On Wednesday, March 5, AAFE joined several community organizations at a rally organized by the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) to campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (MIZ) laws.  Current inclusionary zoning laws incentivize developers to voluntarily provide affordable housing units as part of larger residential development projects.  However, speakers at the press conference noted that over the past decade, 40% of NYC’s affordable housing stock (385,000 units) has been lost and less than 4,000 new affordable housing units have been created.  This drastic difference in number of units lost and number of units replaced is unacceptable, especially given that NYC’s real estate industry has earned $7.8 billion in profits during the same time period. 

City officials, community leaders, and community members rallied for MIZ laws that would require all new residential developments to include housing that is affordable and accessible to the low- and moderate-income families that keep NYC running.  Experts estimate that this new policy would increase the rate of affordable housing development from 400 units a year to 4,000 a year, a figure that more suitably fills the gap of affordable housing in a city where costs of living continue to rise.

Speakers at the press conference included representatives from community organizations across NYC, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Council Members Jumaane Williams, Brad Lander, and Rosie Mendez.