Real Estate Lobby has Declared War on Working People

Truly affordable housing is under attack. Poor, working and middle class families are under attack from moneyed interests. Mayor Bloomberg’s affordable housing program has failed – 31 percent of New Yorkers pay 50 percent or more of their income in rent and utilities.

My career has been spent fighting for working families and those struggling to survive. While working in the City Council, I did the hard work that created more than 1,000 units of truly affordable housing – real places, where people live and can call home. The top priorities we should be discussing now are how to create affordable housing, how to keep families in the housing they’re in, how to create jobs that can actually sustain a family and how to educate our kids so they have a real future. Anyone who can’t have a real substantive conversation about these issues can’t advocate for our community.

The last 12 years under Bloomberg have been good for developers. He made it easy for them to tear down four-story, rent stabilized walk-ups for glass-covered condo towers. Fearing the end of the Bloomberg era, the real estate industry and developers have come together to create JOBS FOR NY, a political action committee that pledged to spend $10 million to elect council members that will continue the Bloomberg approach.

JOBS FOR NY has come to Brooklyn and endorsed my opponent Laurie Cumbo. They support her because her platform is an artsy version of the Bloomberg legacy – building a mix of luxury, market rate and affordable housing and promoting tourism. The real estate industry also talks about a “mix of luxury and affordable housing.” In reality, this has meant our tax dollars going to luxury housing at the expense of affordable housing.

I speak forcefully about this because it is the central issue in the district I am running in. We have been a diverse community with a mix of incomes race and ethnic backgrounds. A mix of seniors, artists, students and young people – but this diversity is at risk. Unless we make affordable housing and living wage jobs a top priority, most of these people will not be able to stay in our community. I am horrified every time I hear about tenant harassment or long-time elderly residents forced out when their new landlords decide they want higher rents.

We need a forceful advocate in the City Council who will fight for affordable housing, not cultural tourism, which only means more bars and restaurants. We need someone who doesn’t owe their office to the real estate industry. We need someone who knows what it takes to sit down with the community and developers to create real housing.

I stand with the people. I choose to fight for us, and that is why the real estate lobby did not endorse me. I am proud of my defense of affordable housing. I consider it a badge of honor if the real estate lobbyists send out mailings against me. I am not afraid to call out the outside interests that want to control our neighborhood– this is the challenge I signed up for in running for office.

A political campaign is many things, including a test of how you will act while in office. In the last few weeks, I felt the full weight of the real estate industry against my campaign; I hope you stand with me as we confront this challenge to democracy.