Sponsored by AARP
Candidates Phil Wong and Alicia B. Vaichunas are vying for the District 30 seat in the upcoming city council election. As November draws near, the news team examined each candidate’s approach to tackling affordability issues in New York City and their plans to support older residents.
Q: As many older residents face rising housing costs, what policies or programs do you support to increase the availability of affordable and accessible housing options in your district?
Wong: Rents are high because there’s more demand for rentals than there’s supply. This was not caused by people switching from owning to renting; in fact the reverse is happening. Therefore, rents are high because there’s more demand for housing than there’s supply. It’s as simple as that; that’s like a law of gravity and you can’t mandate it away.
The only sustainable way to lower rents is to either decrease demand, or increase supply. Some ethnic groups are willing to cram more and more people into less and less housing, but nobody else in America is. This should be changed but can’t be legislated.
Then we have to increase supply. Somebody has to build houses. That means somebody has to find profit in building housing and either renting or selling them. The government is crappy at doing it. Just look at NYCHA housing. Increasing housing supply has to be private. NYC is hostile to that, in every possible way, from anti-density zoning to stupid landmark designations to impossible construction permits to expensive labor to slow municipal service provisioning to anti-gentrification mobs, etc.. We need to change that. And housing has to come with transportation, another Achilles Heel for NYC.
Vaichunas: Focus on new senior housing near transit and health care. Use suitable public sites. Boost outreach for SCRIE and DRIE so seniors can stay put. Require accessible units in city assisted projects.
Q: In your opinion, how can city policies incentivize private developers and landlords to create and maintain affordable, accessible housing options for seniors, especially in neighborhoods with high aging populations?
Wong: Short term: tax breaks directly tied to rent works for a while. But long term as dumb idea an idea as permanent welfare. Does not increase housing supply, which is the only thing that will lower rents sustainably.
Long term: make it easier to build higher-density housing all around NYC. Manhattan-centric doesn’t work because there’s not enough land here. We have to build in Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx — Staten Island is last because it’s too far. Also need better transportation, public as well as private.
Vaichunas: Tie tax breaks and bonuses to real accessibility goals. Offer small grants and low interest loans for retrofits. In return, keep rents stable for seniors.
Q: Accessibility in housing is essential for aging residents. How would you promote the development and retrofitting of existing buildings to meet ADA standards and accommodate seniors with mobility challenges?
Wong: ADA compliance is a big problem in many buildings—from public schools to NYCHA buildings to old condos/co-ops. Need to require ramps be installed at entrances, or DOB will install them for the owner and then send them a bill.
Vaichunas: Create a fast permit lane for ramps, lifts, wider doors, and bathrooms. Lower fees for ADA work. Give co-ops and condos technical help and phased plans.
