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Last week's passage of the $800 billion financial rescue package is only the beginning of what we need to do to return order to Wall Street and relief to taxpayers. More must be done at all levels of government to lend a hand to hard-working families around this country, especially in the area of affordable housing.
Last week's vote was a difficult one. Though I am angry at the Wall Street bandits and the near-criminal behavior that got us into this mess, I and many of my colleagues were unwilling to gamble with the financial futures of our constituents. The reality was that even an imperfect bill was better than doing nothing and letting the crisis further erode people's livelihoods, savings and pensions. I had to have an answer for all those small business owners who have approached me and told me of their troubles getting credit to purchase supplies and even to pay their employees. Equally important, we needed an answer for all those whose ability to pay rent and to buy basic necessities was shrinking as each minute of inaction passed.
The newly signed law has important protections, not just for homeowners, but also for renters. The most important of these provisions ensures that tenants will continue to be protected by local and state rental laws even if their landlords run into problems paying their mortgage. This should give a sigh of relief for those who live in apartment complexes like the Riverton and Savoy Park, where there is a very real possibility of the landlord defaulting on overpriced mortgages. It means that a bank or bankruptcy court cannot use the current credit mess as an excuse to raise rents to market rates in order to meet their financial obligations or projections. The bill also promises to ensure that modifications to the mortgages will not affect the safety or sanitary conditions in these buildings.
Our successful battle to get these provisions in the bailout bill follows other victories that we have won this year in Washington for affordable housing. They include a package of tax credits that will not only help maintain the current affordable housing stock, but will also build close to 5,000 new units of affordable housing across the five boroughs. Locally, agreements were also reached with private landlords to keep nearly 400 apartments in Central and East Harlem affordable as part of the federal Section 8 program. These agreements were the culmination of months of work between a coalition of groups including Tenants & Neighbors, the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), the New York City Branch of Local Initiatives Support Organization (LISC) and local elected officials, including myself, Sen. Charles Schumer, City Council member Inez Dickens and New York State Assemblyman Keith Wright.
Yet we all know these achievements are not enough. Too many families in this city are spending more than 50 percent of their income trying to put a roof over their heads. Housing agencies, forced to deal with government funding cuts, are being forced to raise fees and looking at the possibilities of closing vital community resources like senior centers and after-school programs.
This year's elections in November will be key to protecting our housing resources. In the Congress, no amount of progressive legislation will get to the President's desk unless we move closer to a 60-seat majority in the U.S. Senate. We have already witnessed how bills that would provide healthcare to 10 million children, further increase Medicaid payments and Foods Stamp allotments, and expand unemployment benefits an additional seven weeks have already been blocked in the Senate. Any additional investments in affordable housing -- from more tax credits to increased budgets for HUD and the New York Housing Authority -- will be endangered without a larger Democratic majority in Congress and Senator Barack Obama in the White House.
Closer to home, we need to enact legislation to restore home rule to laws governing rents in the city, and repeal vacancy decontrol in order to stop the loss of so many apartment units for working- and middle- class residents. We also need proper underwriting standards for all properties in order to stop predatory lending and overpriced mortgage deals which threaten rent-stabilized units.
This is where your voice will make a difference in less than a month. On November 4, voters will have an opportunity to usher in a government that has the mandate to get this economy going for all of us and not just a connected few. A government that will treat housing, education, job creation, and health care as the critical priorities that they are and as important investments in the future of this great nation.
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This OP-Ed was originally published by the Amsterdam News on Thursday, October 9, 2008.
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