WILL BREDDERMAN
November 14, 2019 03:39 PM
The business of affordable housing is about to get more expensive.
The City Council voted Thursday to obligate below-market housing developments that receive $1 million or more in city assistance pay prevailing wage to the staff members who maintain the structures and tend to tenant needs.
The bill’s passage marks a victory for building service workers union 32BJ SEIU and a defeat for the industry groups that argued the proposal would have a “crippling” effect on the construction of low-cost apartments.
Brooklyn Councilman Rafael Espinal’s legislation exempts affordable complexes where at least 50% of tenants are formerly homeless, disabled or receiving on-site social or health services, as well as smaller buildings and projects where the city has invested to preserve rather than construct below-market units.
Espinal insisted that his bill is a necessary component of keeping New Yorkers from being priced out of the five boroughs.
“This crisis has to be addressed not just by looking at how much affordable housing is available but also looking at what kind of jobs are available,” he said.