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The Money Race in the Democratic Mayoral Primary: March Filing Key for Matching Funds


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(l-r) Maya Wiley, Andrew Yang, Kathryn Garcia, Shaun Donovan, & Dianne Morales all appear on track for matching funds


The top tier of candidates in this year’s Democratic primary for New York City mayor continues coming into focus through a variety of metrics, including the latest campaign finance filings, which help indicate which candidates have gained traction with voters and will have the financial means to compete ahead of the June vote. In the heavily Democratic city, the party’s primary winner is the odds-on-favorite to become the city’s next mayor.

Monday marked the latest campaign finance disclosure deadline as candidates declared their fundraising and expenditure from the last two months. The filing is of particular importance to candidates trying to hit the city’s public matching funds threshold, which can result in a windfall of well over $1 million the next time public funds are disbursed by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, which will examine the filings.

Candidates can opt into the city’s matching funds program, which has new rules that give them the option to receive an 8-to-1 match for up to the first $250 of qualifying contributions from city residents. The candidates have to meet a dual threshold of raising and spending at least $250,000 from a minimum of 1,000 qualifying donors. (Candidates can also choose to follow older rules that come with a lower matching ratio and higher contribution limits, though few have made that choice.)

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Comptroller Scott Stringer, the two high-profile elected officials in the race and candidates who have been raising money the longest, continue to lead the pack in overall fundraising. They had been the first and only two candidates to qualify for millions in public matching funds.

The Campaign Finance Board also made another round of public fund payments, based on filings from January, and civil rights attorney Maya Wiley became the third Democrat in the race to receive public matching dollars. Both Stringer and Adams have now raised more than the $7 million spending limit for the primary for those participating in the public funds program, though that limit may increase depending on the spending of non-participant Ray McGuire, a former banking executive. It is also the first real campaign finance filing of the race for Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and former presidential candidate who has made a big splash in the race and is continuing to cement his status toward the front of the pack with a record-breaking fundraising period.

Adams has raised more than $8.5 million in total – having raised $3.3 million and having received $5.2 million in public funds – and has more than $7.5 million in cash-on-hand going into the final three months of the primary, according to the filings. His campaign raised about $330,000 in the last two months and expects to receive roughly $420,000 in additional public funds at the next disbursement in April. He has 6,816 donors for an average contribution size of $440. Of his fundraising, $2.1 million came from New York City residents and $867,000 came from non-residents. 

“I am overwhelmed by the support our campaign has received from every corner of this city,” Adams said in a statement. “Working people -- everyday New Yorkers -- are propelling this campaign, and our contributors represent the beautiful diver sity of New York. Our campaign has the most support because we are a movement to deliver what hard-working New Yorkers deserve: a fair, safe, prosperous city that puts them first.”

Stringer has raised more than $8.1 million so far, including about $4.6 million in public funds. His campaign estimates it will receive another $720,000 in matching funds next month. He has about $6.8 million in cash-on-hand. He has 6,647 donors who gave an average contribution of $306. He has raised $1.5 million from city residents and about $480,000 from outside the city. 

“We’re building a multiracial, intergenerational, people-powered coalition to go the distance and win this race,” Stringer said in a statement. “New Yorkers want a progressive leader to rebuild New York City fairer than ever before — and they know I’ll be ready on day one to do it. It’s time for a mayor with the vision, skills, and experience to lead our recovery. That’s why I’m in this race, and it’s why I’m so proud of the growing support we’re receiving across the city.”

Wiley, former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, got the big boost of public funds on Monday, continuing her recent momentum that included key recent endorsements. She has raised a total of nearly $3 million, including the $1.9 million public funds payment. Her campaign reported raising about $330,000 since January, of which about $125,000 was in matching claims, which means she could receive another $1 million in public funds next month. She currently has about $1.7 million in cash on hand.

“This campaign has tons of momentum coming off another successful fundraising period and catalyzing endorsements from 1199 SEIU and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez,” said Maya Rupert, Wiley’s campaign manager, in a statement. “With less than 100 days left in this campaign, we will have all the funds we need to speak to New Yorkers across the five boroughs about why Maya Wiley is the changemaking woman we need at City Hall.”

Former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales, former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia, former federal housing secretary Shaun Donovan, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang all claimed to have also qualified for public funds in their new filings, though their claims have yet to be audited by the Campaign Finance Board. Should they hold true, they would receive public funds when the next round of payments is made on April 15.

Yang's campaign claimed to have garnered 15,600 donors in just two months, the most individual donations received by any mayoral candidate ever, though the actual number was 14,758 in his final filings with an average contribution size of $145. About 6,300 of those donors live in New York City, the campaign said.

Yang’s campaign has raised more than $2.1 million, including $1.09 million from city residents and $1.04 million from outside the city. His campaign claims just over $591,000 in matchable contributions from city residents that will qualify for nearly $4.7 million in public funds, for an estimated overall sum of $6.5 million. He has about $1.3 million in cash-on-hand. 

“In 57 days Andrew has visited all 5 boroughs, held dozens and dozens of public events, and built a first rate grassroots campaign with the expertise, volunteer muscle, and message needed to win,” said Sasha Ahuja and Chris Coffey, Yang’s co-campaign managers, in a statement. “Andrew’s message – that hope is on the way – is resonating with New Yorkers who are ready for the City they love to be back bustling again. With 100 days left, we have built the foundation and energy to win.”

Donovan has raised a total of $2.2 million so far and has about $718,000 in cash on hand. His campaign claims $283,000 in matchable contributions, which would give him $2.26 million in public funds at the next payout if the Campaign Finance Board agrees with the campaign’s numbers. He had 3,438 donors and an average donation of $641. He has raised $1.4 million from city residents and about $802,000 from non-residents. 

Morales has raised nearly $548,000 and has about $260,000 in cash-on-hand. She has 7,387 donors who contributed an average of $74. She raised $421,000 from within the city and about $127,000 from outside. Her campaign estimates that it received $328,000 in matchable contributions which would lead to a $2.6 million public funds payment next month.

Garcia’s campaign has raised about $590,000 in total, including more than $324,000 in matchable contributions. She would receive nearly $2.6 million in public funds if that estimate is accurate. She currently has just under $400,000 in cash on hand. She had 3,173 donors and an average contribution size of $184. She has raised $467,000 from within the city and $117,000 from outside donors.

“Our campaign is building support from a broad coalition of New Yorkers across the five boroughs,” Garcia said in a statement. “We know this race is about who is offering voters the experience and the vision to lead NYC out of crisis and into a better tomorrow. It’s not about who spends the most money. It’s about who spends money the most effectively--which is what we’ll need from our next Mayor and what I will deliver.”

McGuire, the former Citigroup executive, is the only major Democratic candidate who is not participating in the public funds program. He’s been raising a large overall sum, including from many maximum $5,100 individual donations from wealthy individuals. He has raised nearly $7.4 million, including almost $2.5 million in the last two months alone. He has 6,029 donors that gave an average contribution of $1,222. He has raised $4.7 million from within the city and $2.6 million from outside of it. 

The March 15 deadline is also crucial for candidates to qualify for the first official televised Democratic mayoral primary debate scheduled for May 13. It’s likely that all eight aforementioned candidates -- Adams, Stringer, Wiley, Morales, Garcia, Donovan, McGuire, and Yang -- will be on stage for that debate based on the criteria. They had to have raised and spent $182,150, or 2.5% of the $7 million spending limit for the race.

[Debate Schedule Set for New York City Mayoral Race]

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Note - this article has been updated with the latest campaign finance numbers. 

Seeking to Influence Mayor's Race and Solve Social Issues, Advocates Offer 'Caring & Compassionate New Deal for NYC'


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Housing rally (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


An advocacy group that has spent decades fighting for the “defunding of harmful systems” is issuing a call to action to New York City’s political class to reorient city government and pursue permanent solutions to longstanding issues of home lessness, substance use, mental health, criminalization, and incarceration.

VOCAL-NY, a statewide grassroots group, is preparing to unveil the “Caring & Compassionate New Deal For NYC,” which envisions reevaluating the city’s approach to intersecting crises of poverty and public health, abandoning what is sees as harmful policies and investing in proven, effective solutions. The platform is being released ahead of a Wednesday forum the group is hosting with leading Democratic candidates in this year’s election for New York City mayor, where those City Hall hopefuls will be pressed on their plans and the solutions the group is offering.

The platform, previewed by Gotham Gazette, draws inspiration from the Green New Deal, which aims to combat the existential threat of climate change by investing in renewable energy and tackling environmental injustice, while also making a slew of other investments and creating economic opportunity, especially for those who have often been left behind.

The centerpieces of the Caring & Compassionate New Deal For NYC include restructuring city government, permanently removing law enforcement, courts, and jails from the response to social ills, and a major reallocation of resources to social investments.

“We can't keep throwing small amounts of money to address massive issues that are life and death for the poorest and most vulnerable people in our city,” said Paulette Soltani, political director of VOCAL-NY, in a phone interview.

Soltani said city government needs to undergo a “total paradigm shift” away from the tools of policing and incarceration that have exacerbated societal crises rather than ameliorating them. The city spends $14 billion in operating expenses annually on law enforcement, courts, and corrections that serve to criminalize people experiencing homelessness, those suffering from mental health crises, and substance use disorders, she said.

The Caring & Compassionate New Deal is about “forcing the government, number one, to acknowledge the scale of problems and restructuring our government to be able to address those problems,” Soltani said.

Soltani and group’s report note that the city’s past and ongoing approaches have failed to produce results. For instance, while spending on homeless services has ballooned under Mayor Bill de Blasio, the number of homeless New Yorkers has reached a record high of about 78,000, up from 64,000 in 2012. In 2018, the city spent $1.8 billion on the Department of Homeless Services and $650 million on improving the shelter system, but only $147 million on housing for homeless people through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The group’s framework is rooted in addressing systemic racism that pervades the city’s institutions and continues to harm Black and brown New Yorkers. It calls for ending policies that evolved from the War on Drugs, and seeks to place the people who have suffered at the center of solutions.

A major component of the platform is the divestment from current systems of the criminal legal system. VOCAL-NY was among the groups that championed the “defund the NYPD” movement last year, calling on de Blasio and the City Council to drastically reduce the $6 billion annual operating budget of the police department. VOCAL also vociferously opposed the mayor’s plan to build four new borough-based jails to replace the Rikers Island jail complex once it is closed.

In both cases, Soltani said, the city should have reinvested resources in social services, health care, and housing. “I think everybody knows across the board that something is not working in New York City,” she said. “We're at a fork in the road for New York City to either continue on the path of relying on ineffective and harmful tools, such as policing and incarceration or we can actually start investing in what people need, which is housing services and care.”

The platform includes several recommendations. They include creating a new deputy mayor to oversee the rapid development of emergency, supportive, and affordable housing; establishing non-police response to mental health calls, homelessness, and substance use; immediately defunding the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor; reallocating funds from the NYPD, District Attorney offices, and Department of Correction into supportive health services, housing, and harm-reduction programs.

It calls for a historic investment in those needs and services to meet certain broad goals such as guaranteed housing, guaranteed access to health care including overdose prevention centers and harm reduction programs, creating a citywide emergency call system as an alternative to 911 for issues like homelessness and substance misuse, and building a social services workforce of the very people who have experienced homelessness or suffered from mental health crises and substance use.

Soltani acknowledged that the platform is likely to meet some resistance. New York’s elected officials often fall back on policing as a “knee-jerk reaction,” she said. For instance, after a mentally ill homeless man stabbed four people, killing two, on the A Train subway line in February, the mayor’s immediate response was to deploy 500 more police officers on subway platforms. “So the resistance may come from people who have long believed that policing is a solution. But I think more and more, we're at a point where we know that policing and incarceration are actually creating more harm and more negative consequences for the communities that need the most support,” she said.

Soltani also acknowledged that VOCAL-NY did not lay out a detailed blueprint or path for achieving its goals -- the paper laying out the framework says as much. “This is a real call to action that will require political courage,” she said of the broader policy outline and statement of priorities. “We will never begin to address these crises unless our city government and its agencies have acknowledged the problem.”

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

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At Televised Debate, Democratic Mayoral Candidates Outline Housing, Homelessness Plans


Gotham Gazette:

(top: Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang, Ray McGuire; bottom: Eric Adams, Dianne Morales, Maya Wiley, Scott Stringer)


Eight leading Democratic candidates in the race for mayor appeared in the first televised mayoral forum of the 2021 race to share their policy proposals for tackling housing and homelessness in New York City. The discussion had a particular focus on the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which has added a new layer of concern regarding homelessness, evictions, rent and mortgage debt, housing segregation, affordable and permanent housing, NYCHA, the shelter system, land use, and tenants’ rights — all of which and more was discussed during the forum.

The 90-minute forum was co-hosted by United for Housing, New York Housing Conference, and NYU Furman Center on Spectrum News NY1 and moderated by NY1 political anchor Errol Louis.

The eight participating Democrats, invited based on polling and fundraising criteria, were Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former federal housing secretary and city housing commissioner Shaun Donovan, former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia, former Wall Street executive Ray McGuire, former nonprofit executive Dianne Morales, city Comptroller Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney and former counsel to Mayor de Blasio, and Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and former presidential candidate.

While candidates found broad agreement on most topics, such as divesting from and scaling back the city’s shelter system in favor of rental subsidies, creating more affordable housing, and preventing evictions, they offered some different specific solutions and were notably divided on managing and funding NYCHA public housing.

Candidates unanimously identified preventing tenants from eviction as one of their top housing priorities, citing the citywide residential eviction moratorium that is expected to expire in May, which could force people who owe back rent as a result of pandemic-related joblessness out of their homes, though the new federal relief package is in part aimed at heading off a flood of evictions.

Wiley, Morales, Donovan, McGuire, and Yang explicitly called for extending the eviction moratorium. Garcia called for the creation of a “pathway to prevent further evictions” through “targeted property tax relief and ensuring federal dollars are flowing to tenants.”

Candidates proposed other various strategies for preventing an eviction crisis.

Wiley, Morales, McGuire, Donovan, and Stringer said they would increase rent subsidies and other rental assistance measures for tenants, with Donovan specifically calling for the expansion of Section 8, the federal rent assistance program.

But several candidates expressed concern for small landlords, as well, many of whom are people of color and struggling to make ends meet amid the backlog of unpaid rent and utility bills from tenants.

Wiley pointed to her plan to increase subsidies for tenants and landlords, saying she would leverage $251 million in federal funding that already exists, even before the newly-passed Biden American Rescue Plan, and she briefly mentioned “tax abatement opportunities” for small building owners. She also spotlighted her $10 billion capital spending program plan, which she says would create 100,000 jobs and help stabilize the local economy.

Adams said relief should take into account “the cost that is associated with running [small unit housing].” Adams and Morales both own small multi-unit buildings in Brooklyn and rent to tenants, experiences that came up during the forum as candidates again discussed whether they are renters or home-owners. Six of the eight candidates own their New York City homes, while Yang owns a home upstate, where he and his family controversially spent the bulk of the worst of the pandemic’s impact on New York City last year, and of the eight only Stringer is without a real estate holding.

“We are about to receive $6.1 billion in federal stimulus aid, with more likely to come,” Stringer said of the money that will flow directly to city government. He went on to say “that money must be set aside to cancel rent for the poorest New Yorkers,” though he seemed to ignore that there is other federal money heading to New Yorkers for such purposes. “We have to work with our small landlords to make sure that their mortgages are whole,” he added. “The next mayor is going to have to bring the banks, the mortgage lenders, the tenant advocates into City Hall and figure out a package that is going to make the city whole.”

Like Stringer, Yang said he would “set up a relief fund for the landlords,” though he did cite the $1.3 billion in federal aid that Congress has already designated for rent relief. Yang said the city should “trust the landlords to go get it” because “having tenants try and scramble for those resources, in my mind, isn’t the right approach.”

Several candidates called for more legal assistance for tenants. Morales and Yang said the city’s ‘right to counsel’ law should be expanded, meaning city-funded free legal representation should be provided for more of those tenants facing eviction, a service that has been launched and significantly expanded over the last several years, helping to prevent tens of thousands of evictions. Donovan also proposed “[investing] more in housing counseling and protection so [tenants] know their rights.” Morales called on the city to ban criminal background checks on tenants.

Candidates unanimously stressed the creation of more affordable housing, but their plans revealed some differences.

Stringer reiterated his pledge to use hundreds of parcels of vacant city-owned land, via community organizations, to build low-income housing. The subject has been a matter of long-standing dispute between the two-term comptroller and the de Blasio administration, whose housing department has said almost all of the city-owned vacant lots are in the pipeline for development or are not suitable for housing. The conversation has mostly been frozen for the past few years.

Stringer also mentioned the marquee aspect of his extensive housing plan, which is to pass a law requiring affordability caps for 25% of the housing in any new housing development anywhere in the city. He says this would over time significantly impact the city’s racial and ethnic housing segregation.

In broad terms, Morales emphasized sweeping housing reform overall, saying, “We have to move away from a for-profit speculative housing development model” to one that creates partnerships with non-profit, community-led organizations “to adopt a social housing model.” She stressed the importance of putting more control “in the hands of tenants,” but did not explicitly define what this transformation would look like.

Wiley and Adams, respectively, brought up partnerships with non-profit developers and faith-based institutions.

Candidates broadly expressed support for converting hotels and office spaces into affordable housing units.

McGuire suggested that it would cost approximately a billion dollars to create 5,300 units of low-income housing for those making about $30,000 a year, then Yang said this was not cost-effective. Yang argued that his housing plan would subsidize hotel conversions, ultimately creating 5,000 units for $250 million. “Then we still have money left over to work on supportive housing” to move unhoused people out of shelters, Yang said. He dubiously argued that supportive housing isn’t being built because “the mayor and the governor have not been able to get on the same page,” which ignores that while the two parties have not come together on the traditional city-state supportive housing agreement (known as New York-New York over several iterations), they are each moving ahead with their own supportive housing development plans.

Louis asked Yang specifically how converting hotels into housing units would impact the recovery of the tourism industry, including rehiring of furloughed hotel workers. “Would you rather they lay empty for three years in the hopes that eventually they become used again?,” Yang asked. “Or would you rather use them to address the crisis we see around us every day?”

As with previous housing-focused forums, most candidates avoided specifying a concrete income figure for households to qualify for affordable housing, although candidates mostly agreed that tenants should not pay more than 30% of their incomes on rent, the threshold generally used to determine whether someone is “rent-burdened.”

“Ideally, I would like us to move to a place where we are not charging anyone, who is low- to moderate-income, more than 30% of their income for the rent. That is an established metric,” Morales said.

“Everyone keeps looking for this magic dollar amount, but in actuality, if you are a teacher or an accountant and you have four, five children and you’re paying above 30% of your income on rent, that is unfair,” said Adams when pressed to define a dollar amount. “The real number is: we shouldn’t have New Yorkers who are moderate-income or low-income paying more than 30% of their income on their rent.”

Louis also challenged Stringer to provide a specific income range, as well, and also asked him about whether his calls to further involve community boards in planning would have a positive impact on getting more affordable housing built in the city. As Manhattan borough president, Stringer sought to overhaul and improve the function of community boards, he said, and stressed that as mayor he would use a similar “community-based planning” approach that led to success in getting projects done with consensus.

“Community boards shouldn’t have the final say,” said Stringer, “but we certainly need communities to be part of this.” Stringer, who has indicated he is interested in adding housing density in higher-income and wealthy communities, said affordable housing should prioritize low-income New Yorkers to reduce the homelessness crisis.

Louis posed a series of lightning round questions, during which candidates answered with only yes or no responses. Along with discussing whether they rent or own, as previously discussed, candidates were asked if they have ever been landlords. Morales, Donovan, Yang, and Adams said yes, while Stringer, McGuire, Wiley, and Garcia said no. Asked if they had ever lived in a rent-regulated apartment, all but Yang, Morales, and Garcia said yes. Asked if they had ever been involved in a legal dispute with a landlord or a tenant, all but Adams said no.

On quelling the homelessness crisis in the city, which has grown over the last several mayoral administrations, though there have been halting efforts proven to make progress, candidates called for the city to increase preventive and supportive services, while highlighting their housing plans in the process.

“We need to prevent the homelessness dynamic from occurring in the first place,” said McGuire. “Once we prevent it, we need to make sure we have the services that are necessary, and that services go to mental health care services. We need services for those who are formerly incarcerated, we need services for drug abusers.”

Morales, Wiley, and Garcia called on the city to scale back the shelter system and “shift existing funds, $3 billion, into providing long-term permanent housing,” as Morales said.

There was broad agreement among candidates for expanding and increasing the value of housing vouchers as a way to prevent homelessness, which along with eviction prevention and providing supportive housing is shown to be one of the most effective strategies.

“Spending a little bit more money on the voucher would save us all the shelter cost. It’s a win-win,” said Garcia.

Yang reiterated his earlier point about building more supportive housing, and then called on the city to double the supply of “safe haven” beds, which are often provided by community-based institutions like houses of worship and have fewer restrictions for housing-insecure residents than traditional shelters. Safe haven beds are seen as transitional, a way to help people experiencing homelessness to get off the streets and subways and be offered a safe place to be along with other options for their next phase.

Adams, Garcia, Morales, and Donovan proposed reshuffling various city agencies to different degrees. Adams said he would establish greater coordination between city and state agencies, which currently “exist in silos.” Adams and Morales also called for a deputy mayor position to be responsible for overseeing all aspects and departments that deal with housing — something other candidates have indicated they are planning or considering. Garcia’s housing platform, for example, proposes that homeless services, economic development, and housing agencies all report to the same deputy mayor, who would oversee and coordinate the city’s housing-related issues and departments, including NYCHA public housing.

“We need to make sure every time someone leaves Rikers, every time someone leaves a mental health wing of our public hospital, we have a coordinated entry system directing them immediately to supportive housing and services they need,” Donovan said.

While candidates found broad agreement on most issues throughout the forum, they were divided on NYCHA. A lack of investment and mismanagement over the decades has led to about $40 billion worth of needed repairs, both large and small, to the housing authority’s buildings and apartments. According to NYCHA estimates, this deficit goes up by another billion each year.

A fiercely debated topic in the city is whether to allow private management of public housing developments, with some residents who have experienced it indicating they are very pleased with the accompanying upgrades, while others have voiced concerns about evictions. Several of the candidates who have the most experience with NYCHA, such as Donovan, Garcia, and Adams, have expressed support for taking advantage of the federal program that helps fund such efforts through that private management, call Rental Administration Demonstration (RAD). Others have been skeptical, warning of any type of privatization of NYCHA.

Garcia and Donovan expressed support for the larger NYCHA turnaround plan, “Blueprint for Change,” arguing that it is the only way to generate enough money to make much-needed repairs to the housing authority’s buildings.

“This allows us to leverage federal money. We don’t have to use more city money,” said Garcia, who served as interim chair of NYCHA. “We have tried going to the federal government since the Carter administration,” she pointed out, “we've always come up empty.”

“It is the only pathway where we can truly get to scale,” agreed Donovan.

“Otherwise, the choice is we are condemning [NYCHA residents] to live in buildings with no heat, no hot water, no elevators, mold, vermin, and lead,” Garcia concluded.

“I agree that there is a lot to commend the Blueprint,” said Wiley, “but sadly, there has simply not been sufficient trust.” She, among other candidates including Yang, want to give NYCHA residents a stronger decision-making voice. “I do not agree with Kathryn on giving up on the federal government,” added Wiley, who cited legislation introduced by Congressional Rep. Nydia Velázquez that would allocate $32 billion in funding for NYCHA repairs. (Garcia did not indicate she was giving up on the federal government, but instead focusing on the plan that is in place, which includes leveraging federal dollars, and moving ahead on more of what is under the control of the city and NYCHA, which are under a federal monitor due to the lead paint crisis and scandal.)

Despite the long history of federal disinvestment from the housing authority, Yang also voiced optimism that the federal government would allocate major funding for large-scale NYCHA repairs within a much larger infrastructure bill that is being discussed under President Biden and the Democratic Congress. Yang spoke his most passionately during the forum about fighting for NYCHA funding from the federal government in such an infrastructure package. He, like Donovan, regularly stresses his federal connections -- Yang cites his relationships with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and others built up during his run for president, while Donovan worked closely with Biden in the Obama administration, and he cites extensive relationships with many who are now running the Biden administration, including Harris, whom he says he worked closely with on the nationwide housing crisis when she was California attorney general.

Morales and Stringer pledged to dedicate $1.5 billion annually in city funding to address NYCHA repairs, while also pushing the state government to match that figure. Wiley and Donovan have both earmarked $2 billion annually in city capital for public housing repairs. Stringer also reiterated his proposal for moving $40 million a year away from the Battery Park City Authority and redirecting those funds to NYCHA, which needs multiple approvals and among them only de Blasio has opposed.

Meanwhile, Adams reiterated his focus on selling NYCHA’s air rights to local community developers for what he says would bring in $8 billion. Adams is also among those, like Donovan and Garcia, who are open or supportive of allowing existing NYCHA land to be leased to private developers for new housing development, thought viewpoints vary in terms of how this should be executed.

“I fundamentally reject the Blueprint for Change, the RAD agreement, the RAD deal,” said Morales, who was the only candidate to outright reject the plan. “We need to put NYCHA back in the hands of the residents,” she said, before proposing that tenants be given a majority on the NYCHA board, including a tenant chair. Morales has not outlined how she would fund NYCHA’s needed upgrades.

Candidates were asked how they would handle the long-standing New York City affordable housing policy of community preference, which reserves 50% of new affordable units in city-subsidized development for residents of the community district home to the development. The policy is in litigation, with plaintiffs arguing that it perpetuates racial segregation. Asked directly about whether they would continue to fight the litigation and keep the community preference policy, and about their approach to housing segregation, most candidates did not take a specific stance on the lawsuit and community preference policy.

Most spoke broadly about addressing housing segregation and fostering integration.

“Instead of having affluent New Yorkers moving into poor communities, we should have those low-income new New Yorkers moving into affluent communities,” said Adams, who explicitly called for upzoning wealthier communities to add housing including mandated affordable housing.

Morales said, “I think we need to increase and expand the availability of real affordable housing units in high-income, white neighborhoods predominantly.”

“Anything that discriminates, anything that continues segregation, I will not support,” said Wiley, though she did not specifically discuss the lawsuit or policy, and did not say what changes she would implement to foster integration.

“I think the data clearly shows that it is contributing to segregation and therefore really needs to be fundamentally changed,” said Garcia, and while she took a more definitive stance than most on the community preference policy, she did not say what those changes would involve.

“We have to change it,” said Yang. “I will suggest that if we're successful in converting these hotels and new affordable housing units, some of these hotels are going to be in very nice areas,” he added, indicating that the hotel conversion plan is as of now his main idea for integrating communities.

Stringer called the community preference plan a byproduct of “building out of a segregated city for far too long,” which he added was “wrong.” Stringer then reiterated his policy plan to set aside 25% of any new development’s units for low-income housing.

“We know that a pathway to really attacking the racial wealth gap and inequality in our city is homeownership,” said Donovan, who then highlighted his “equity bonds proposal that would give every child in the city $1,000 and up to $2,000 a year by the time they graduate.”

McGuire honed in on the historic roots of the problem, connecting the desegregation of housing in the city to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision to desegregate schools. “We need to do whatever we can at once to address segregation,” McGuire said.

***
by Allison Smith for Gotham Gazette
 @GothamGazette

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