NYC Progressive Caucus

Rentals within Reach

Rentals within Reach

Why Rentals within Reach? On December 3, 1936, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at the ribbon cutting of the opening of First Houses, first NYCHA development opened in the City of New York. She spoke of how public housing could reshape the tenement buildings that defined early 20th century life, saying, “for the first time the rentals are within the reach” of the residents who lived in the notorious slums. 

Nearly 100 years later, the city finds itself in a housing crisis and this precious housing stock in disrepair.

Rentals within Reach is an FY27 effort from Council Progressives to return to the promise of public housing as key to the long term stability of vulnerable and working class New Yorkers.

We call for $248M in city dollars ($144M in Capital, $104M in Expense) to go toward clearing the waitlist for NYCHA vacant units, which currently stand at over 6,000 and to renovate and preserve over 1,000 supportive housing units. Together, these targeted, city-run solutions are smart tax payer investments that will provide tens of thousands of our neighbors with stable, accessible housing, and the wrap around services they deserve.

Below you will find the crux of each ask, unlocking housing for over 20,000 New Yorkers.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt pictured.
Credit: FDR Presidential Library & Museum, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1) OPEN NYCHA UNITS
Our campaign calls for $170M to expedite vacant unit repairs in NYCHA. With a backlog of over 6,000 vacant units, representing more than the entirety of Queensbridge and Red Hook Houses combined, the City currently prepares apartments at a rate of just 390 a month. Council Progressives are calling for the resources necessary to steadily increase that rate to 1,000 a month over the course of Fiscal Year 2027. 

2) OPEN SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UNITS
Our campaign also calls for $78 million to renovate 1,000 supportive housing units and permanently preserve an additional 325 units. We’re calling for a $13 million flexible expense pot to allow for repairs to HRA and DOHMH units so providers can re-rent. Additionally, we join the Supportive Housing Network of New York in calling for $65.3 million to permanently preserve 325 units.