Public Employee Press

Bridging the gap
Accessible and affordable housing for DC 37 Members

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Locked out of NYC luxury housing market, hundreds attend conference

As a sign of DC 37’s commitment to unlock the door to affordable housing, symbolic keys were handed out to over 400 DC 37 members who braved torrential rains April 2 to attend the DC37 Housing Conference.

“This union cares about housing,” said DC 37 Associate Director Oliver Gray, who moderated the event. “People who work for this city can hardly afford to live here. New York City once led the nation in developing affordable housing with federal and state programs, public housing and Mitchell-Lama, but the government has gotten out of the real estate business.”

These days, despite tax breaks and public funds, private developers here build multi-million-dollar luxury housing and set aside as little as 5 percent as affordable units. They’ve all but locked out middle-income earners and the poor from access to new and affordable housing.

Under current residency rules, DC 37’s 121,000 members, whose average annual income is about $29,000, and most other city employees, have the unique and heavy burden of living within New York City’s five boroughs. So Executive Director Lillian Roberts has made access to affordable housing DC 37’s priority issue for the mayoral candidates of 2006.

Whether DC 37 members live in rent-controlled apartments, union developments, Mitchell-Lama cooperatives, Section 8 apartments, private homes or public housing projects, deterioration, deregulation and sky-high rents threaten and restrict their access to the city’s dwindling stock of affordable housing.

Help for house hunters
“This conference is the beginning of an education process,” said Roberts. “We have housing issues — members trapped in public housing and members who are homeless. We need to press the mayor to set aside units for those who work for this city, protect it and make it run.”

To bridge the gap, the program focused on home ownership through the DC 37 Affordable Mortgage program with JP Morgan Chase, the Home Ownership Assistance program that offers money to first-time buyers to cover down payment and closing costs, and homes available through the federal Housing and Urban Development Dept. bidding program.

Guest panelists included Manny Alvarado of HUD, Michael Abel, director of the HOA program, Reggie Evans of the city Housing Preservation and Development Dept., Ilene Vega from Prudential Action Real Estate, Martha Abrams, a JP Morgan Chase mortgage loan officer, and DC 37 MELS Director Joan Beranbaum. DC 37 members came for information and enjoyed a question-and-answer session with the panelists.

“The problem is finding housing that’s healthy and fits my budget,” said Audwin Edwards, a Sr. Rehabilitation Counselor in Local 768. Others worried about discontinued assistance programs like Section 8 and buildings leaving the Mitchell-Lama program.

“The housing shortage has worsened because the mayor is not doing enough,” said Melvin Bentley, newly appointed DC 37 Housing Committeee Chair and Local 1502 president.

“Our members have residency requirements and some have been fired for living out of the city,” he explained. “Ms. Roberts and the committee will continue dialogue with the mayor for more affordable housing for our members.”

Roberts intiated the conference, which was organized by Gray and DC37 Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido along with Bentley. “The first step was taken here today,” Garrido said. “Let the key you received today be a visual reminder of where you want to be in the future.”