Williamsburg can’t afford delaying real
affordable housing proposals
COURIER LIFE, A 40 UG. 27-SEPT. 2, 2021
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
Kathy Hochul was offi -
cially sworn in at midnight
as New York’s 57th
governor, the fi rst woman to
hold the position in the state’s
history.
Andrew Cuomo left offi ce
after a series of sexual harassment
allegations. He announced
he would be resigning
two weeks ago. Cuomo is
the second straight governor
who is leaving offi ce in the
midst of a scandal. Hochul
has distanced herself from
Cuomo in the transition period
leading up to today.
More than that, she seems
ready to take the state in a
starkly new direction when it
comes to how the chief executive
operates.
Right off the bat, she signed
an executive order mandating
ethics training for every
employee of New York state
government She also said
she would direct every state
agency to review their compliance
with transparency laws,
and instructed her new counsel
to develop “an expedited
process to fulfi ll all FOIL
(Freedom of Information Law)
requests as fast as possible —
and post completed requests
publicly online.”
We’ve heard plenty of Albany
politicians — including
from those who have denied
being politicians — make
similar promises, so it’s easy
to reach for a few grains of
salt when such promises of
reform are made. Even so, the
new governor seems to be off
to a good start in changing
the culture in Albany.
Make no mistake, Hochul
takes offi ce with a lot of work
to do. The pandemic is still
surging and the economy
is struggling. The eviction
moratorium is set to expire
soon and she’s still putting
together a staff. The state of
New York is in a crisis and
she’s jumping right into the
middle of it all.
She got right to work directing
an immediate mask
mandate for all schools in New
York, and promising further
vaccination mandates statewide.
The new governor also
pledged to expedite the release
of sorely-needed economic relief
for struggling tenants,
something that the Cuomo
administration couldn’t do at
the end of its tenure.
Hochul has been met with
optimism from politicians
across the Empire State who
are relieved to be moving on
from the Cuomo era. She has
already made clear she will
be running in next year’s
election, which is shaping up
to be a competitive one.
Ultimately, her work over
the next few months will go a
long way in deciding whether
she’s able to retain her position.
Getting to work
BY RAMON PEGUERO
Williamsburg means a lot of different
things to many. For me, it’s where a
generation of working-class people like
my mother worked in warehouse and
factory jobs. It’s where a diverse community
of immigrants rooted themselves
and raised and welcomed people
of color to grow their families.
I came to Williamsburg at the age
of six. It is an understatement to say
that Williamsburg has gone through
a tremendous metamorphosis over
the past several decades. The burnt
buildings and empty lots have been replaced
by shiny tall buildings. The bodegas
owned by the predominantly Latino
population several years ago have
now been converted into delis. Mom
and pop restaurants have given way to
world-renowned dining hotspots. On
the surface, all these changes seem to
be a great thing and what many would
categorize as progress. and while that
may be true, the question that needs to
be asked is at whose expense?
Williamsburg’s overall population
has exploded over the last few decades,
but the long-standing Latino population
has experienced a rapid decline.
The trendy market-rate housing has
lured many affl uent individuals to Williamsburg,
but not without the adverse
impact of pricing low-and moderate-income
families out of the neighborhood.
Affordable housing has been the
only mechanism that has kept longtenured
Williamsburg residents in
their neighborhood. Legislation mandating
that private developers provide
affordable housing in any new development
requiring a zoning change has
also added to the number of affordable
housing units in the neighborhood, assuring
more families are able to continue
to call Williamsburg home.
Despite years of tremendous gentrifi
cation and displacement, there is
still a strong presence of Latinos in
its Southside. The data indicates that
Black and Brown people were more
adversely impacted by this COVID 19
pandemic and are in the most need of
fi nancial and housing support. When
we talk about a fairer, more equitable
recovery, affordable housing must be a
part of that conversation.
Rising rents and a lack of housing
continues to threaten our community
and push out some of the long-time residents
who helped sustain our neighborhood
before it became so popular.
Three years ago, one in four Williamsburg
households spent more than half
their income on rent. Renters in Williamsburg
were paying a median rent
of $2,060 in 2019, compared to $1,050 a
little over a decade earlier. We already
know COVID-19 hit Black and Brown
New Yorkers especially hard last year
— not only were we more susceptible
to the virus but to the economic perils
that came with it. Affordable housing
is one of the keys to revive a positive
future for many local families.
Two Trees Management, the developers
of affordable housing at the site
of the old Domino Sugar refi nery, now
wants to build more at a former Con Edison
lot nearby. They’re proposing a project
called River Ring, a mixed-use development
that would bring some 1,000
new units of housing online, including
263 deeply affordable housing units and
half of those units reserved for those already
living in the community.
In a city of 8.8 million residents, 263
units of affordable housing might not
seem like a lot, but those are 263 opportunities
for single parents, families,
and seniors who would otherwise
be forced to leave Williamsburg, thus
continuing to chip away at the thing
that makes our community vibrant
and diverse — its people.
Unfortunately, many of those whose
lives can benefi t from long-term affordable
housing are often underrepresented,
especially through the bureaucratic
process that helps decide where
such housing is built. It’s usually the
organized, well-resourced few who get
an outsized voice that often misrepresents
the community’s diverse needs.
Some may argue that all new housing
on private property should be 100
percent affordable, or even that no affordable
housing should be built unless
it is 100 percent affordable. But clearly
asking all private owners to only develop
low-income affordable housing is
not a realistic request. However, it does
appear to be a tactic to indirectly stop
low- and moderate-income families
from having an opportunity of living in
the highly desirable waterfront area.
If you live in a penthouse, an amenity
fi lled apartment building, or own
one of the many market-rate housing
units in the neighborhood, it is easy to
say, “Let’s wait.” But after decades of being
squeezed on all sides, the Southside
community cannot wait any longer.
These residents deserve to not only
be heard but to be given the housing
opportunities they’ve been asking for.
They deserve long-term housing they
can afford, in a safe neighborhood thriving
with access to beautiful open spaces
and programming. Our longtime neighbors
who have given so much are running
out of options. Developments like
River Ring might be one of the last opportunities
for many.
Ramon Peguero is Board Chair of the
Nuestros Niños Child Development Center.