Council Member Brad Lander

The shortage of affordable housing is felt in every corner of our City. Reasonably priced options are elusive– jeopardizing many residents’ personal security and eradicating diversity from our communities. Our rapidly growing population of elderly New Yorkers is especially vulnerable; seniors face unique challenges at a time when stability is paramount.

This problem is about to get worse. By 2030 NYC’s population will grow, but the senior population (65 years and up) will grow at the fastest pace. Personal costs as well as the cost of housing, and medical care show no signs of slowing: seniors bear the burden of these costs—often on a fixed income. Meanwhile the City’s limited stock of affordable housing is under attack by landlords who use decontrol measures to convert rent-regulated or HPD-supervised apartments into market-rate apartments.

Aware of this crisis, the City sketched a response in Housing New York, Mayor de Blasio’s sweeping analysis of the housing crisis. The Mayor makes a clarion call for action to build or preserve 200,000 affordable apartments over the coming decade. The plan touches on increasing affordable and supportive housing for seniors, but it is short on specifics on a strategy to address the complexities of senior affordable housing. That is why we, along with several of our colleagues, recently introduced Intro. 337, a local law that calls on the administration to convene a Senior Housing Task Force, which will put substance into the overarching goal to develop more affordable housing for older New Yorkers, today and in the future.

Council Member Helen Rosenthal

This Task Force enables the Council, the administration, advocates for seniors, and community leaders to come together and develop the details and roadmap to turn our aspirations into reality. By bringing this new entity into fruition, we are making a pledge that our City is committed to giving elderly New Yorkers the support they need to remain in the City they have always called home.

Council Member Brad Lander, Council District 39 in Brooklyn, serves as Chair of the Council Committee on Rules. Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Council District 6 in Manhattan, serves as Chair of the Council Committee on Contracts.