How Brooklyn does America
COURIER L 22 IFE, MARCH 12-18, 2021
OPINION
As I wrote this column,
Congress passed the
American Rescue Plan,
which President Joe Biden will
sign into law while the hard
copy of this page is printed.
The plan’s not perfect (what
in life is?) but, for context, Sen.
Bernie Sanders called this the
most progressive legislation
that has passed during his
senate career.
The 1.9 trillion dollar package
is a major expansion of our
social safety net and could cut
the country’s childhood poverty
rate in half. It will also
fund vaccine distribution,
fund billions more for education,
states, cities, help prevent
evictions, foreclosures,
extend unemployment benefi
ts, and more.
It shows that all elections
— even those in Georgia —
can have real consequences
and a pretty big change for the
federal government. Yes, in
my view, it’s not perfect. For
reasons both economic and
political, the direct payments
should go to millions more,
but this is, to borrow a phrase
from our 46th President, a big
deal. With an ongoing pandemic
that has killed more
than half a million people in
our country, nearly 50,000 people
in our state, nearly 30,000
people in our city, and over
7,000 fellow Brooklynites, we
needed this help.
I’ll be back to my default
curmudgeonly ways, just the
way I was soon after Biden
won, but for today I’m letting a
bit of genuine happiness creep
into my mind.
This bill will mean so
much to people hurting; my
issues pale by comparison,
but I’m looking forward to
being fatigued by things not
on screens and being social
without the word “distance”
next to it. I hope others can be
happy and are looking to the
future with renewed hope.
As a lifelong Brooklyn boy,
the combination of mulling
over national issues and the
federal government has me
dreaming about returning to
Coney Island. I look forward
to going to Brooklyn’s southernmost
point when suffi -
cient protection is reached.
When there, maybe going to
Nathan’s, riding the Cyclone,
walking on the boardwalk,
getting some clams at Ruby’s,
and appreciating the diverse
cross-section of people that is
sure to be there.
Many people don’t think
of New York as part of “Real
America,” but for me, this is
how Brooklyn does America,
and for the fi rst time in a while,
I’m feeling good about it.
Mike Racioppo is the District
Manager of Community
Board 6. Follow him on Twitter
@RacioppoMike.
MIKE DROP
Mike Racioppo
BY BOROUGH PRESIDENT
ERIC ADAMS
Growing up in South Jamaica,
Queens, I lived with
the constant anxiety that my
family might fall into homelessness.
My mother had my
siblings and I take trash bags
full of our clothing to school
with us, just in case we came
home to fi nd an eviction notice
on our door.
During the pandemic,
many New Yorkers are living
with this same fear. While an
eviction moratorium continues
to protect most renters
throughout the fi ve boroughs
for the time being, some of the
most vulnerable people in our
city are still not afforded that
peace of mind.
The City’s Department of
Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD) issued
95 vacate orders for illegal
dwellings between March and
October last year. The tenants
living in these dwellings, often
basement apartments, are
predominantly immigrants or
those living on the economic
margins of society, with few
other options. Many of them
end up homeless once they are
evicted.
But there is no need to put
vulnerable tenants out on
the street because there is no
need for their apartments to
remain illegal. We already
have a blueprint for ensuring
people can stay in these dwellings–
and there has never been
a better time to follow it.
In 2019, Mayor de Blasio
signed Local Law 49, which
created a pilot program in
East New York that allowed
homeowners of certain one-
and two-family dwellings to
convert their basements into
legal, affordable dwellings.
The City offered low- or nointerest
loans to eligible homeowners
to help them bring
these spaces up to code. Now
we should take that program
citywide.
Unfortunately, very few
basement dwellings are compliant
with building or fi re
codes, meaning tenants are
forced to live in poor, and
sometimes dangerous, conditions.
By bringing these units
out of the regulatory shadows
with simple upgrades, the
City can drastically increase
the supply of direly needed affordable
housing — estimated
at more than 100,000 units —
while helping homeowners
earn extra income.
Unfortunately, the City cut
the program’s funding down
to almost nothing in the last
fi scal year, as part of a series
of COVID-induced budget
cuts. That is exactly the kind
of cut we cannot afford during
a crisis.
I am glad the City Council
has recently acted to extend
program deadlines for the
East New York basement conversion
pilot, and I commend
Council Member Darma Diaz
for leading that effort. In addition
to ensuring we protect
the funding for the program
as well, we should also loosen
some of the requirements for
dwellings without compromising
the safety of tenants
as well as expand the program
citywide.
Such steps could include
lowering the required ceiling
height of existing units
to 7 feet from 8 feet, which is
in line with the International
Building Code recommendations,
and amending fi re and
building codes so that they
are aligned on issues such
as window size. We can also
waive parking requirements
for sub-grade units. If we do
these things, we will open
many more units to become legal
housing.
Just as we don’t want to unfairly
penalize tenants already
living in basement apartments,
we shouldn’t punish
homeowners who undertook
conversions to make these
units more habitable. That is
why the City should also consider
an amnesty program to
grandfather-in landlords who
have already done unauthorized
work to upgrade their
basements into dwellings.
Units that have been converted
should still be vetted
by regulators to ensure compliance
with building and fi re
codes. But creating comprehensive
changes to our City’s
regulatory approach to basement
dwellings, given the exigencies
we face during the
pandemic, would also create
greater clarity for homeowners
and tenants alike.
A new bill introduced by
Assembly Member Harvey Epstein
and Senator Pete Harckham
would legalize these and
other accessory dwellings
statewide, and direct the New
York State Division of Housing
and Community Renewal
to create a fi nancing program
to help low- and moderate-income
homeowners with conversions
of basements, attics
and garages. The State Legislature
must prioritize passage
of this bill as well.
If we are committed to an
equitable recovery, it is time
to get creative and smart about
creating more legal affordable
housing. No one should live in
fear of returning home to an
eviction notice — especially
if common sense laws can prevent
it.
Eric Adams is the Brooklyn
borough president, and he is
also a candidate for New York
City Mayor.
OP-ED
Getting smart about affordable housing