A new initiative launched by Mayor Bloomberg to tackle New York City's need for affordable housing through the construction of microunits is attracting hostility from advocates and local leaders for neglecting the needs of large, poor families.
Although Mayor Bloomberg's plan to allow and enrouage the construcion of microunits throughout the city, dubbed adAPT NYC, has been a big hit with the developer community, "some housing advocates, community leaders and elected officials say this
latest proposal only highlights that one demographic group has been
left out: large, poor families," reports Winnie Hu.
Others, however, argue that the city's approach to providing affordable housing is appropriate considering the city's average household size is 2.5 and only 11 percent of households have 5 or more people. "It's not the city's job to give open-ended subsidies and reward people
for having more members in the family," said Nicole Gelinas, a senior
fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. "It is
responsible behavior not to have children until you can reasonably
support them."
Says Hu: "[t]he struggles of these families come as those who have long applauded
the efforts of the mayor, who has been credited with overseeing the
city's largest expansion of affordable housing since the 1980s, look
more closely at the results."
Read the full story: Some See Little Room for Large, Poor Families in Mayor’s Housing Plan
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