In mayoral campaign, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park isn't an issue. Affordable housing often aspirational.

In the 2013 mayoral election, Atlantic Yards was an issue. Remember how the lack of affordable housing was raised scornfully by Democratic candidates John Liu and Tom Allon, or how leading candidates Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, and Bill Thompson were slippery when asked about the project.

Or how Republican Joe Lhota, pursuing accountability, slammed Democratic nominee de Blasio, including in a press conference, for failing to get the affordable housing, failing to fulfill his promise to ensure the Community Benefits Agreement was enforced--and for taking campaign contributions from developer Bruce Ratner. (Of course, Lhota's record, including on Madison Square Garden subsidies, was not so pure.)

In two mayoral debates, Atlantic Yards had a significant cameo, with Lhota repeating his charges, and de Blasio responding vaguely, stating, "I am proud of the fact that that development, when it is done, will yield thousands of units of affordable housing for the people of Brooklyn and I'll make sure it happens."

Well, the waters got muddied. In one debate, de Blasio, when asked about the rent for two-bedroom affordable units, responded, "Look, I think what's happening in this city, 46% of people at or near the poverty level. For a lot of folks, annual income, 30, 40, 50,000 [dollars], so they need a rent that they could afford, might be in the 1,000 to 1,500 dollar a month range... That's one example, we're obviously talking about a sliding scale, depending on income."

When queried by the Times about holding the developer and the state accountable, de Blasio vowed, "“On my watch, it will happen.” he vowed. My observation at the time was that "it may, in ways that do not at all represent accountability."

Indeed. Some below-market housing has indeed been delivered, but a good chunk of it was way more costly. For the "100% affordable" but mostly middle-income 535 Carlton, 30 two-bedroom apartments would be up to $1,591, while another 13 rent for $2,611 and 44 rent for $3,223. Few have noticed.

No longer an issue

While affordable housing is surely an issue for nearly all candidates, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park--too complicated, overshadowed by other issues--has receded. (So too has the presence of Ratner and colleagues in fundraising, though it's not gone.)

So let's take a look at the candidates' statements, based on their web sites, starting with the Democrats first.

Bill de Blasio

"Mayor de Blasio has fought to make New York City more affordable for all New Yorkers, no matter where we live or what neighborhood we call home," his web site states, touting record numbers- -"63,000 affordable apartments already financed"--without drilling down to affordability.

Sal Albanese

Sal Albanese, who is the slight leader among the longshots hoping to dislodge de Blasio in the Democratic primary--it won't happen, absent a scandal--offers a few good ideas, including a potential pied-à-terre tax, though apparently he didn't articulate it well during the first mayoral debate. 

He'd like to tie "affordability to local median income and requiring clawback provisions," surely appealing ideas, though the first is costly and thus very hard to implement.

Robert Gangi

Democrat Robert Gangi suggests an affordable housing land bank, as well as neighborhood affordability, plus more investigation of "landlord abuses or illegal deregulations of existing rent stabilized units."

In a page articulating his policy, Gangi notes that de Blasio's "plan has been ineffective in providing truly affordable housing to those who need it the most," given that "80% of the 'affordable' units created by de Blasio’s 2014 plan were actually unaffordable for these aforementioned low-income households"

"It is clear that de Blasio is motivated more by a desire to hit arbitrary numbers and politically concocted targets than by a desire to build housing that is affordable to local New Yorkers," charges Gangi, who also wants to use neighborhood median income. 

Well, it's tough to defend de Blasio, but it's also true that he's run up against political and budget realities, while his challengers haven't. A truly effective critique would lay out how the numbers would work.

Richard Bashner

Another longshot, Richard Bashner, proposes, among other things:

Expand funding to build affordable housing, including triple-tax exempt bonds; wasted rent now paid to private landlords for homeless housing; and investments from NYC pension funds to build housing for municipal employees and others.
Build new affordable housing on New York City Housing Authority properties, with priority for existing NYCHA residents — especially supportive senior housing with enhanced services and facilities, to which residents can transition over time, in naturally occurring retirement communities, freeing up larger apartments for families.
...Spread affordable housing subsidies over more renters, instead of highly subsidizing luxury apartments for a few lottery winners.

That's the closest anyone comes, as far as I can tell, to an Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park critique. I'm not sure whether he's targeting 80/20 buildings that offer a tax break to ensure 20% luxury units, or, as with Atlantic Yards, including "luxury" affordable housing, which is actually subsidized less than more deeply affordable housing.

Republican Nicole Malliotakis

Astoundingly, unchallenged Republican nominee Nicole Malliotakis doesn't really say anything about affordable housing, but rather focuses on the issue of homelessness, which includes a vague plan for affordability:

She will address the root cause of homelessness and get homeless families the help they need and instead of building homeless shelters that trap people in a rotating door, she will use funds to build supportive and affordable housing.

As Ross Barkan wrote in the Village Voice, "Malliotakis, though, doesn’t have much of an answer."

Independent Bo Dietl

Bo Dietl affordable housing policies include some decent ideas, like creating a land bank and using tax-delinquent property, while also suggesting "alleviating unnecessary statutory limits on development," which covers a lot of ground.

Also, he states, "Bo has already tapped into connections with real estate developers in the city and they have begun to formulate a plan to create incentives for affordable housing." OK, that'll be interesting.