Press Releases

“Our City is in desperate need of affordable housing and we cannot allow landlords to hide even a single unit of it from the public,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “We need a full accounting of every affordable unit of housing in the City and we need regular monitoring and strict enforcement. If we’re going to give away billions of dollars in incentives and property tax reductions to developers in exchange for building affordable units, we need to know where every single one of those units is and ensure struggling New Yorkers have the tools to find, apply and get affordable housing.”

“1.6 billion dollars could be financing programs for students and seniors, building affordable housing, and revitalizing our open space,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “These fines are levied to uphold the safety of our buildings, the cleanliness of our streets, and protect quality of life. Since we spend resources issuing these fines, we must ensure we have the ability to collect on them and use that money for needed services.”

Thank you Borough President Gale Brewer and our Community Board members for their leadership on these land use matters. You are the voice of the people and we are stronger together. I am Council Member Ben Kallos, @BenKallos on social media, I represent the Upper East Side, Midtown East, Roosevelt Island and East Harlem, I grew up here and I want to be able to afford to raise a family and grow old in this city.