeless individuals and families. If we rapidly house those who are homeless, we can get ahead of the crisis. The city will be able to repair the existing shelters, increase their safety and reduce the reliance on hotels, which can be expensive, to emergencies. Moreover, as Mayor I will create a program converting existing, permanently vacant hotels into affordable housing and supportive housing for homeless and formerly homeless individuals -- creating permanent homes not temporary shelter.

As I’ve laid out in my office’s public safety blueprint, we need to fundamentally reimagine public safety. As mayor, I would take a multi-agency, public health-focused approach to community safety, transitioning responsibilities away from NYPD and investing in alternative responses and services. Street sweeps are inhumane and criminalize homelessness. Outreach and responses to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and mental health or substance use challenges should be conducted by trained professionals in agencies other than the NYPD, and married with investments in long-term supports like housing, healthcare, employment services, and addiction treatment.

Ultimately our long-term solution to ending the homelessness crisis in New York City has to be permanent affordable housing. People are able to move off of the streets if and when the options available to them are real housing with real services for those who need them. I plan to convert as much of our existing hotel stock into permanent housing, do everything in my power to keep as many people in their homes as possible, put more money in more folks’ hands through the largest municipal cash relief program in the country, and ultimately get out of the business of wasteful spending on band-aid solutions like shelter, and instead invest in long-term, permanent affordable housing.

There are far too many homeless individuals and families who live on the streets and reside in our shelters. As mayor, my anti-poverty agenda speaks directly to the core of this problem, seeking to uplift 500,000 of the City’s poorest so that they can have a fighting chance. Here are my goals to end homelessness:

- Reduce the street homelessness population by 50% in my first term
- Double the number of drop-in sites from 7 to 14
- Establish a 20% reduction in the sheltered population over four years
- Reduce the length of stay in the shelter system by ⅓ in a year

I plan to convert limited-service hotels, into supportive housing, giving people the resources they need to find permanent housing and build a sustainable life, create more deeply affordable units, including micro units for single adults who might otherwise be in the shelter system and expanding supply overall, which will lead to more housing opportunities and options, particularly for low income New Yorkers. Homelessness is the end result of the housing instability that affects millions of New Yorkers. The same policies that I would use to prevent displacement and assist rent burdened New Yorkers will also help to make sure more working families have a permanent, affordable place to live. Above all, we must ensure our most vulnerable have access to the mental health, jobs and supportive services they need. The NYPD should have a much more limited role in outreach to our homeless population- over the summer the city started moving toward a model of using social workers and mental health specialists in offering services to the homeless, particularly on the subways, instead of the NYPD. I support this move.

Our community is made up of many different forms of housing and that includes those individuals and families who are unhoused. Those without housing require services and support from the city and I have released my housing platform that addresses these topics which you can find at shaunfornyc.com/issues/housing.

If I were mayor, we would end street homelessness in New York City, and we would do it by reimagining the right to shelter, as a right to housing. I know we can house anyone. Now we have to house everyone. And that's what I did when I led the strategy for President Obama; we dramatically reduced street and family homelessness around the country, and where we were able to marshal the resources, we ended veteran homelessness in more than 80 cities and states--not reduced it, ended it.

I do support the Housing First Model, and simply put, it means moving away from a right to shelter towards a right to housing.

Unfortunately, we currently have a mayor right now who thinks you can solve homelessness, with homeless programs, and that is fundamentally wrong. We need every person at the table. Every Commissioner, who touches homelessness in any way. We need the health commissioner at the table. We need criminal justice advocates at the table. We need mental health experts at the table. All of those pieces have to come together.

In the short run, we need to absolutely be prioritizing rental assistance to those folks on the street so they can go directly into housing. The current shelters are dangerous. They often have inhuman conditions, and right now, we're asking people to move to a place where they do not feel safe. We should be changing our shelter system to move toward the lower barrier, private room model, like the Safe Haven model.

In the long run, we need to build a system where folks don't end up on the street in the first place. I am committed to ending homelessness through housing and we will do this by creating an improved system of emergency rental assistance and other services to help people stay housed when facing economic setbacks to avoid homelessness altogether. My plan would create a new, flexible rental assistance program that could serve 200,000 low-income households per year when the program fully ramps up. We would commit $330 million from reducing the reliance on shelters, with an additional $500 million coming from state matching funds, and $1 billion from the federal government.

With regards to street sweeps, they are inhumane, criminalize homelessness, and do nothing to get to the systemic and underlying issues that lead to homelessness in the first place. In general, we need to reduce the interactions between the homeless and law enforcement. We currently have asked police and public safety personnel to address social and community issues that they are not equipped to handle, such as mental health, homelessness, and school safety. Our city’s police officers should be focused on serious crime, like keeping guns off our streets, not street sweeps and/or homeless outreach.

Housing is a human right, and we must treat it as such; thus, I support a Housing First model. However, this model will take time to implement. In the meantime, we should continue to offer unsheltered New Yorkers respite in hotels such as The Lucerne until the city can fully undertake an approach to homelessness that is Housing First. Regarding homeless outreach, continuing the NYPD’s enforcement program (specifically street sweeps) is not a viable option for assisting homeless New Yorkers. Instead, we need to establish a more robust case management system to truly understand the situations of those currently living on the streets and assist in bringing them into supportive services.

Providing clean & safe shelter for individuals currently living on the street requires a systems approach centered upon dignity, respect and compassion. In the near term, hotel beds will likely be required; longer-term, the City would be wise to invest in accelerating inventory of supportive housing programs; creating permanent housing through acquiring & converting distressed commercial properties; assisting private home dwellers in renovating unused space into a rental room for additional income; incorporating "tiny houses" and communal pods to facilitate social & community engagement; and changing zoning requirements & tax incentives to align permanent and affordable housing along transit corridors.

I support a Housing First model and have seen it successfully employed with veterans throughout the city; this approach works to house individuals as a primary and critical step to stabilizing an individual in a permanent home placement up front, while concurrently ensuring the necessary services are available onsite for those requiring supportive housing, and readily available support, training & services in the local community for individuals requiring less intensive support.

Trained peers with lived homeless experience should be teamed up with mental health specialists and local NYPD precinct members to form Public Safety Action Teams (PSAT.). PSAT members will train & deploy together throughout each precinct, forming relationships & working together to bring an "all of City" approach to preventing homelessness, ensuring treatment for those suffering from mental illness, & accessing diversion programs, including enforcement of Kendra's Law, within hospitals, jails & shelters protect all involved. PSATs will intervene early through enhanced use of Safe Havens & other community resources to prevent encampments and preserve public health & safety for all. To be clear, I do not support "street sweeps" as currently practiced; PSATs are designed as human-centric teams whose members are trained to provide humane approaches to the homeless in our City.

We need to let go of the mindset that shelters are the solution when what people actually need is permanent housing. Thus, I am committed to phasing out congregate shelters within a period of a few years in favor of a Housing First model. While we are working to phase out shelters, I would use the city’s Capital Budget to ensure that our shelters are able to provide for their residents’ diverse needs, one of those being WiFi. I also would want to resolve the safety issues that many encounter while staying at congregate shelters. As for services for those impacted by mental health and substance use issues, I would ensure the Department of Health coordinates with H+H to extend medical care and treatment opportunities to our homeless population.

We must do away with congregant shelters. I live in Bed Stuy and there is a congregant shelter on Bedford and Atlantic and you can tell those residents are not being treated well. Their drug additions are not being addressed it is literally just a hot mess. We are spending millions of dollars and making people's lives worst.

When I am Mayor I will convert vacant buildings as well as commercial office space into permanent housing. We are spending $53,000 a year on average to house someone who is homeless. Private entities are building hotels in Brooklyn just to take in the homeless because they know it is big business and it is lucrative. But in the process we are damaging people's lives. It is not acceptable.

As Mayor, I will look at all of our capital projects. I will assess what is nice to have and what we need or needs to be addressed because of a risk and I will re-allocate funds from projects that do not present an immediate need to building and or converting buildings into permanent housing. I believe an SRO model may not be good enough either, we need to give people at a minimum a studio apartment with their own space, kitchen and bathroom so that they can have a sense of dignity. We also need to ensure that resources they may need are readily available if not in the building in close proximity.

As Mayor I will invest $3 billion towards the creation of new housing, which would create jobs and provide job opportunities ensuring that those who are homeless obtain job opportunities. The $3 billion would create 22,500 apartments. That coupled with the conversion of the commercial space would put us in a position to finally eradicate homelessness. With the eradication of homelessness we would no longer have to invest $3.2 billion dollars a year on homeless services and can invest that money in education, community services and to fill the other gaps that exist in communities that are struggling.

We will account for the needs of the LGBTQ and disabled by including them in the conversation, ensuring our goals are aligned and work together to create the outcomes. However, I must be clear. Congregant shelters do not work. In 2021 we should not have congregant shelters. It is dehumanizing and makes people feel worthless. If you treat people like they are worthless at some point they will start to believe you and act accordingly.

My goal as mayor is to secure permanent housing for everyone and will ensure that those currently in hotels have access to proper resources to gain permanent housing in a timely fashion. I will also make sure that all homeless shelter contracts explicitly require those outcomes, so we can vastly shrink the number of people who need emergency temporary housing.

One of my priorities when it comes to addressing homelessness is to provide people in shelters with comprehensive tailored support services like mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment programs, especially to underserved groups like LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and those with disabilities.  

A majority of people living in shelters are families and there has been a 50% increase in family homelessness in NYC since 2007, while there has been a 27% decrease nationally. Therefore, addressing educational needs like broadband and adequate wifi are critical for students experiencing homelessness to keep up with their school curriculums. Their parents should also have proper childcare, and job training and placement to get back on their feet and comfortably support their family.

As I mentioned before, we need to make a city-level shift from funding shelters to providing rental assistance for lower-income households. As such, I am completely opposed to congregate shelters and under my administration we would get rid of congregate housing by the end of my first term.

As stated previously, the current shelters are dangerous. They have inhuman conditions often. Right now, we're asking people to move to a place where they are not safe. We should be changing our shelter system to move toward the lower barrier, private room model, like the Safe Haven model.

Regarding mental health, we must make sure to expand the creation of permanent supportive housing units for those who need the more intensive support provided by this form of housing. My administration will aim to create 2,000 supportive housing units annually for individuals and families living with a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or other disability, and young adults. Additionally, it is our priority to find housing for all seniors residing in the shelter system, and provide needed supportive geriatric services.

Homelessness among the LGBTQ+ community is also a critical issue that must be addressed by the next mayor, especially when we consider that 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, and half of them report experiencing homelessness as a result of their gender identity or expression. As Housing Secretary under President Obama, I created and implemented an Equal Access to Housing Rule that was designed to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose. Tragically, that rule was gutted by the Trump Administration, but fortunately, Joe Biden and his administration have reimplemented this rule to protect our friends in the LGBTQ+ community. As Mayor, I will seek to secure similar protections at the city level and work with my friends and colleagues in Albany and Washington to strengthen existing protections for the LGBTQ+ to ensure that they cannot be discriminated against, and possibly be made homeless, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We will also expand the use of “paired testing” to enforce the strong fair housing protections we already have enshrined in law. Paired testing, in which multiple applicants who are similar except for a relevant characteristic (like race, sexual orientation, or gender identity) apply for the same housing, is one of the most effective tools we have to root out discrimination. And we will identify and encourage the use of alternative and less exclusionary tenant screening practices, including in public housing.

We must finally close the digital use divide and invest in the education technology and support for its use that our students deserve. This means re-positioning connectivity as a basic right to ensure education and workforce opportunities, and working with providers to accelerate the timetable for universal access, prioritizing public housing, shelters, and buildings with affordable housing units or those accepting housing vouchers.

Congregate shelters are an imperfect solution for a complex & many-faceted set of challenges. The City does not have sufficient permanent housing options for all who are currently in the shelter system, a situation further exacerbated by the pandemic & the required public health measures in effect, Therefore, the City must ensure that as many individuals currently in hotels move to permanent housing as it becomes available through renovation, construction & innovation (see above approaches in first question.)

Converting congregate shelters to permanent housing should be incorporated into the NYC Housing First Strategy; other necessary resources include bringing the Fountain House Community model to scale across the City, & partnering with the private, philanthropic & mental health advocacy, community-based organizations, social service agencies as well as public sector programs at state, regional & federal levels to maximize positive impact & ongoing support, including after care, to minimize recidivism.

As I said above, NYC needs to move away from the dysfunctional shelter system and adopt a model of providing permanent Housing for All. access all the existing vacant spaces in order to begin to move our homeless off the streets. That includes empty hotels and apartments. We should also be flexible about the use of other vacant spaces that might not be zoned for residential purposes but could be converted - office spaces, commercial spaces, community spaces, etc.

As Comptroller, I’ve spoken out about congregate shelters, cluster sites, and other dysfunctional and unsafe housing situations. As outlined earlier, I’m a firm believer that permanent housing is the key to our homelessness crisis and support expanding supportive housing.

As mayor, I will commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety, including clients with mobility issues and/or are LGBTQ+. I will redouble efforts to specifically create and fund programs for LGBTQ+ homeless youth, including providing LGBTQ+ homeless youth with significant health, educational, workforce, and legal support and creating local 24-hour drop-in locations for LGBTQ+ youth. As Comptroller, I’ve shined a spotlight on the experience of homeless students and families. I’ve pledged to triple from 5 percent to 15 percent the set-aside of new units for homeless families. Yes, I will commit to making WiFi universally available to all shelter tenants.

Yes. Let’s be clear: every person is housing ready. We must build true affordable housing and an increase in supportive housing. Our housing crisis cannot be siloed - we need to approach our solutions holistically.

Yes, I will phase out congregate shelters by moving people into hotels, which is especially important during the pandemic, as congregate shelters increase the risk of virus transmission, and put people experiencing homelessness at a higher risk of infection. The positive impacts of moving individuals into hotels has been noticed by advocacy groups and service providers, who have seen improvement in emotional and mental health concerns, and more positive outcomes for clients.

As mentioned previously, I will create Safe Haven programs for those with mental health concerns, which would provide immediate temporary housing for homeless individuals and offer supportive services, including mental health and substance abuse programming. Individuals are not required to be sober upon entry or during their stay, which will be instrumental in helping those with substance abuse issues. Additionally, I would integrate homelessness outreach and mental health services to build on this model, and utilize caseworkers to help find stable permanent housing.

I will use every tool available to help build more supportive housing in New York. That includes zoning and land use mechanisms where appropriate. I am open to making substantive changes to zoning and set aside requirements with input from advocates and community members who have worked on these topics for years. We would save money by investing in permanent supportive housing and models such as supported SROS. Around 100 hotels will likely go bankrupt during the pandemic. I would explore ways for the city to acquire these properties to convert them into permanently supportive housing. We also need to ensure housing for low income and extremely low income people is built in safe, accessible locations.

With regards to universal WiFi, while I was at City Hall, I was asked to develop a plan to build free broadband across New York City. In my time running the program, we established free broadband at Queensbridge Houses, developed plans to wire at least one NYCHA development in each borough, and earmark $70m in capital dollars to enact that plan. When I left the administration, no one executed the plan and when COVID hit, Queensbridge Houses was the only NYCHA development in the City with free broadband. When I am Mayor, I will finish what I started to ensure that every New Yorker, including those in shelters, have broadband access.

Our goal as a City should be to move people directly into housing with supportive services - not shelters. We can’t expect people to take advantage of mental health or job placement services if their most basic need, a stable, permanent home, is not met first. This can be done at almost the same cost as the shelter system, and will be much more effective.

I am the only candidate to commit to expanding support for the 140 NYC schools with more than 20% homeless students. Before COVID, 1 in 10 students were doubled up, living in a shelter, or unsheltered; we cannot blame teachers for low performance in schools. We need to expand support for these schools and provide practical necessities, like installing a washer and dryer.

The pandemic has highlighted significant healthcare disparities by income and race -- driven by lack of access to regular, affordable care. Some of NYC’s lowest-income communities also have the fewest hospitals and healthcare facilities. And as of the last census, 600,000 New Yorkers lack health insurance. Kathryn supports more investment in H+H virtual care / telehealth services to improve access to mental health care services. We can adapt learnings from the successful Test and Trace models to send micro teams into communities for public health screenings and services, and connect people with virtual care and wraparound services. Mental health services, particularly via telehealth, will be included as part of the wraparound offering for all individuals that interact with the shelter system. This will be particularly important as we face COVID recovery, with so many young people in New York City having lost a caregiver in the last year.

I will absolutely commit to making WiFi universally available to all shelter tenants (I have supported and will implement universal broadband), but as I’ve said above--our goal is not to have people stay in shelters long term.

We are at an inflection point in New York City when it comes to how we use the built environment. We are facing not only a crisis of desperate need for long-term, permanently affordable housing, but also a crisis of unused or underutilized commercial space, including hotels. Congregate shelters were among the highest risk of COVID spread as the pandemic rages on. Through the increased use of supportive housing and increasing the rental assistance programs to the same level as section 8, I am committed to reducing the shelter population by 20% by the end of my first term.

The fact of the matter is that for too long emphasis has been on siting shelters, which are a temporary solution and not enough focus on how to get people out of shelters in the long run. We must dramatically increase the number of mental health beds we have available to people who desperately need the support and for whom a traditional shelter is not conducive. We should also be building more supportive housing that will give people the tools they need to transition out of homelessness. I support LGBTQ+ shelters and believe there should be more.

On the question of access: we must make WiFi universally accessible, especially at our shelters. One of the greatest failures of the pandemic was the lack of resources our most vulnerable students had to participate in remote learning, a challenge our city’s youth will be struggling with for years to come. That is why I have laid out in my plan for universal broadband, that will start with shelters, city buildings and NYCHA developments. I will also hire an army of CUNY students to serve as paid tutors to assist these students with their school work.

Housing is a human right, and we must ensure that all New Yorkers can afford to live - and stay - in this City. One of the greatest expenses burdening our residents is housing. From homeless and extremely low-income New Yorkers to the middle class increasingly feeling squeezed out of the city, affordable housing that meets the needs of all our residents seems unattainable. This is a crisis that drives gentrification--displacing Black, Latino, and Asian New Yorkers.

We need to rethink the City’s approach to land use and rezonings in ways that create and maintain affordable housing, with a focus on deep and permanent affordability over simple unit production. All land use and housing plans should include a fair distribution of resources and development that takes into account community needs and corrects for historic disinvestment and displacement in communities of color.
In order to build up generational wealth, and encourage community wealth building, communities should have the opportunity to acquire their own housing. This means exploring programs where distressed properties are acquired by the City for use as permanently affordable housing to be managed by nonprofit affordable housing developers, investing in community land trusts, keeping housing built on public land permanently affordable, and exploring measures like TOPA/COPA at the city level to put housing in the hands of residents.

Racism has contributed to inequitable wages, inequitable access to employment and inequitable access to education for centuries. These issues are inextricably linked. We must prioritize Housing as a Human Right, commit to moving away from the shelter system and provide permanent housing to all NYers, and ensure that we are providing access to education and jobs that pay a living wage.

We must also provide tenant protections including "Know Your Rights" education that is easily accessible via trusted community institutions, we must increase access to & secure legal representation when tenants need support, eliminate landlord harassment, and hold landlords legally accountable when they are found to be engaging in discriminatory behavior. We must also provide access to these services and supports in a way that prioritizes Black and Brown communities in order to address the historic inequities in displacement and discrimination.

Systemic racism cripples the socioeconomic, psychological, and physiological well-being of the BIPOC community, which, in turn, impacts their ability to find and maintain safe and affordable housing. Ending racial segregation as it relates to homelessness is a multifaceted undertaking; however, one way my administration will fight segregation is by performing an in-depth investigation into bank redlining in the city and divesting from the institutions that are guilty of the practice. I will also work closely with economic justice advocates to create legislation that is effective in ensuring that New York banks abide by non-discrimination policies. To address the disproportionate impact of homelessness in the Black community, I will take the immediate step of instituting a moratorium on rezoning until a comprehensive study on its racial implications is conducted.

For too long our city has suffered racial injustice and this has pervaded our economy, housing, environment, schools and more. We must ensure that people of color have every opportunity to succeed in NYC. That starts with equity and excellence in schools. It also means investing in job opportunities and deeply affordable housing so that New Yorkers can work and live in NYC. As an anti-poverty mayor, it will be my mission to right these historical injustices.

I plan to be an anti-poverty mayor. That is why I have proposed the most robust basic income program of any city in the U.S. We will allocate $1 billion to uplift the poorest 500,000 New York City residents out of poverty. I believe this will go a long way toward economic, social and racial justice.

The racial divide in our housing is extremely concerning. During my presidential campaign, I committed to housing as a human right, which means advocating for policies that will ensure everyone has a roof over their head. We need to continue to build more affordable housing and we need to cut the red tape that has permitted powerful groups in wealthy neighborhoods to get in the way of worthwhile projects and rezonings. New York City can easily support more affordable housing. To be sure, while rents are now falling in certain segments of the market, it is discouraging that they are not dropping in neighborhoods or for families that could most use some financial room to breathe. We must commit to every neighborhood doing their fair share-- this includes welcoming deep affordable housing and shelters-- which will go a long way to integrate our communities. Under the de Blasio administration, for example, emphasis was placed on rezoning low-income communities, my administration would move past this and focus on transit rich neighborhoods, including wealthy communities.

Housing segregation remains a crisis in New York City. Far too many people of color are unable to find sustainable, affordable housing because of a long and painful history of discriminatory practices with which the city is still reckoning. This lack of access to housing, undoubtedly leads to increased homelessness among Black and Brown New Yorkers.

But we should also recognize that discrimination against voucher holders is a big part of the problem as well. Even when voucher holders pay market rent, there are still way too many landlords who will discriminate against individuals based on the color of their skin. That is wrong and is something I will not stand for in my administration.

During my time as Housing Secretary, I promulgated rules to codify and strengthen the fair housing act to protect to New Yorkers, and all Americans, from this type of discrimination at the federal level. The first rule was “disparate impact,” which makes clear that policies or practices that discriminate against people of color or other protected groups are illegal even without proof they are intentional. The second rule mandated that communities “affirmatively further fair housing,” which requires government to promote greater opportunity and integration as well as fight discrimination. For example, if a city’s affordable housing is all located in Black neighborhoods with failing schools, limited transportation, and poor health care, the city must make an effort to fix the problems in those neighborhoods and build new affordable housing in other neighborhoods, in addition to ensuring there’s no racial discrimination when any of the individual apartments are rented out.

We will partner with the federal government to enforce and strengthen these rules and, in addition, we will take the following steps to move us closer to the day when every New Yorker, regardless of identity, can find housing in our community without fear of prejudice:

Support local legislation to address discrimination based on past involvement with the criminal justice system, since a criminal record—even for a minor offense—is often an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining housing. Obtaining housing is a vital part of reacclimating to society, gaining employment, accessing health care, and reintegrating with family or support networks. Please see my Criminal Justice Platform, which was just released.

Identify and encourage the use of alternative and less exclusionary tenant screening practices, including in public housing, to remedy the disproportionate impact that screening has on communities of color.

Expand the use of “paired testing” to enforce the strong fair housing protections we already have enshrined in law. Paired testing, in which multiple applicants who are similar except for a relevant characteristic (like race) apply for the same housing, is one of the most effective tools we have to root out discrimination.

Finally, much of the disparities in homelessness come from underlying and systemic issues that must be attacked at the source. We cannot just put a band-aid on this issue and simply look to affordable housing to solve homelessness, or these issues will persist. We need to look at disparities in healthcare, disparities in income, and disparities in our criminal justice system. To that end, my campaign of ideas has proposed a number of policies that get at these underlying issues--all of which disproportionately impact communities of color--in order to give all New Yorkers a fair shot at success, thus preventing homelessness in the first place.

For too long our city has suffered racial injustice and this has pervaded our economy, housing, environment, schools and more. We must ensure that people of color have every opportunity to succeed in NYC. That starts with equity and excellence in schools. It also means investing in job opportunities and deeply affordable housing so that New Yorkers can work and live in NYC. As an anti-poverty mayor, it will be my mission to right these historical injustices.

I plan to be an anti-poverty mayor. That is why I have proposed the most robust basic income program of any city in the U.S. We will allocate $1 billion to uplift the poorest 500,000 New York City residents out of poverty. I believe this will go a long way toward economic, social and racial justice.

The racial divide in our housing is extremely concerning. During my presidential campaign, I committed to housing as a human right, which means advocating for policies that will ensure everyone has a roof over their head. We need to continue to build more affordable housing and we need to cut the red tape that has permitted powerful groups in wealthy neighborhoods to get in the way of worthwhile projects and rezonings. New York City can easily support more affordable housing. To be sure, while rents are now falling in certain segments of the market, it is discouraging that they are not dropping in neighborhoods or for families that could most use some financial room to breathe. We must commit to every neighborhood doing their fair share-- this includes welcoming deep affordable housing and shelters-- which will go a long way to integrate our communities. Under the de Blasio administration, for example, emphasis was placed on rezoning low-income communities, my administration would move past this and focus on transit rich neighborhoods, including wealthy communities.

The abominable history of systemic racial discrimination in city, state & federal housing policies over a period of decades is as shameful for its past legacy & enduring impact as it is imperative now to move forward with firm & fair policies which must be enforced to eliminate discrimination & create forward momentum for inclusive growth & equity. This commitment must start with those who have been most adversely affected by past practices and wrongs, especially Black women spanning generations.

For decades communities of color have been the targets of racist housing policies- from the history of redlining to the lack of access to health care. These practices unfortunately continue today, such as the discriminatory tactics real estate agents on Long Island used, steering people of color into certain communities or placing more burdensome requirements on them than their white counterparts, which the Attorney General is now investigating.

However, the burden of being housing insecure on people of color goes beyond housing discrimination. As of January 2021, the majority of people in City shelters are people of color, a disproportionate amount of whom are Black, at 57%. Over 3,000 single adults who enter the shelter system each year are coming from state prisons.

Racial equity must be a part of every single policy proposal--from education, police reform and housing to transportation, climate and even governance. My fundamental approach will be to dedicate resources equitably to ensure that all communities receive the best quality services--that means allocating resources to better serve neighborhoods that have been historically underserved. As an adopted woman growing up in a multi-racial household, I didn’t have to look farther than the dinner table to understand that diversity makes us stronger. I took that experience with me throughout my public service career.

When it comes to recovery, my Administration will be focused on equity. We will prioritize supporting the most vulnerable New Yorkers with meaningful economic relief and pathways for economic mobility. First, we will provide free childcare for working families, allowing guardians, especially women, to get back to work. Second, we will unlock barriers for small businesses by increasing access to credit, streamlining all laws and regulations governing restaurants and nightlife establishments, and cutting red tape for all permit and licensing processes. Third, we will create job pipelines into both the public and private sector for justice involved youth, CUNY colleges, and trade schools. We will guarantee graduates of our trade schools City employment, work with the private sector to offer 10,000 paid internships to high school students, and subsidize wages for youth who face barriers to employment.

When it comes to diversity, our City has always had two dueling legacies. Alongside our commitment to diversity and integration, there has always been a different, uglier legacy: of housing segregation, redlining, urban “renewal”, and out-of-control gentrification. If we want to build a city where all New Yorkers—of every income and every background—live together, then the time for piecemeal, incremental housing plans is over. We need a transformational approach that brings deeply affordable housing to every corner of every borough and ends housing segregation.

Recent rezonings have been a major driver of displacement. The vast majority of rezonings under the de Blasio administration have occurred in communities of color — including historically Black communities. As mayor, I’ll replace selective rezonings that benefit handpicked developers with real, citywide comprehensive planning and ensure affordable housing is built for the neediest New Yorkers in every community.

Additionally, one of the leading drivers of homelessness in New York City today is domestic violence, accounting for 41% of the family population entering homeless shelters — 90% women of color. Half of the families in shelter have Black heads of household and Black women also experience among the highest rates of interpersonal violence. Further, many single adults who enter the shelter system come from unstable homes that often include incidents of domestic violence. To address this challenge, the City and State must take a comprehensive approach that increases the capacity of the domestic violence emergency shelter system; addresses gaps in our laws so survivors who can remain safely in their homes are able to maintain their housing; provides rapid financial assistance to meet immediate needs through a Survivor Housing Stability Fund, and provides a new statewide rent supplement to assist vulnerable populations that include domestic violence survivors.

We also must take a long-term and holistic approach to end the relentless cycle of incarceration and homelessness fueled by the criminalization of poverty and lack of sustained services that disproportionately impacts Black and brown New Yorkers. In addition to having led fights to abolish for-profit bail and eliminate mandatory court surcharges, fines, and fees in our criminal legal system, I’ve outlined a public safety blueprint to continue the work of ending the criminalization of poverty and advance a decarceral agenda for New York.

We must be honest that our current systems are broken and racist. Poverty has become big business. While giving the appearance of trying to help, the government has actually played a role in worsening the situation. If we want to change that dynamic and create true equity and assistance we must do just that by investing in communities of color in an equitable manner.

NY is a very diverse city. However, you only hear stories about the issues related to housing, homelessness, education, jobs, healthcare and food insecurity in communities of color. We must ask ourselves, what are these other communities obtaining that the communities of color are not? Stable housing creates stable communities. So why are others able to obtain stable housing and communities of color are not? Why are communities of color filled with drugs and guns and liquor stores? We have to ask these question, look at what is transpiring in other communities and then ensure that all communities have the same resources and opportunities.

As Mayor, and someone who has a clear understanding as it relates to the brokenness of the systems I will work to change the dynamics as it relates to the current inequities that exist. If you want to create equity you don't give someone a Section 8 certificate and someone else home ownership opportunities. A EBT card for some while others obtain a decent education and a good job; is not equity. These factors, the lack of a good education, the lack of jobs that pay wages that will allow to rent an apartment or buy a home have played a huge part in the current housing and homeless crisis.

As Mayor, starting with subsidies needed to get people to permanent housing is a start down the right path but it is only a start. We must start looking at ownership opportunities for everyone at levels they can afford so that we do not continue this cycle of poverty and struggle and the next generations do not inherit the same challenges.

I am a proud supporter of Intro 146, which I believe can shape a new pathway into permanent housing. To ensure it gets passed, we must be bold and examine how we currently use the funds designated for addressing homelessness and housing: the city spends $90,000 to house a person in our shelter system. Why don’t we give that money back to the individual to return to the market, find an apartment, and stabilize themselves? However, rental assistance vouchers are not sufficient by themselves to end homelessness: we also need to make sure affordable housing is affordable.

My administration would implement a moratorium on rezoning, which is currently increasing the price of affordable housing beyond what is reasonable for homeless and low-income New Yorkers. While I favor extending the eligibility for housing subsidies to undocumented New Yorkers, I also believe that there needs to be more case support for undocumented individuals trying to navigate the city’s housing system.

Yes I would support Intro 146, which does away with arbitrary time limits (now 5 years) for rental assistance and provides assistance for as long as the household meets eligibility standards. I would also increase the level of assistance to the same as section 8. I also believe that undocumented New Yorkers should be eligible, from not only a humanitarian point of view but also since the cost of housing is far less than the cost of shelter.

An important weapon to reduce shelter population is rental assistance programs. Although there has been some success in the past with these programs, we are now at a point where the city’s payment structure is substantially less than what landlords will accept and the average length of stay in shelter has skyrocketed. For example the city’s rental assistance program, Family Homeless and Eviction Prevention Supplement (“FHEPS”) will only pay approximately $1,600 a month for a family of four while Federal Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers pays $2000 a month. This difference results in landlords refusing to accept FHEPS vouchers while they wait for a Housing Choice Voucher. It is ridiculous that due to a gap of a few hundred dollars a month, families are remaining in shelters which cost $6000 a month. I will immediately move to make the city’s rental assistance program equivalent to the section 8 standards. I will also hold landlords accountable if they refuse to accept the vouchers. Tenants who are on the verge of eviction and are paying more than 50% of their income on rent would be eligible for rental assistance to help them stay out of shelter. In addition, we’re going to push the State to pass the Home Stability Support Bill, which provides a rent supplement of 85% of the difference between the fair market value of a two bedroom apartment ($1,951) in NYC and the current shelter supplement.

I would support Intro 146. Ensuring that Intro 146 actually happens now. This year we have an opportunity to elect 51 city council members, some of which may remain, many of which will be new, a new comptroller, a public advocate and a new Mayor. While ensuring Intro 146 will be a priority for me; you, as the voters need to help in this effort in that we must ensure that every elected official that is elected this year in these various positions are all for backing 146. We should not go into the 2022 term fighting the same fights over the same issues. Please know that I cannot do this alone. This is about community effort, the communities coming together and making decisions to finally elect people who want to speak in the same voice and do not want to continue to do this posturing of "fighting for the people!' We don't need people to fight, we need people to work together and get things done. That is my goal as Mayor and again, I am asking for your support in ensuring that the homeless community, communities that are struggling, communities that are food insecure come together and elect the right people.

For undocumented NYers it is not practical to spend $53K year to keep them in a shelter but not provide them with housing. Providing them with housing is more cost effective and it just makes sense. That is my vision as Mayor.

My goal is to ensure that we avoid individuals and family going into the shelters at all if possible, especially given the stigma that is associated with someone living in a shelter. I believe that we are smart enough to figure that out if intentions are true and pure. However, if that is necessary in my administration our goal would be it be at a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months.

I support the principles behind Intro 146 but would need to look at it more carefully before I commit to supporting it fully. In my first 100 days, I would increase the value of vouchers to an affordable/market rate. However, still more needs to be done to improve the voucher system, especially when it comes to preventing and ending homelessness.

We must recognize that it's not just the city's voucher program that's broken. When I was HUD Secretary, I created a much higher standard that required vouchers to be specific to each community, not to just the overall metropolitan areas--which is the system we currently have. Unfortunately, Ben Carson and Donald Trump undid that. However, I’m currently working with President Biden to get that back in place and to make Section 8 vouchers universally available. Only one in four people that need a voucher is currently eligible right now. That’s unacceptable.

Additionally, and as I stated previously, we must recognize that discrimination against voucher holders is a big part of the problem as well. That’s why we need a mayor who's actually going to enforce the law, which says that you cannot discriminate
based on source of income. I helped create that standard at the federal level, but we need a mayor who's going to enforce that law, because otherwise, raising the voucher amount isn't going to be enough.

In addition to advocating for universal vouchers at the federal level, we will also push for a city-level shift from funding shelters to providing rental assistance for lower-income households. We will enforce the city’s source of income discrimination laws and break down barriers to make the voucher program easier to use for both tenants and landlords. We will also support housing navigators–trained professionals who can provide information about neighborhoods around the city as well as the process of obtaining housing—to help housing voucher holders secure homes in a wider range of neighborhoods, promoting greater upward mobility.

Regarding the length of stay in a shelter, as I previously stated, many folks don’t feel safe staying in shelters, and as such, we should not be forcing the homeless to live there. We need to move our city from a right to shelter towards a right to housing, in order to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the housing support they need. Right now, it takes an average of six months in the current system--and in the worst cases, up to three years-- to move someone from shelter to housing. That is unacceptable. The amount of time anyone has to spend in a shelter should be zero, but that transition will take some time.

Yes, I support Intro 146. Rental assistance vouchers should be available to individuals and families for as long as they are eligible.

I also believe that we need to focus on different metrics. Rather than fixating on the number of units we will build, we need to fixate on the numbers of people - who are sleeping on the street, who are rent burdened and who are in shelters. And as you’ve indicated, on the number of days spent in shelter. We need to approach this problem with the assumption that individuals are housing-ready. The most critical thing here in the plan I’ve proposed is 10,000 units of supportive housing to provide permanent shelter, services and support for people experiencing street homelessness and those most at risk--and 10 drop in centers. Moving someone from temporary shelter to permanent housing is contingent on trust and wrap-around services.

As mayor, I will expand rental assistance to serve more New Yorkers and to ensure that vouchers cover the actual cost of housing in New York City. One of my key metrics will be reducing the number of individuals entering the shelter system in the first place, and dramatically reducing the amount of time individuals spend in shelter. I will hold both city agency staff and shelter operators accountable for more quickly helping individuals experiencing homelessness access permanent housing, including supportive housing if needed.

I also recognize that we need to address the root of the problem by adding truly affordable housing to every neighborhood in the five boroughs, which will be open to undocumented individuals. I will look at existing housing stock to determine where vouchers and rental subsidies can help place people transitioning from other government programs such as the prison system, foster care and hospitalization. I would also consider options that expand affordable housing stock through quality basement apartments, accessory dwelling units, and communal housing.

We can work to end homelessness by helping New Yorkers on the brink to stay housed. To do so, we must work with our state and federal partners before evictions resume unchecked. One critical tool the City has is its voucher system, which can provide individuals facing economic instability with immediate relief. Additionally, vouchers are currently the primary tool the city has to serve those who are currently homeless. However, these vouchers are only available for those in shelters, not those on the street. Individuals and families who do not wish to brave the often dangerous conditions in shelters are left without resources. As mayor, I will end this practice and ensure that there are vouchers available for both those on the street and in shelter.

I support Intro 146, and would call on the Speaker to schedule a vote and for the Council to pass the bill. As mayor, I would increase the total number of vouchers and their dollar value to ensure they meet the fair market rent as defined by HUD, and work to ensure all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, have access to social and supportive services. The current City voucher is worth only $1,323 for a household of two in a one bedroom, while a comparable HUD voucher would be $1,714. For the City's vouchers to be useful, they must be worth at least the fair market rent. Further, as VOCAL-NY and TakeRoot Justice’s recent report on source of income discrimination demonstrates, too often vouchers go unused because landlords illegally discriminate against subsidy holders. The City must increase penalties and do more to aggressively fine landlords who discriminate based on source of income, educate voucher holders of their rights, and ensure credit is not a barrier to safe housing by eliminating the need for credit checks for voucher holders. We must also be more flexible and do a better job of centering individuals’ circumstances in the structure of the City voucher program. No one should be denied stable housing, especially after being issued shopping letter after shopping letter over many months if not years, because they had picked up an extra shift at work. But rigid income eligibility requirements make that all too common.

Unfortunately, the average length of stay for individuals and families in the shelter system is well over a year and the next mayor will inherit this existing population. The goal of any administration for the average length of stay in a temporary shelter should be as little time as it takes to fill out an affordable housing or supportive housing form. As Mayor I will increase the affordable housing capital budget so the city can build truly affordable housing and supportive housing, and support more New Yorkers into permanent housing as quickly as possible.

Yes, I support Intro 146 housing assistance vouchers for all New Yorkers in need, regardless of immigration status, & will do everything in my power to advocate for its passage & adoption of its tenets & provisions at all levels -- city, state & federal. In my Administration, I would establish a goal of 90 days for the average length of time spent in safe & clean shelter facilities, engaged with trained peer & professional staff to accelerate placement in permanent housing. This will be an aspirational goal to begin with and an operational reality over a period of 2-3 years as the City accelerates and increases the availability of permanent housing options; all efforts will be centered upon minimizing the length of stay in shelter.

We must increase the City FHEPs subsidy from the current $1200 per month and restructure it so that homeless New Yorkers can actually afford an apartment. Under the current system, less than 5% of voucher recipients are able to find an affordable apartment.

I am proud to have the endorsement of two of the Sponsors of Intro 46, Councilmembers Steve Levin and Helen Rosenthal. I agree with them that we must increase the City FHEPs subsidy from the current $1200 per month and restructure it so that homeless New Yorkers can actually afford an apartment. Under the current system, less than 5% of voucher recipients are able to find an affordable apartment.

As my New Deal New York plan clearly states: City Hall needs to be more effective in partnering with and engaging with the communities that are impacted by the legislation and policies it enacts. I’ve met with New Yorkers impacted by homelessness and know that thousands of the current voucher system does not work. By raising the value of each voucher to market value, Intro 146 would open up hundreds of additional housing options would become available and it would give homeless New Yorkers access to safer neighborhoods, better opportunities for employment, and brighter futures for their families.

Despite the bill having a majority of support from NYC Council Members, the bill has not moved forward. I would work with Steve, Helen, and other sponsors of the bill to make sure that the City Council makes this a top priority.

Undocumented New Yorkers contribute so much and are an essential part of the fabric of New York City. As Mayor I will expand on the City’s efforts through NYC Well, improving on the patchwork of programs that currently exist to serve City residents, including access to housing vouchers and subsidies.

In the short-term, my Administration would be supportive of efforts to reform and fix the current broken voucher system and would help to see Intro 146 passed in the Council by placing pressure and support on Council Members. However, in order to truly fix homelessness, during my administration, we would move the City AWAY from its reliance on the shelter system toward one that provides permanent affordable housing for everyone, regardless of documentation status.

We need to move urgently and immediately into prioritizing that housing is a right, and working to expedite all New Yorkers (regardless of documentation and status) into permanent housing. This happens through the creation of more social, supportive and cooperative housing, utilizing purchases on foreclosures and eminent domain of vacant spaces, and seeing that we immediately house anyone currently homeless in New York City. This would include repurposing of existing vacant spaces (hotel rooms, office spaces, commercial spaces). We will do this by prioritizing investments in communities rather than tax subsidies to developers.

We must fundamentally transform the way in which we develop housing in NYC. That means working in partnership with communities to co-create a vision of housing for all. It also means prioritizing investments that are currently provided to developers in the form of tax subsidies (the 'kickbacks' I referred to!) and investing those dollars in the community through the expansion of social, supportive and cooperative housing, as well as increasing community land trusts. As mentioned above, we must exercise eminent domain to access vacant spaces, convert existing spaces, including repurposing spaces and exercising flexibility with spaces that might be zoned as commercial or office space, access hotel rooms, etc, in order to significantly expand the housing stock available and insure that it is deeply affordable. Finally, we should expand and increase community land trusts so that communities have a clear and direct role in determining how land is used to meet their needs.

We will focus City investment where it’s needed most and create 50,000 units of deeply affordable housing (<30% AMI). We will also make it easier, faster, and legal for private partners to build more housing. We have added 500k New Yorkers over the last decade, but only 100k units of new housing - we cannot reduce the housing prices without increasing supply. We will comprehensively zone for more affordable housing citywide, focusing on neighborhoods rich in transit, jobs, and schools. In order to make it easier, faster, and legal for private partners to build more housing, we will end apartment bans and discriminatory zoning, and allow duplexes and triplexes to create more options for families. We will legalize basement apartments, accessory dwelling units, and single-room occupancy (SRO) apartments as a safe, sustainable and efficient means of providing housing to single-adult households--approximately one-third of households in New York City.

I believe in responsible development, including aggressive use of rezoning to bring more affordable housing to areas that are transit rich and can support more New Yorkers. The current land use process does need reform, but I also believe that for development to be responsible--it requires early buy-in from the community. It may not be interesting to talk about ULURP--but streamlining this process is really fundamental to solving our housing challenge. The ULURP process is too long and cumbersome to meet our urgent housing needs, and it unnecessarily pits communities against desperately-needed affordable housing. It can take between 12-15 months to even start the ULURP process and then projects go through a seven month review with approvals at several levels of bureaucracy and elected officials. We will introduce reforms to streamline the ULURP and environmental review process. Affordable housing projects will have a shorter review to reflect the urgent need to build affordable housing. We will also streamline permit applications and inspections at the Buildings Department and sister agencies (DEP, FDNY, etc.) to reduce red tape and reduce the lead time from project initiation to occupancy.

The next Mayor must commit to fully funding public housing renewal and development instead of turning to the private sector to increase the housing supply for working families and the homeless. If elected, I will take a holistic, aggressive approach that requires the city to match the need for 100 percent affordable housing in new developments using an infusion of tax credits and city council dollars.

I will work with the hotel and real estate industry to convert vacant, non-union hotels and commercial spaces into supportive and affordable housing; I will also municipalize empty apartments. I will work to legalize basement apartments and institute a vacancy tax for properties that fail to lease their apartments within a reasonable time.

To ensure that new housing construction is entirely dedicated to those who need it most, I will mandate that housing in New York includes an AMI inclusive of the city’s lowest earners and homeless population; I will also commit to designating HPD units to these populations. I favor moving away from the lottery system we currently use to assign HPD units to ensure we are prioritizing the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

New York City’s housing and homelessness crisis has been decades in the making. What’s missing is the leadership, experience and vision to tackle the crises, head-on. As mayor, I will launch a sweeping program for Universal Affordable Housing — building deeply affordable housing that low and extremely low-income New Yorkers need and can actually afford.

We can start by acknowledging that for too long, the City has created goals around the number of housing units constructed, but failed to consider the level of affordability needed, fueling speculation, gentrification and displacement across the five boroughs — but mainly, in communities of color.

My housing plan would harness the nearly 3,000 vacant lots owned by the City to build a new generation of social housing. We’d get shovels in the ground to build tens of thousands of new, 100% permanently affordable housing units in partnership with a new City Land Bank and community land trusts. These units would be targeted for the 560,000 New Yorkers in desperate need of housing justice — those with very and extremely low-incomes, dangerously overcrowded, or living in shelter for over a year. Additionally, as described earlier, my plan also includes expanding our supportive housing network by an additional 30,000 beds over the next 10 years to meet the growing need.

In stark contrast from the previous administration, my plan also requires every big development—in every neighborhood—to set aside permanent, low-income, affordable housing. As mayor, I will require that every as-of-right development across New York City set aside 25% of their units to those making 60% of AMI or less — typically $58,00 for a family of three (two minimum wage earners and a child) — for low and very low-income New Yorkers. This will help to desegregate New York’s wealthiest communities and provide thousands of units of Universal Affordable Housing. As Mayor, I will prioritize reducing the shelter population by setting aside a minimum of 15% of all affordable housing units for those in the shelter system.

Yes, I will work to convert commercial properties into affordable housing. The glut of distressed properties (fueled in part by the COVID-19 pandemic) and now-vacant commercial and permanently vacant hotel space pose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to increase the city’s stock of deeply affordable homes and supportive housing.

As a former Borough President, I have a history of working with communities to successfully approve the construction of shelters, supportive housing and affordable housing across Manhattan. I did not fear “nimbys” or obstructionists, and use the principles of community based planning to engage and build consensus, and deliver on goals to end homelessness and ensure every New Yorker has a safe and stable roof over their head.

From 2001-2008, the city created 2.2 units per new job. By 2018, there were only 0.5 units per new job. If we're going to meet demand we need to use every tool in the toolkit. City capital needs to be spent on affordable housing, and we have to increase subsidies and focus them on housing for low income New Yorkers. Additionally I will leverage other city assets, namely vacant and underutilized city owned plots of land to build housing that would be within affordable ranges for purchase.

I also commit to building more senior housing with on-site services. There is a growing demand for it in every part of the city and doing this will open up supply for the rest of the system. We also, however, need to make more resources available to seniors to allow them to age in place and stay in their communities.  

In the past, failures in coordination and communication between the city and local neighborhoods have led to conflict that have harmed both individuals experiencing homelessness and communities at large. I will work to bridge those differences by speaking directly to both sides and bringing them together under the common goal of ensuring all New Yorkers have a permanent home.

I absolutely support dedicating new housing construction for those who need it most -- supportive housing is especially important as a proven effective model for stabilizing individuals and supporting them to live lives of dignity & purpose. Per Q.1, I do support converting defunct commercial properties to affordable housing; I also support designating currently vacant HPD units for currently homeless New Yorkers. NIMBYism will remain as an enduring challenge -- early & sustained community engagement is critical to ensure a timely, respectful & inclusive process in which every voice is heard & honored. In the end, governing is all about building trust, exercising judgment, enforcing accountability & getting hard things done. When consensus is possible, great -- when not, that's when the habits of true leadership & the character of unshakable values, especially integrity, are most needed.

My economic recovery platform, New Deal New York will create up to 100,000 new jobs for New Yorkers. 30,000 will be new jobs through projects that will employ artists, construction, technology, and engineer workers, along with approximately 70,000 indirect jobs for childcare workers, librarians, home healthcare workers, and manufacturers. In addition, I am exploring ways to strengthen Section 3, the HUD mandate that requires employment opportunities generated by federal assistance to public housing authorities to be directed, whenever possible, to public housing residents and other low and very low income residents. Possible avenues for strengthening Section 3 include tracking and reporting labor hours, rather than new hires, and improved outreach and training for residents.

In addition, we must prioritize building permanent affordable housing for people across the City, rather than prioritizing certain zoning designations. I will reinstate the cuts that were made in the city’s affordable housing program and commit to building more housing. I will focus on deeper levels of affordability for new housing development, rather than focus simply on unit production, as has been the strategy of this current administration. We know that affordability is two-fold: low rents and decent wages. But we also know that there is a conflict that has existed for a while: the more it costs to build housing the less housing we build. The city should invest in models for housing like community land trusts and TOPA/COPA so that we can put ownership in the hands of residents and ensure long term stability and the building of intergenerational wealth. We need to change the City’s approach to land use and re-zonings in ways that create and maintain affordable housing. All land use and housing plans should include a fair distribution of resources and prioritize the construction of affordable housing.

As Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, I oversaw the creation and preservation of 165,000 units across thousands of projects. I also helped create and launch the NYC Acquisition Fund which has been hugely important in funding affordable housing projects in the city, and also created the Center for NYC Neighborhoods to help families keep their homes during the great recession/subprime mortgage crisis. As HUD Secretary, I oversaw the creation and preservation of millions of homes and apartments across the nation.

My administration will implement United for Housing’s recommendation to lead an inter-agency effort to innovate new models, create efficiencies in process, modernize building codes, and streamline approval processes. We will: adopt Uniter for Housing’s call for $4 billion per year in capital funding for affordable housing production and preservation; engage stakeholders to develop a strategy to streamline approvals and interactions between agencies, with the goal of reducing the average affordable housing construction timeline by 20% while maintaining all necessary safety standards; and establish a New York State Public Housing Preservation Trust to meaningfully engage residents in oversight, provide the means to leverage multiple funding sources, access Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs), and ensure that we can make repairs to every apartment.

The financing and construction of new affordable housing and the preservation of existing affordable housing can require the work of multiple city agencies. We will engage stakeholders to develop a strategy to streamline approvals and interactions between agencies, with the goal of reducing the average affordable housing construction timeline by 20% while maintaining all necessary safety standards.

We will also reduce hard costs in affordable housing construction by 20% percent while maintaining all necessary safety standards, by allowing innovative forms of project delivery, expanding allowed materials in construction, and reviewing labor requirements. By reviewing ballooning site insurance costs and other insurance costs, reviewing HDC financing fees for possible savings, and applying other similar strategies, we will identify extraordinary soft costs that can be reduced through exemptions or alternatives. When I was HPD Commissioner, I worked with DC37 on a program that gave thousands of members access to affordable housing and homeownership.

Additionally, we will convert distressed properties into affordable housing. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the city’s economy, impacting commercial real estate and bringing tourism and the hotel industry to a halt. This economic tragedy presents an opportunity to strategically acquire distressed properties that can be converted to affordable housing. Specifically, we will:

Convert underutilized hotels into supportive housing with onsite social services: The conversion of hotels into single-occupancy units for permanent supportive housing has been part of New York City’s housing plans for decades. We have the experience, infrastructure, and capacity to make this a part of our city’s economic recovery. Additionally, supportive housing is one of the most effective pathways to addressing the ongoing homelessness crisis. Tenants who were served by supportive housing spent fewer days in jail, homeless shelters, and State-sponsored psychiatric facilities, than those who were not. While there are many supportive housing developments across the city, perhaps the most visible example is the Times Square Hotel, a former grand hotel that was converted into a 652-unit permanent supportive housing development for formerly homeless adults. The project, which is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is credited with developing a new approach to ending long-term homelessness and helping to stabilize the Times Square neighborhood.

Convert vacant office space into housing: After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the conversion of office space to residential housing using the Liberty Bond program and the 421-g tax abatement were critical in the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Today, we can use the lessons learned from that effort to craft a comprehensive plan to revitalize our city’s commercial and business districts while focusing on inclusivity, diversity, and affordability. And while Midtown East is the most obvious candidate, any solution must be scalable for smaller business districts facing similar issues across the five boroughs.

With regards to ensuring that affordable housing is meant for those who need it most, I will adopt citywide inclusionary zoning to ensure that every neighborhood contributes to a citywide solution for affordable housing. The original Inclusionary housing program was designed to create an incentive for developers to build affordable units in exchange for bonus floor area. However, both this program and the more recent Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program have been applied inequitably, targeting low-income or quickly gentrifying areas while leaving out high-opportunity neighborhoods across the city. We would seek zoning text changes to apply an Inclusionary Housing program on a citywide basis, creating an evenly-applied standard and set of robust incentives that would encourage new production of affordable homes in every neighborhood.

Additionally, we would amend the zoning text and Building Code to facilitate conversions of underutilized commercial and manufacturing sites to supportive and affordable units, and to legalize below-grade accessory units that are safe and inexpensive. Specifically, we would seek zoning text amendments to ensure that these millions of square feet of office and hotel space can be repurposed for residential use, along with changes to the Building Code and state law that date to the tenements of the early 1900s. My administration would also seek to legalize existing below-grade units, and to facilitate new development of such units, through local legislation and possibly state law changes. With these outdated restrictions eliminated, New Yorkers would have access to a wave of new, inexpensive, and safe apartments.

Although I plan to work with resistant communities and give folks from every community a seat at the table-- including advocates, housing experts, developers, and those impacted by homelessness--we are dealing with a crisis and must primarily consider the needs of the most vulnerable first and foremost. When I was HPD Commissioner and HUD, I worked to build coalitions that created affordable housing projects in coordination with the communities they were in. As previously stated, my administration would seek zoning text changes to apply an Inclusionary Housing program on a citywide basis that would encourage new production of affordable homes in every neighborhood. The needs of the homeless community and those on the brink of experiencing homelessness will be top of mind in my administration.

The current model of utilizing developers to build affordable housing is not working. Developers are in the business of making money, the government is supposed to be in the business of supporting the residents of the city. The current model of providing subsidies and tax break for developments that only provide 25% affordable units has only help to increase the homelessness situation. It has driven up housing cost for tenants and many of these luxury apartments remain empty as we do not live in a city where 75% of the residents make luxury rent salaries. $15 an hour wages and $2,000 rents do not match.

As Mayor, I will move away from the AMI model. We have done a ton of data analysis on the demographics, family make up and incomes of this city. We need to build housing based upon what we know exist in this city. The city needs to invest the funds of the residents of this city in providing 100% affordable housing units based upon what we know people can afford.

As I mentioned in my previous statements I would convert defunct commercial space into affordable housing. It would be most cost effective than building ground up developments.

The City’s current Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program (“MIH”) requires that rezoned lots set aside between 20% and 30% of units as affordable. MIH has been disappointing for several reasons and I would reform and improve MIH to provide truly affordable housing for low-income New Yorkers. First, MIH does too little to incentivize developers to select the Deep Affordability Option, which requires 20% of the income-restricted units to be affordable to families making 40% AMI. A Yang Administration would provide additional incentives, such as a greater FAR bonus, for projects that select MIH’s Deep Affordability Option. The MIH program also does not require that any units have more than two bedrooms and, conversely, does not allow units to be less than 400 square feet, discouraging the creation of microunits as well as the creation of dwellings suitable for families with children.

A Yang Administration would adjust the bedroom mix requirements for MIH developments to add a requirement that 25% of the MIH units must be three bedrooms or greater (currently, there is no requirement to build units larger than two bedrooms) and, to allow for the additional bedrooms, a Yang Administration would end the requirement that units be larger than 400 square, so that micro units can be substituted for studio units, thereby creating additional space for units with three bedrooms. By shifting the bedroom mix requirements and reducing the Dwelling Unit Factor (the number of dwellings permitted on a lot depending on the allowable FAR), for certain developments with MIH, both additional deeply affordable microunits for low income single adults and additional larger units with two and three bedroom units for families, would be created.

In addition, I would use New York’s existing housing stock more creatively to expand supply. I would reform arcane laws that place arbitrary caps on the number of unrelated individuals who can share dwelling units in multi-family buildings and relax prohibitions on separate and independent living in dwelling units in multi-family builds. I would also ease the restrictions on the creation of rooming units. Reforming these parts of the City code will allow for the creation of more SRO-type residencies and legalize coliving, create thousands of new housing opportunities, much of it affordable. I’m also going to encourage the creation of microunits (also known as tiny homes and Small Efficiency Dwelling Units) by decreasing the Dwelling Unit Factor (the number of dwellings permitted on a lot depending on the allowable FAR) so that buildings with micro-units are permitted additional density and legalize accessory dwelling units (“ADRs”) so that basement occupancies, and additional dwellings built in the backyards of single family homes, are legal.

Finally, I support upzoning dense and transit rich communities and, through a Reformed MIH program in those upzoned areas. I’m going to give additional FAR bonus and density bonus to developers who commit to deep affordability (20% of units affordable to households earning less than 40% of AMI). Buildings using Reformed MIH would be allowed to contain micro-units and would be required to contain 25% three bedroom units, creating deeply affordable housing for New York’s lowest income working families. Expanding access to affordable housing for low income New Yorkers also requires revamping the way the City connects low income New Yorkers to suitable housing. That starts with rethinking “Housing Connect” (the website where income restricted units are marketed) as a mobile first platform accessible through a NYCApp, especially because the only internet connectivity low income New Yorkers often have is through their phones.

The key to all policy making is to bring all the stakeholders to the table. The communities most impacted by COVID must have a say in how we move forward, and will have the best insight into what is actually needed on the ground, and then how to best implement the solution. The rollout of the vaccine distribution plan is an excellent example of what happens when you don’t include communities in the process- vaccines are not getting to the people that need them most, are not accessible, and are not trusted.

In my first 100 days, I will improve the City government’s response to homelessness through better coordination. The first step is having one Deputy Mayor that oversees both housing and homelessness. As mayor, I would ensure that homeless services and economic development and housing all report into the same deputy mayor, who will be held accountable to treating housing issues with one comprehensive approach. Currently, DHS and HPD are overseen by two separate Deputy Mayors – the Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services and the Deputy Mayor for Housing & Economic Development. Although preventing homelessness requires multiple strategies, linking together housing and homelessness will focus our affordable housing efforts.

Second, there are 19 City agencies that play some role in homelessness. This is a problem that requires a proven manager who can coordinate between agencies to solve problems. I will order these agencies to complete a 60-day review of all of the processes and policies that need to change to shift from a shelter strategy to a housing strategy. We will center the voices of those who have experienced the shelter system in that review process.

Yes. Each agency will be accountable for how their responsibilities contribute to the overarching goal of essentially ending homelessness by creating, resourcing & sustaining a system which is responsive, humane & effective in providing permanent housing for the most vulnerable -- the homeless -- among us. The first Commission meeting will be convened within the first 100 days, and continued on a quarterly basis thereafter.

Thank you all for the privilege of participating in this historic forum -- I would be honored to serve as your Mayor.

My administration will look very different from administrations of the past. In this moment and even prior to the pandemic we have so many in the community who know the issues, who are addressing the issues and are actually figuring out how to create something from nothing. We see that in so many areas not just homelessness. These individuals are hard working, creating and are doers. It is my intention to include some of these individuals in my administration.

In addition, to which I want to create a Mayor's office in every borough to bring city hall to the communities. I want to foster more community involvement, engagement and power to create change.

Within the first 100 days a commission will be formed which will empowered to make decisions and create change.

Let me be clear: tackling homelessness will be a multi-agency priority when I am mayor, and that’s a message that will be sent on Day 1. One of the main reasons we have such a severe homelessness crisis today is because the City has for too long taken a siloed approach to managing the challenge, leaving it mainly up to DHS to provide shelter. But that’s the wrong approach. We need to recognize that the root causes of homelessness are varied, and that the best way to combat homelessness is by preventing it in the first place.

On my watch, that will mean making sure that, for those suffering from mental health issues, adequate services are provided by the Department of Health. It will mean that before any individual is released from the custody of the Department of Correction, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice will be required to connect that person to a safe place to live. It means that families on the brink of eviction will be able to get cash assistance and other help from the city Human Resources Administration -- before they are kicked out, and at a fraction of the cost. The point is, the causes of homelessness are many and varied, but so are the tools at the City’s disposal. I will use them all as mayor.

I will also involve advocates and those with lived experience of homelessness in developing strategies -- as I have in the past. When I was Manhattan Borough President, my office partnered in 2007 with Picture the Homeless to count every vacant lot and building in Northern Manhattan. More than 150 volunteers hit the streets to walk every block, and by the end of the process we had counted over 1,700 abandoned buildings and 500 vacant lots. That work continues to inform my thinking around city-owned vacant lots and the role they could play in helping to build a new generation of social housing.

Absolutely, we must hear from the people who have lived experience and who provide direct-services to these populations. Within my first 100 days I will commit to getting the ball rolling on our municipal basic income program that will uplift 500,000 people out of poverty, a goal I hope we will exceed later in my term. I will commit to speaking with neighborhoods and beginning the process of developing a comprehensive citywide plan so that everyone is bought into the process of utilizing our land so that we maximize affordable housing for those who need it the most, improve our transit, build new parks, improve our schools and more. Currently the Homeless Services Advisory Board made up of 11 members has only one person who has been or is homeless. I would also require the Department of Homeless Services establish a Clients Advisory Board made up of at least 40 shelter residents from the various types of shelters. This CAB would be required to meet with the DHS executive staff on a regular basis.

During my time in the Obama administration, we created an inter-agency council on homelessness that brought everyone to the table across the federal government to tackle this issue. I would use the same approach in city hall and ensure that those directly impacted by homelessness had a seat at this table as well. As I stated previously, we need every person at the table--every commissioner who touches homelessness in any way. From health to housing to criminal justice; of those pieces have to come together if we're going to re-imagine our right to shelter as a right to housing and end street homelessness. To that end, I commit to ending street homelessness in my first term. In my first 100 days, I would increase the value of vouchers to an affordable/market rate.

As part of the plan for my First 100 Days, I commit to initiate immediate housing to end homelessness beginning with vacancies throughout the City, including hotels, city leased properties and abandoned spaces. This will be done in partnership with communities, including those most directly impacted - the homeless, and a coordinated effort of community organizations, advocates and City agencies that have the ability to facilitate and support the rapid response and execution necessary to address this long-standing crisis that has plagued too many New Yorkers for too long.

Yes. My commitment to working with impacted communities and community-led organizations runs deep. Throughout my career as a Civil Rights Attorney and as the founder and President of the Center for Social Inclusion, and then while in City Hall, I partnered with various grassroots organizations across the City such as NYC-EJA, El Puente and the Red Hook Initiative on various organizing and policy fights. I am also a past board member of the Center for Popular Democracy.

I am and forever will be accountable to the people and think that far too often the people’s voices are ignored in the policy-making process. That is why I have made People’s Assemblies a center piece of my candidate and intend to continue them into my administration, and why I have sought counsel from community-based experts as I have developed policy throughout this campaign. For instance, before developing and rolling out my Gun Violence Prevention Plan, I hosted a People’s Assembly on Gun Violence and sought counsel from violence interrupters and cure violence leaders from across the City.

Similarly, I released my Anti-Eviction Policy before the broader housing platform because in every People’s Assembly we hosted, attendees recounted the fear they have about getting evicted from their homes. In developing the policy, my team and I sought guidance from organizations such as Housing Justice, MHANY, CNYCN, and more.

Throughout my career in and out of government, I have always understood that good policy can only be developed by working with impacted communities and their representatives directly.

I agree to form a Commission to End Homelessness. I will appoint an affordable housing czar who will oversee the Commission’s collaboration with city agencies, advocacy organizations, and directly impacted individuals. With the help of the Commission, I hope to do the following during my first 100 days: 1) pass Intro 146, 2) begin the injection of capital funding for the building of actual permanent housing, 3) use the capital budget to ensure we are meeting the needs of the city’s shelters, and 4) begin the process of reinvesting the $3 billion we are currently spending on homelessness into a Universal Basic Income pilot program.

As mayor, I would absolutely include those experiencing homelessness and homelessness advocacy groups in decision making processes. Having community stakeholders involved will make housing and shelter programs more effective.

To increase affordable housing, we have to look at a citywide process where every community district identifies places to add a percentage of new housing units. I will have Community Boards, local development corps, and community based organizations come up with their own strategy, with the support of city staff. We can use that to inform where we build, but every community must do its part.

Within my first hundred days I would include an initial increase for rental subsidies in my first budget, which I would then look to build on as city revenues return. I will also begin the process of reviewing all contracts with homelessness service providers and establishing clear metrics so that we can ensure accountability and move resources to those providing the highest quality of services. And I will meet with advocates and New Yorkers experiencing homelessness in order to ensure that our approach is fully inclusive.