Hundreds of New Yorkers rally for mayor's "most progressive" housing plan

Hundreds of people and union members gathered at New York on Wednesday in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio's legislative proposal to require real estate developers to provide affordable housing units in every future residential buildings.

"What do we want? Affordable housing," the crowd chanted in a rally aimed at raising people's awareness of de Blasio's plan and pressuring New York City Council to pass the bill.

The mayor's housing proposal includes two key parts, named Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning and Zoning for Quality and Affordability.

The first will require every real estate developer to include 25 percent to 30 percent floor space for affordable housing units when building within rezoned areas, and the second will allow developers to build taller buildings and encourage affordable senior housing.

"Housing is a basic human right and a moral issue," said Frederick Davie, Vice President of the Union Theological Seminary at the rally. "We believe this housing plan the mayor has put forward gets us a long way of insuring that every New Yorker will have a safe and affordable place to live, to raise and grow a family, and to make a contribution to this great city."

One of the rally organizers, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), praised the plan for creating affordable housing for the city's growing population of seniors.

"200,000 seniors are on the waiting list for affordable housing in New York," said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. "Right now the New York City Council has the opportunity to pass common sense plan that will create at least 10,000 new affordable housing units, we have got to grab this opportunity and make sure this happens."

While gaining support from union workers and working families, the proposal has also faced controversy.

The plan has prompted heated debate in City Council, and met with fierce opposition among New Yorkers, who argued that the plan's 46,620 U.S. dollars annual family income qualification requirement is not really "affordable" for low income households.

"This plan is a total giveaway to the big real estate industry, subsidizing these high rise luxury buildings going up all over the city, gentrifying the city and displacing working class people," said Tom Siracuse, an activist from the local Green Party.

"And the few so-called 'affordable' units that they are supposed to include, most of them are not affordable to working class people," he said.

Mayor de Blasio made an appearance at the rally.

"I want you to focus on the word 'mandatory'," de Blasio said. "It says to developers: 'You must build affordable housing if you want to build anything.'"

"This legislation will be the most progressive and strongest laws to create affordable housing anywhere in the country," he said.

De Blasio also acknowledged the criticism the plan received, promising more ways to ensure fairness in his affordable housing plan, including free legal aid and services for people living in current public housing who are facing eviction, as well as enacting a rent freeze program to stabilize the housing market. Endit