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Affordable housing expansion plan outlined by de Blasio

Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his
Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his “2.0” affordable housing plan, which added 100,000 affordable units to the existing goal of 200,000. Photo Credit: MTA New York City Transit / Marc A. Hermann

Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out his plan Wednesday to meet his previously announced goal of creating and preserving an additional 100,000 units of affordable housing.

The mayor’s “Housing New York 2.0” plan seeks an additional $150 million a year in the current 4-year financial plan to secure 300,000 total homes by 2026. De Blasio said the strategy will create 25,000 affordable units a year to meet the goal, along with other initiatives.

“Making New York a fairer city for today and for future generations depends on it,” he said in a statement.

The city will also build more homes for seniors, assist nonprofits in purchasing rent-stabilized apartment buildings, and capitalize on vacant lots, according to the proposal.

Emily Goldstein, a senior campaign organizer for the nonprofit ‎Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, was critical of the proposal, noting its lack of plans to combat rising housing costs.

“We wish those goals, and the resources to meet them, revolved directly around impacts such as reducing the number of New Yorkers who are severely rent-burdened, or preventing additional families from becoming homeless, rather than numbers of units,” she said in a statement.