New York City is in the midst of a housing shortage. The citywide vacancy rate hovers around 3 percent. Over 28 percent of renter households spent more than half of their income on housing in 2005 and over 136,000 of the city’s families are on waiting lists for public housing. This means that middle and working class New Yorkers are getting squeezed, if not entirely priced out of the city.

Federal funding for affordable housing and community development in New York City is woefully inadequate. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) faces a $168 million budget shortfall because federal funding hasn’t kept pace with substantial energy and employee health insurance cost increases.

The Bloomberg Administration has devoted unprecedented amounts of capital to affordable housing programs. Now, the federal and state governments need to step up to the plate and do their part.

Take Action

Use these talking points ell federal officials to give NYC its fair share of housing funds:

• Congress should allocate $4.2 billion to the Public Housing Operating Fund.
• The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is the nation’s most flexible and successful initiative for building and maintaining viable urban communities. Congress should restore funding for CDBG Entitlement Grants to at least $4.5 billion.

Use these talking points to tell state officials to give NYC its fair share of housing funds:

• The state should increase investments for the development of affordable housing.