New York Times: 40 Big Ideas to Make New York City More Affordable

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To build more housing

1. Construct affordable housing on public housing parking lots
2. on top of public libraries
3. use old Staten Island Ferry boats in dry docks as affordable housing
4. Allow housing in back years
5. Build more 6-story buildings, and fast
6. Find space for 12,000 new, actually affordable apartments
7. … and use modular construction to help build all of it
8. Revamp zoning laws to focus on housing, not manufacturing
9. Don’t stop there! Deregulate the housing market

To make housing more affordable

1. Make it illegal to charge more than 30 percent of household income for rent
2. Fund housing vouchers to shrink the shelter population
3. Eliminate citizenship requirements for those vouchers
4. Lower taxes on rental buildings
5. Give mom-and-pop landlords more tax breaks
6. Give homeowners relief from the cost of local laws on climate and repairs
7. Create an affordable housing program for teachers

To make it easier to raise a family

1. Better support thousands of struggling child care workers
2. Mandate child care in big new buildings
3. Create 24-hour child care centers for essential workers
4. Add a few days to the school year to reduce child care costs
5. Create a diaper stipend for low-income families
6. Fund universal after-school programs …
7. … and what about after-school activities that help migrants adjust to New York?
8. Create meal swipes for high school students
9. Consider local alternatives to college

To put public benefits to work

1. Increase the minimum food stamp benefit to $100 a month …
2. … and find new locations for more food pantries
3. Fill the many vacant jobs that help New Yorkers access affordability programs
4. Fund free, universal health care coverage
5. Help elderly New Yorkers get benefits they already qualify for …
6. … and help families apply for child care benefits
7. Make it easier for small businesses to get grants
8. … and help families apply for child care benefits

To improve the city's streets, transit and culture

1. Pilot one day a month of free subway rides
2. Fund free Metrocards for CUNY students
3. Get the buses to go faster
4. Make it easier for the city’s 65,000 delivery workers to get to you
5. Stop charging so much for cultural sites
6. No more starving artists: put them to work in city institutions
7. Put on more plays, in more places, more often