What’s missing from the mayor’s housing plan
Crain’s New York Business, June 13, 2014Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $41 billion affordable-housing plan shows how seriously he takes his promise of tackling economic inequality, but he’s been silent on clean energy and energy efficiency.
That’s a missed opportunity. Retrofitting buildings to become more environmentally sustainable would disproportionately help the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
Superstorm Sandy indiscriminately battered New York City. But low income communities bore the brunt. Nearly half of city dwellings hit by Sandy were low-income, subsidized or rent-stabilized, while one-fifth of Housing Authority units lost power for days, stranding families on high floors and cutting off water, light, and heat.