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Research & Policy
Fact Brief: NYCHA’s Outsized Role in Housing New York’s Poorest Households
As the largest landlord in New York, New York Housing Authority (NYCHA) units represent almost six percent of all occupied housing citywide, and almost nine percent of all occupied rental housing. The city’s public housing provides shelter to substantially more households than any other place-based housing assistance program in the city. In 2017 over 60 percent of the roughly 174,000 households in NYCHA’s public housing developments earned 30 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) or less. That translates to just $28,600 annually for a family of four. These households would have few housing options in New York City without the affordability offered in public housing. Read more »
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Research & Policy
Policy Brief: National Lessons of NYC’s Universal Access to Counsel Program
In 2017, New York City enacted the first legislation in the country providing legal representation for all income-eligible tenants facing eviction. The legislation, sponsored by Council Members Vanessa Gibson and Mark Levine, has been implemented in four zip codes in each of New York’s five boroughs, with citywide universal access mandated by July 2022. As major cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark, Cleveland, and Boston consider expanding access to counsel, New York’s experience offers important lessons for program design and implementation. Read more »
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News & Events
VIDEO: Policy Breakfast on Reforming Rent Stabilization in New York City
Close to 1 million apartments in New York City are subject to the state’s rent stabilization laws, which regulate how rents can rise. In June, 2019, those laws are set to expire. On November 29th, 2018 the NYU Furman Center hosted an event to bring experts together to explore ideas for reforming the rent laws. Read more »
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Research & Policy
Gentrification and Fair Housing: Does Gentrification Further Integration?
On the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, long-time residents of cities across the country feel increasingly anxious that they will be priced out of their homes and communities, as growing numbers of higher-income, college-educated households opt for downtown neighborhoods. These fears are particularly acute among black and Latino residents. Yet when looking through the lens of fair housing, gentrification also offers a glimmer of hope, as the moves that higher-income, white households make into predominantly minority, lower-income neighborhoods are moves that help to integrate those neighborhoods, at least in the near term. Read more »
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News & Events
NYU Furman Center Researchers Present New & Forthcoming Work at the 2018 APPAM Research Conference
APPAM brings together academics and research on a variety of emerging policy issues, exploring ways to bring global and inter-disciplinary perspectives into conversations on pressing challenges, ranging from changing population demographics and economic inequality to climate change. This year’s conference theme was “Evidence for Action: Encouraging Innovation and Improvement”. Read more »
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Research & Policy
Neighbors and Networks: The role of social interactions on the residential choices
NYU Furman Center Faculty Director Ingrid Gould Ellen co-authored a paper with Michael Suher and Gerard Torrats-Espinosa considering the role of information and social influence in determining the effective set of potential housing choices for participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Read more »
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News & Events
Book Release - A Shared Future: Fostering Communities of Inclusion in an Era of Inequality
The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently published A Shared Future: Fostering Communities of Inclusion in an Era of Inequality. The book features leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers examining different aspects of the complex and deeply rooted problem of residential segregation, and proposing concrete steps to achieve meaningful change. NYU Furman Center Furman Faculty Directors Vicki Been, Ingrid Gould Ellen, and Katherine O’Regan each authored chapters on displacement, gentrification, and affirmatively furthering fair housing, respectively. Read more »
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News & Events
Mark A. Willis Testifies at Public Hearing for the NYC Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform
On Monday, October 15th, 2018, Mark A. Willis, a Senior Policy Fellow at the NYU Furman Center, testified at the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform Public Hearing. This hearing was held as a part of the NYC Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform’s efforts to evaluate the current property tax system in New York City, and recommend reforms to make it fairer, simpler, and more transparent while not reducing city revenues. The co-chairs of the commission are Professor Vicki Been and Marc Shaw. Read more »
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Research & Policy
NYU Furman Center Comments on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
The NYU Furman Center submitted comments in response to HUD’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. HUD is considering replacing the AFFH Final Rule despite the considerable agency resources devoted to researching, piloting, and promulgating the rule between 2010 and 2015. This post excerpts and summarizes the key points of our comment, which urges HUD to improve upon the current approach which shows initial promise, as opposed to returning to an approach that has indisputably failed. Read more »
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News & Events
NYU Furman Center and Abt Associates Launch Tool to Tackle High Housing Costs
The NYU Furman Center and Abt Associates have launched LocalHousingSolutions.org, an online, interactive tool to help communities develop local strategies that promote housing affordability. Read more »
