Ferrer and Bloomberg Trade Charges on How to Add Housing - New York Times
The New York Times
August 5, 2005
Ferrer and Bloomberg Trade Charges on How to Add Housing
By DIANE CARDWELL
Accusing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of failing to solve a city housing shortage, Fernando Ferrer said yesterday that he would preserve or build more than 100,000 low-cost homes if elected mayor by raising taxes on vacant land and forcing developers in certain areas to set aside housing for low- and middle-income New Yorkers.
In making the $8.5 billion proposal, Mr. Ferrer, a Democrat, tried not only to distinguish himself from the Republican mayor he seeks to unseat but also to portray himself as a champion of the middle class, rather than just of the working poor.
His plan would represent a sharp departure in New York City housing policy, mandating creation of lower-cost homes for many developers to solve what he labeled a crisis facing the city.
"Make no mistake," he said, standing in front of low-cost housing he helped develop in the Melrose section as Bronx borough president. "Today's problems do not exempt our most vulnerable, but this crisis we face today is squeezing middle-class, middle-income New Yorkers in unprecedented ways."
Under Mr. Ferrer's plan, the city would designate areas scheduled for higher-density zoning changes as "growth zones" where developers would be required to set aside at least 30 percent of the new units for low- and moderate-income residents as a condition of building. They would be eligible for subsidies and so-called density bonuses, or would be allowed to build larger buildings, and could receive even bigger incentives if they agreed to set aside an additional 20 percent of their units for low- and moderate-income residents.
In other parts of the city, Mr. Ferrer's plan would eliminate tax incentives for developers unless they reserved 20 percent of their homes as affordable units.
By contrast, the Bloomberg administration has moved only recently to offer aggressive zoning incentives to developers to set aside units for lower- and moderate-income tenants, most notably as part of the rezoning plan for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.
Mr. Ferrer said his plan would cost $8.5 billion over 10 years and yield 167,000 inexpensive homes, either through new construction or by preserving existing housing that is subsidized under programs like Mitchell-Lama and Section 8. He would pay for the plan from a mix of sources, including federal community development block grants, the city's capital budget and the increased tax on vacant property.
That plan would reclassify vacant lots in residential areas from Class 1, currently taxed on 6 percent of market value, to Class 4, currently taxed on 45 percent of market value.
Mr. Bloomberg's campaign was quick to attack Mr. Ferrer's plan, saying that the bulk of it had been stolen from the mayor, whose record on housing was far better than Mr. Ferrer said. The Bloomberg administration has already been moving in a similar direction to that laid out by Mr. Ferrer, but, in recent rezonings, officials have used a mix of tax incentives and density bonuses rather than mandates to encourage housing development.
"Freddy funds his plan through a nearly $1 billion property tax hike," said Stu Loeser, the Bloomberg campaign spokesman. "Coupled with his stock-transfer tax to fix the schools, it seems there is no problem that higher taxes can't solve."
And Mr. Bloomberg, speaking at the dedication of a new waterfront park in Riverdale, not far from Mr. Ferrer's apartment, defended his record, saying that the administration had committed the financing for the construction or renovation of 68,000 low-cost homes to be completed before 2008.
"It is the largest affordable housing plan any administration has had since the days of Ed Koch," Mr. Bloomberg said. "We need affordable housing, and we need luxury housing, and we need everything in the middle."
Mr. Ferrer's campaign shot back that the tax was intended in part as a source of revenue but also as a way of treating vacant residential property as commercial property to discourage speculation, as opposed to the mayor's 18.5 percent property tax increase on all homeowners of a few years ago.
Mr. Ferrer has tried to depict himself to voters as a leader in the development of low-cost housing in the Bronx during his borough presidency, but the extent of his role has always been debated. And that debate spilled over into Mr. Ferrer's policy announcement.
On Tuesday, former Mayor Edward I. Koch, who has endorsed Mr. Bloomberg, said that Mr. Ferrer had nothing to do with building the housing because it was a mayoral initiative.
Asked about Mr. Koch's comments, Mr. Ferrer read several remarks from Mr. Koch from 2001 suggesting a more positive assessment.
Then, for instance, after Mr. Koch endorsed Mr. Ferrer against Mark Green in the Democratic primary runoff, he said of Mr. Ferrer, "Thousands of units of affordable housing that became available in the Bronx were achieved as a result of his working with my office very closely."
In a telephone interview, Mr. Koch, who also said in a 2001 commercial for Mr. Ferrer that he would make a "superb mayor," said that at the time he was supporting Mr. Ferrer in a race against Mr. Green "and I wanted to say something positive."
Also yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg received an endorsement from a coalition of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders, who pledged to campaign for him in their communities.
Meanwhile, Council Speaker Gifford Miller focused his efforts on a different voting bloc, unveiling proposed legislation that would create a city program to reimburse older and disabled people on fixed incomes for up to a quarter of their electric bills during a heat emergency. The program would pay out a maximum of $5 million annually on a first-come basis and could take effect as early as next summer.
Mr. Miller, who frequently visits senior centers to woo voters, said it was "a serious health problem" when older people could not afford to turn on their air-conditioners in sweltering weather. "I think this is in response to the heat and not the election, which is on more people's minds, frankly right now," he said. "And look, this is part of the Council's long and historic commitment to seniors."
Thomas J. Lueck and Winnie Hu contributed reporting for this article.
* Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Link to Article Source
August 5, 2005
Ferrer and Bloomberg Trade Charges on How to Add Housing
By DIANE CARDWELL
Accusing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of failing to solve a city housing shortage, Fernando Ferrer said yesterday that he would preserve or build more than 100,000 low-cost homes if elected mayor by raising taxes on vacant land and forcing developers in certain areas to set aside housing for low- and middle-income New Yorkers.
In making the $8.5 billion proposal, Mr. Ferrer, a Democrat, tried not only to distinguish himself from the Republican mayor he seeks to unseat but also to portray himself as a champion of the middle class, rather than just of the working poor.
His plan would represent a sharp departure in New York City housing policy, mandating creation of lower-cost homes for many developers to solve what he labeled a crisis facing the city.
"Make no mistake," he said, standing in front of low-cost housing he helped develop in the Melrose section as Bronx borough president. "Today's problems do not exempt our most vulnerable, but this crisis we face today is squeezing middle-class, middle-income New Yorkers in unprecedented ways."
Under Mr. Ferrer's plan, the city would designate areas scheduled for higher-density zoning changes as "growth zones" where developers would be required to set aside at least 30 percent of the new units for low- and moderate-income residents as a condition of building. They would be eligible for subsidies and so-called density bonuses, or would be allowed to build larger buildings, and could receive even bigger incentives if they agreed to set aside an additional 20 percent of their units for low- and moderate-income residents.
In other parts of the city, Mr. Ferrer's plan would eliminate tax incentives for developers unless they reserved 20 percent of their homes as affordable units.
By contrast, the Bloomberg administration has moved only recently to offer aggressive zoning incentives to developers to set aside units for lower- and moderate-income tenants, most notably as part of the rezoning plan for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.
Mr. Ferrer said his plan would cost $8.5 billion over 10 years and yield 167,000 inexpensive homes, either through new construction or by preserving existing housing that is subsidized under programs like Mitchell-Lama and Section 8. He would pay for the plan from a mix of sources, including federal community development block grants, the city's capital budget and the increased tax on vacant property.
That plan would reclassify vacant lots in residential areas from Class 1, currently taxed on 6 percent of market value, to Class 4, currently taxed on 45 percent of market value.
Mr. Bloomberg's campaign was quick to attack Mr. Ferrer's plan, saying that the bulk of it had been stolen from the mayor, whose record on housing was far better than Mr. Ferrer said. The Bloomberg administration has already been moving in a similar direction to that laid out by Mr. Ferrer, but, in recent rezonings, officials have used a mix of tax incentives and density bonuses rather than mandates to encourage housing development.
"Freddy funds his plan through a nearly $1 billion property tax hike," said Stu Loeser, the Bloomberg campaign spokesman. "Coupled with his stock-transfer tax to fix the schools, it seems there is no problem that higher taxes can't solve."
And Mr. Bloomberg, speaking at the dedication of a new waterfront park in Riverdale, not far from Mr. Ferrer's apartment, defended his record, saying that the administration had committed the financing for the construction or renovation of 68,000 low-cost homes to be completed before 2008.
"It is the largest affordable housing plan any administration has had since the days of Ed Koch," Mr. Bloomberg said. "We need affordable housing, and we need luxury housing, and we need everything in the middle."
Mr. Ferrer's campaign shot back that the tax was intended in part as a source of revenue but also as a way of treating vacant residential property as commercial property to discourage speculation, as opposed to the mayor's 18.5 percent property tax increase on all homeowners of a few years ago.
Mr. Ferrer has tried to depict himself to voters as a leader in the development of low-cost housing in the Bronx during his borough presidency, but the extent of his role has always been debated. And that debate spilled over into Mr. Ferrer's policy announcement.
On Tuesday, former Mayor Edward I. Koch, who has endorsed Mr. Bloomberg, said that Mr. Ferrer had nothing to do with building the housing because it was a mayoral initiative.
Asked about Mr. Koch's comments, Mr. Ferrer read several remarks from Mr. Koch from 2001 suggesting a more positive assessment.
Then, for instance, after Mr. Koch endorsed Mr. Ferrer against Mark Green in the Democratic primary runoff, he said of Mr. Ferrer, "Thousands of units of affordable housing that became available in the Bronx were achieved as a result of his working with my office very closely."
In a telephone interview, Mr. Koch, who also said in a 2001 commercial for Mr. Ferrer that he would make a "superb mayor," said that at the time he was supporting Mr. Ferrer in a race against Mr. Green "and I wanted to say something positive."
Also yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg received an endorsement from a coalition of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders, who pledged to campaign for him in their communities.
Meanwhile, Council Speaker Gifford Miller focused his efforts on a different voting bloc, unveiling proposed legislation that would create a city program to reimburse older and disabled people on fixed incomes for up to a quarter of their electric bills during a heat emergency. The program would pay out a maximum of $5 million annually on a first-come basis and could take effect as early as next summer.
Mr. Miller, who frequently visits senior centers to woo voters, said it was "a serious health problem" when older people could not afford to turn on their air-conditioners in sweltering weather. "I think this is in response to the heat and not the election, which is on more people's minds, frankly right now," he said. "And look, this is part of the Council's long and historic commitment to seniors."
Thomas J. Lueck and Winnie Hu contributed reporting for this article.
* Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Link to Article Source
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