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Research & Policy
Reforming Housing Assistance
NYU Furman Center Faculty Director Ingrid Gould Ellen, along with co-authors Robert Collinson and Jens Ludwig, recently published Reforming Housing Assistance in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. In the article, the authors review current federal housing assistance policies and the research evidence supporting each policy. They subsequently identify and propose strategies to address three key challenges these programs face in meeting their stated objectives.
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News & Events
Sophia House Testifies Before Jersey City Council
On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, Furman Center Legal Fellow Sophia House testified before the Jersey City Council’s Rent Control Reform Committee as it evaluates Jersey City’s rent regulations. House’s testimony covered Furman Center research cataloging the diversity of rent regulation ordinances, identifying the decisions and tradeoffs involved in the designing and implementing these regulations.
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Research & Policy
Understanding Trends in New York City’s Evictions Data
The NYU Furman Center’s new data brief, “Trends in Housing Court Eviction Filings,” shows that citywide, the total number of eviction filings is decreasing. In 2017, private landlords initiated 176,590 eviction filings, down 4.6 percent from 2016 and 7.8 percent from 2010. Overall, the trends from this study indicate an increase in rental stability from 2010 to 2017, though this stability is not felt evenly throughout the five boroughs.
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News & Events
Policy Breakfast on Recent Tenant Protection Laws in New York City
On October 15th, the NYU Furman Center held a policy breakfast titled Shifting Landscape: Tenant Protection Laws and Initiatives in New York City. The breakfast included a diverse panel of experts who shared their perspectives on the impacts of recent tenant protection laws intended to curb harassment and improve residential stability. Panelists discussed the impacts on tenants, landlords, and city agencies and debated the need for more or less regulation.
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News & Events
Understanding HUD’s Proposed Changes to the Disparate Impact Standard
Courts have long recognized that “disparate impacts” constitute a violation of protected rights under the Fair Housing Act. Together with the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at U.C. Berkeley, the NYU Furman Center submitted public comments last week arguing against a new rule proposed by HUD on three main grounds.
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Research & Policy
Updating CRA Geography: It’s Not Just About Assessment Areas
NYU Furman Center Senior Policy Fellow Mark A. Willis offers his suggestions on how to effectively modernize one crucial regulation authorized under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Published by the Penn Institute for Urban Research, the paper proposes a method to evaluate the CRA performance of large retail banks that use the internet to serve customers located beyond their branch network.
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Data Updates
Census ACS 1-Year Data Update
Yesterday the Census posted 1-year American Community Survey data, so for the increasing number of people (housing geeks) interested in gaining insights into the housing market, that means new facts and figures about rents and incomes in NYC. In an effort to move as fast as this city does, we’re working to bring you summary snapshots and analysis of these data releases as quickly as we can. Keep in mind that 1-Year survey data has the largest margin of error of the products that the Census releases (because it has a smaller sample), but it offers the most up-to-date insights. Read on for our take about the numbers and what they might mean for New Yorkers.
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Research & Policy
Gentrification And The Health Of Low-Income Children In New York City
Gentrification is one of the most loaded terms in urbanism—its very definition subject to intense analysis and variation. While many agree that community reinvestment and revitalization may bring certain benefits—increased safety, greater access to high-quality schools, and enhanced economic opportunity—critics fear that rapidly-changing neighborhoods erode local cultures, hike rents, and displace long-time residents. As debate continues to grow about gentrification and its consequences, it is critical to examine the evidence about the relationship of rapid neighborhood change to the well-being of residents.
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Research & Policy
Policy Minute: New York City Public Housing
As New York works to preserve and stabilize its public housing, this Policy Minute explores related research, recent developments, and viewpoints.
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Research & Policy
Proposed Legislation Expands Private Activity Bond Recycling
As the nation grapples with an affordable housing crisis, a recently proposed bipartisan bill aims to address the shortage of affordable housing by expanding and strengthening the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 will reportedly create 1.9 million additional affordable housing units over the next decade. The new proposal includes a simple tweak that the NYU Furman Center wrote about previously which has the potential to significantly expand financing for affordable housing in New York and across the country.
