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March 8, 2024

State of the Union – Biden’s Housing Proposals Would be Harmful, Not Helpful

President Biden in his State of the Union pitched a raft of proposals with the stated purpose of lowering costs for homebuyers and increasing the supply of rental units.  As has been the case with dozens of housing acts passed by Congress over the last 75 years, hold onto your wallet when the federal government says it…

February 23, 2024

After Milton’s MBTA Housing Defeat, The Way Forward Is With Persuasion, Not Mandates

It’s difficult to avoid seeing Milton’s referendum defeat of a proposed zoning law to permit higher-density housing construction as a signal setback for the state’s effort to pressure towns to make housing more affordable. There’s no getting around the importance of that effort. High housing prices not only burden current Bay State residents but act as a…

February 6, 2024

NYCHA Corruption Means It’s Time To Privatize

We already knew the New York City Housing Authority is the city’s biggest slumlord. Now we’re reminded it’s a corrupt slumlord. Just five years after a federal court found its employees had lied about a vital public-health matter — conducting lead-paint inspections of apartments — we learn NYCHA supervisors solicited bribes in exchange for no-bid repair contracts. US Attorney…

January 4, 2024

To Fix Their Housing Shortage in 2024, Cities and States Should Turn To Market

States and cities considering housing supply reforms in the new year to combat worsening affordability should unleash the free market rather than rely on the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulatory solutions. HUD’s recommendations tilt towards heavy-handed government interventions that lack thorough analysis and proven results. A particularly egregious example is HUD’s latest assessment of…

December 31, 2023

Forget Eric Adams’ Flawed Housing Plan — Let’s Make ALL NYC Neighborhoods “High-Opportunity”

New York City residents are facing the ill-effects of drastic, across-the-board budget cuts affecting the most basic city services. It would hardly seem to be the right time for the Adams administration to undertake an expensive new housing program with the city’s own funds. Yet that’s exactly what the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced last week….

December 21, 2023

Our Policies to Address Homelessness Are Failing

Official data released last Friday show that 2023 was the worst year ever recorded for homelessness, and it’s not even close. The 12 percent rise in homelessness quadrupled the previous record for a single-year increase. Our homeless population is now the largest it has ever been. Policy-makers must wake up to this national crisis. Our…

December 18, 2023

No Excuses Now for NYCHA

Progressives have long claimed that the only problem with New York’s largest collection of slum housing—our public housing projects—has been a lack of federal funding. Former mayor Bill de Blasio liked to blame the decline of what was once the nation’s best-managed public-housing system on someone who left office in 1989: Ronald Reagan. Now, thanks…

December 11, 2023

New York City Officials Blame Everyone but Themselves for Housing Unaffordability

By implementing onerous requirements on Airbnb hosts, New York City is attempting to scapegoat short-term rental (STR) sites for the city’s own failings. Rather than accounting for city policies that continue to drive its housing and hotel room shortage, officials have decided to target the city’s 40,000 active listings, operated by—mostly smalltime—Airbnb hosts. In the…

December 11, 2023

How Public Housing Encourages Single Parenthood and Penalizes Marriage

The post-pandemic rise in rents has fueled the view that the private housing market inevitably fails those of modest means. The left-leaning Center for Budget Policies and Priorities summarizes the idea that the short-term spike in rents merely dramatizes that essential market failure. It asserts that the “rent burden among families with the lowest incomes is a…

November 27, 2023

Bribing Homeowners To Build Tiny Houses Won’t Solve NYC’s Housing Problem

Those who believe New York City not only needs more housing but more types of housing to serve its many types of households should be cheered by the Adams administration’s support for “granny flats.” These small “accessory dwelling units” built in backyards, converted basements or converted garages can help homeowners pay their mortgages and older adults…