The Senate never took up the Moving Forward Act. But housing advocates continue to focus on repealing the Faircloth Amendment. The New York Times recently ran an op-ed labeling a repeal of the rule as the “first step to addressing the country’s housing affordability problem.” On the other side, Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution, recently argued that “focusing debate on the Faircloth Amendment is a red herring a political distraction from more tangible obstacles to low-cost housing.”
Here’s a look at the basics.
What is the Faircloth Amendment?
The Faircloth Amendment was a provision of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998. It amended the Housing Act of 1937, which authorized federal financial assistance to help states and housing authorities provide housing for low-income people. The amendment says, “a public housing agency may not use any of the amounts allocated for the agency from
Police reform is likely to be as big a challenge for NYC’s next mayor as it’s been for de Blasio Michael Gartland
Reforming the NYPD has been one of the toughest challenges of Mayor de Blasio’s tenure, and will likely be just as vexing for his successor in the years to come.
The next mayor will be faced with whether to significantly cut the police department’s budget, whether to require cops to reside within the five boroughs, and the looming possibility that an additional monitor, or monitors, could be appointed to oversee aspects of the department.
NYCHA maintenance issues have skyrocketed since the pandemic. How can residents hold NYCHA accountable?
NYCHA maintenance issues have skyrocketed since the pandemic. How can residents hold NYCHA accountable? Rommel Nunez / Staff Photographer By Katherine Nessel | February 5, 2021, 10:10 PM
Across the city, open work orders for maintenance issues in the Grant Houses of the New York City Housing Authority development in Morningside Heights requiring attention skyrocketed 40 percent from 344,960 in December 2019 to 483,240 in December 2020. This drastic increase can likely be attributed to the pause on some maintenance work in the early months of the pandemic and decreased funding as the city faces a financial crisis, compounded with the longstanding lack of agency within NYCHA.
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If there is going to be automatic voter registration in New York state, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell and a smattering of his Republican colleagues want to see additional state agencies enrolling voters.
The state Assembly last week passed A.2574, sponsored by Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, D-Brooklyn, to amend the automatic voting registration legislation passed in 2020.
The updated legislation begins automatic voter registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles on Jan. 1, 2023, followed by the state Health Department, state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, state Labor Department, Office of Adult Career and Continuing Education Services Vocational Rehabilitation, county and city social services departments and the New York City Housing Authority on Jan. 1, 2024. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, automatic voter registration will begin on SUNY campuses.
The first law of holes: if you find yourself in one, stop digging. With the climate crisis in full effect, we need to ensure any action we take stops things from getting worse.