Vote NO on Questions 2–4

On your general election ballot this year, make sure to flip your ballot and vote NO on Questions 2–4. These proposals deal with the construction of new housing and would shift power away from you and toward Mayor Eric Adams and developers.

You’ll notice that Questions 2–4 are written to sound attractive, but the ugly truth is that if passed, your voice will be silenced while the mayor and private developers have the final say over the future of our neighborhoods. They claim to promote the creation of “affordable” housing, but there’s nothing affordable about what they would actually do. These proposals would loosen the rules around both market-rate and government-subsidized housing — without any oversight or leverage from the community, and with no requirement that those units be truly affordable.

Under current rules, when a developer wants to build “affordable” housing within existing regulations, they negotiate with a city agency. Typically, the end result is that the vast majority of units are studios and one-bedroom apartments, with rents that can exceed $3,000 or even $4,000 a month. This is neither what our communities need nor what most New Yorkers can afford. The fact is that the city often incentivizes developers to do the bare minimum when it comes to affordability and unit size — all so that a mayor can claim he created a large quantity of “affordable” units.

Currently, when developers want to build anything beyond what is allowed, they must come to the table, listen and negotiate with the local community, with the ultimate decision coming to a vote before the NYC Council— your elected representatives who are  accountable to our neighborhoods. My colleagues and I fight incredibly hard for deeper affordability, more family-sized units, and other priorities that create inclusive and thriving communities.

We’ve seen the power of this process firsthand — one that has led to hundreds of new affordable apartments right here in our neighborhood. I am proud to have led negotiations on a new building at Broadway and 231st Street, where we’re bringing 226 new units of affordable housing. But new housing is not just about the total number of units — it’s about meeting community needs. Because of the leverage we have under the current process, I secured over 50% of these apartments as two- and three-bedroom homes, and the deepest affordability possible, with some rents as low as $527 for a three-bedroom. The building will also include parking and enhanced environmental infrastructure. These are the kinds of outcomes that happen when the community has a seat at the table. I was able to negotiate on behalf of our neighborhood because of the existing process.

Mayor Adams is now seeking to remove this process and, by extension, remove our ability to fight for truly affordable housing in our city. We cannot allow a purposefully misleading, last-ditch power grab to determine the future of our neighborhoods.

The mayor and deep-pocketed special interests will tell you that the current process is cumbersome and that the City Council is standing in the way of new housing. This is flat-out false. If anyone deserves credit for building housing, it’s the City Council. This Council didn’t just approve more than 130,000 units of new housing, we strengthened those proposals, fighting to ensure that they included the deepest affordability possible and as many community benefits as we could secure.

In stark contrast, the mayor has stood against several reforms designed to support tenants and keep families in their homes, including measures like voucher reform that would help prevent homelessness. 

Questions 2–4 would all but remove your voice from the process — a process that gives communities and their local representatives the ability to negotiate on your behalf — and would eliminate the leverage needed to ensure housing that provides New Yorkers of all backgrounds with safety and stability.

By voting no, you are supporting a city where communities still have the power to negotiate developments that are truly affordable and responsive to neighborhood needs.

I strongly urge you to VOTE NO on Questions 2–4 on the back of your general election ballot.

Council Member Eric Dinowitz