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Quinn's State Of The City Speech Focuses On Stopping "The Middle Class Squeeze"
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 11, 2013
Modified Feb 11, 2013
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 11, 2013
Modified Feb 11, 2013
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Though she hasn't officially announced it yet City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is very much running for mayor this year. And if for some reason you weren't clear on that fact, the Speaker's State of the City speech today (you can watch the whole thing here) made it crystal clear. "We face an affordability crisis in this city," Quinn said. For what it's worth, Quinn's speech went over like gangbusters with her fans: "I think Christine Quinn sounded like a mayor," Rep. Carolyn Maloney told Capital afterwards before going a touch overboard: "F.D.R. is back," she went on, adding, "It was very Koch-like."
Whatever you think of Quinn, it was a forceful speech in which she focused long and hard on the problems (and promise) facing the middle class in the city today. Coincidentally her office just happened to release a report, "The Middle Class Squeeze" [PDF], on just that topic!
So what did Quinn talk about? Well, lots about the middle class, natch. One of the bigger ideas she pushed was a plan to build 40,000 new middle-income apartments in the next decade paid for though government efficiencies and new issuances of debt (she argues now is a good time thanks to low interest rates). And Quinn doesn't just want to build those new apartments, she wants to keep them "affordable" for at least 30 years—and so is working to borrow and dedicate money for that.
Her housing plans didn't stop there, either. Quinn announced that she working with those in Albany to introduce a bill that "would encourage landlords to make market-rate units affordable in exchange for a property-tax cap." If landlords accept the deal they'd get a tax break as long as they turned offered market rate apartments at affordable prices. In other words, Quinn was calling out those of us who have resigned ourselves to a totally gentrified NYC. "I refuse to accept the notion that large portions of our city are destined to become a luxury only available to the wealthiest among us," she said, pointing out that if we "don't stop what is happening" soon Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Astoria and Long Island City will all be inaccessible to regular people. Not to mention "Throggs Neck and maybe Saint George" and "maybe one day the whole city."
"We need to make sure that the people who want to stay in our great city can afford to stay here," said Quinn. "We have no greater challenge or obligation to the families we represent than to tackle this problem head on and deliver results. The future of our city depends on it. It comes as no surprise to any New Yorker that affordable housing is at the heart of this crisis."
And that's not all! Quinn also said she would update the city's housing maintenance code for the first time in ages ("Contrary to what you might think, this idea is supported by both tenant advocates and the real estate industry," she quipped). Oh, and she also promised to create a "distressed housing preservation fund, so that the city could buy over-leveraged properties, repair them, and then put them back on the market."
Wait, there's MORE! Quinn talked about plans to spur economic development in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods like the South Bronx and Sunset Park, plans to translate home-health care tests and textbooks into other languages, plans for a new childcare tax credit for families making up to $150,000 a year to help cover the costs of childcare, and a plan to allocate $13 million to create more seats in adult education programs. There was also talk of creating a regional export council with the goal of doubling the city's exports in the next seven years. Plus, a proposal for half price wings on Wednesdays and a free side of jalapeno poppers when ordering a pitcher of Coors Light.
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christine quinn
City Council
Election 2013
state of the city
Garth Johnston
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