Statement of CPC President and CEO Rafael E. Cestero on City Council Vote to Approve Modified Versions of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability

March 22, 2016

“In 1987, New York City issued its first Inclusionary Zoning Plan. As our city and its housing market continued to change, the program evolved with the Bloomberg Administration’s amendments that sought to better harness the private market to create permanently affordable apartments in exchange for greater density. Today, Mayor de Blasio and the City Council have taken the next critical step in the program’s evolution, and in our city’s efforts to address the housing crisis, by ensuring that the creation of affordable housing will be mandatory for development projects in newly rezoned communities.

The Mandatory Inclusionary program will leverage private development as a tool to spur the creation of affordable housing, and will work in concert with the other programs and policies of the Mayor’s housing plan to help communities to retain their diversity and identity. These apartments will help preserve affordability in those neighborhoods, provide new opportunities for residents to find stability, and free up taxpayer dollars to be used on additional affordable housing projects.

I thank the Mayor and City Council for their work to continue New York’s legacy of investing in its neighborhoods, and for their efforts to ensure that there is a place in our city for people of all incomes.”