De Blasio Administration Releases Draft Plan to Promote Fair Housing

The de Blasio Administration released the Where We Live NYC Draft Plan for public review. This is the city’s comprehensive plan to promote fair housing and take action to advance opportunity for all New Yorkers The Where We Live NYC Draft Plan outlines key goals and strategies to address New York City’s fair housing challenges. The plan analyzes the state of fair housing in New York City today and lays out an action plan for the next five years. It includes the following key goals and strategies:

• Expand resources to combat persistent housing discrimination, including a new dedicated unit to test for and pursue proactive cases against housing discrimination and new protections for justice-involved New Yorkers and New Yorkers who use housing vouchers.
• Support housing development throughout the city and region, by expediting the creation of more affordable housing for low-income households and exploring zoning, land use, and other regulatory actions that will promote growth more broadly across the five boroughs.
• Empower New Yorkers who use housing vouchers with more choice, by expanding the number of homes available to New Yorkers who receive rental assistance benefits and improving voucher holders’ and landlords’ experiences with the city.
• Create more independent and integrated living options for people with disabilities, by leveraging the resources of the healthcare sector and expanding programs that help people with disabilities obtain renovations to accommodate their physical needs.
• Make equitable investments and change policies to support neighborhoods suffering from historic disinvestment through thoughtful decision-making and community engagement. The city will invest in increased wealth-building opportunities, improved public transit, and expanded diversity in public schools, among other initiatives.

The city will be holding a public hearing on Feb. 6, 2020, where members of the public can provide formal, on-the-record comment on the draft. The hearing will be held from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the City Planning Commission Hearing Room, Lower Concourse, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.