Connecting Poverty Reduction to Economic Development by Albert Vann
Connecting Poverty Reduction to Economic Development by Albert Vann
July 14th, 2008
I'm convinced that we have the ability and the moral obligation to significantly reduce the number of New Yorkers who live in poverty. Int. 801, the Community Impact Report bill that was introduced at the Council's June 29 stated meeting, began as part of an earnest effort to figure out how we could translate economic development policies into poverty reduction strategies.
All over New York City and often in neighborhoods formerly described as distressed, economic development activity is rampant. For all too many communities of color, economic development has meant racial and income displacement associated with gentrification. Mayor Bloomberg's "economically developed" New York has become a nightmare for all too many long-time, hard-fighting New Yorkers that held these so-called distressed neighborhoods together in the hard times. Many of these New Yorkers "happen to be" low-income, but have the same desires for affordable housing, good paying jobs and effective public services as everyone else. They, too, deserve the ability to remain in this City during these times of booming development.
Int. 801 is an attempt to harness the economic growth that has come to characterize Bloomberg's New York and to make it work to build communities, not tear them apart. The bill's reporting disclosures, used as leverage, could help to yield the kinds of outcomes that have been associated with community benefit agreements, including affordable housing, good jobs and improved neighborhood services.
The bill requires developers, city agencies or affiliated entities that administer public economic development benefits-such as the New York City Economic Development Corporation-to prepare and submit a Community Impact Report to the City Council 60 days prior to approval for benefits. Affordable housing developments without market-rate or luxury units and social service providers would be exempt.
The bill requires estimates and analyses aimed at revealing the economic and social impacts of development on communities. For example, the bill requires developers to provide or disclose: a comparison of rents in new housing units developed to current rents in the community; whether residents or businesses are expected to be displaced; if and how many people are expected to lose their jobs; and the demographics, including race, ethnicity and income levels, of those expected to be displaced or become unemployed.
Int. 801 goes beyond providing job creation estimates. It requires a description of the types of jobs to be created and the number of people living within the community expected to hold these jobs. The bill will also reveal whether the jobs created will be quality jobs with good-paying wages and health benefits, and whether workers will be salaried or hourly, permanent, part time or seasonal.
None of the current land use or environmental disclosures, including ULURP and CEQRA (City Environmental Quality Review Act), has the goal of capturing the economic and social impacts of development on communities as does Int. 801. In general, the City Council relies on outside advocacy and planning groups for an informed analytical perspective of the potential social and economic impacts. Inevitably, these advocacy groups have limited information upon which to draw conclusions because development deals are made behind closed doors. Int. 801 would address this by requiring city agencies to conduct these impact analyses via the submission of community impact reports. The bill acts to ensure the legitimacy of report estimates by requiring a description of how such estimates are derived and by requiring city agencies to certify the accuracy of reports submitted by developers.
This bill will also improve the City Council's land use and economic development decision-making by answering questions about community impact before the ULURP or CEQRA time clocks start. Thus, the information provided by Community Impact Reports should result in development projects and decisions that are more reflective of the will and needs of the community.
During this time of economic hardship, we have to make certain that taxpayer dollars are used to address real public problems, not just produce profits. The only way to accomplish this is to explicitly include community development as a goal of economic development policies and actions. That is why this bill is so important. It injects the community's interest directly into the process of public economic development decision-making. This approach, I am convinced, will strike that tenuous balance of preserving and strengthening the social and economic infrastructure of communities that we are all striving for in this most ethnically, racially and economically diverse city.
Albert Vann, a Democrat representing Brooklyn, is chair of the Council Committee on Community Development.
All over New York City and often in neighborhoods formerly described as distressed, economic development activity is rampant. For all too many communities of color, economic development has meant racial and income displacement associated with gentrification. Mayor Bloomberg's "economically developed" New York has become a nightmare for all too many long-time, hard-fighting New Yorkers that held these so-called distressed neighborhoods together in the hard times. Many of these New Yorkers "happen to be" low-income, but have the same desires for affordable housing, good paying jobs and effective public services as everyone else. They, too, deserve the ability to remain in this City during these times of booming development.
Int. 801 is an attempt to harness the economic growth that has come to characterize Bloomberg's New York and to make it work to build communities, not tear them apart. The bill's reporting disclosures, used as leverage, could help to yield the kinds of outcomes that have been associated with community benefit agreements, including affordable housing, good jobs and improved neighborhood services.
The bill requires developers, city agencies or affiliated entities that administer public economic development benefits-such as the New York City Economic Development Corporation-to prepare and submit a Community Impact Report to the City Council 60 days prior to approval for benefits. Affordable housing developments without market-rate or luxury units and social service providers would be exempt.
The bill requires estimates and analyses aimed at revealing the economic and social impacts of development on communities. For example, the bill requires developers to provide or disclose: a comparison of rents in new housing units developed to current rents in the community; whether residents or businesses are expected to be displaced; if and how many people are expected to lose their jobs; and the demographics, including race, ethnicity and income levels, of those expected to be displaced or become unemployed.
Int. 801 goes beyond providing job creation estimates. It requires a description of the types of jobs to be created and the number of people living within the community expected to hold these jobs. The bill will also reveal whether the jobs created will be quality jobs with good-paying wages and health benefits, and whether workers will be salaried or hourly, permanent, part time or seasonal.
None of the current land use or environmental disclosures, including ULURP and CEQRA (City Environmental Quality Review Act), has the goal of capturing the economic and social impacts of development on communities as does Int. 801. In general, the City Council relies on outside advocacy and planning groups for an informed analytical perspective of the potential social and economic impacts. Inevitably, these advocacy groups have limited information upon which to draw conclusions because development deals are made behind closed doors. Int. 801 would address this by requiring city agencies to conduct these impact analyses via the submission of community impact reports. The bill acts to ensure the legitimacy of report estimates by requiring a description of how such estimates are derived and by requiring city agencies to certify the accuracy of reports submitted by developers.
This bill will also improve the City Council's land use and economic development decision-making by answering questions about community impact before the ULURP or CEQRA time clocks start. Thus, the information provided by Community Impact Reports should result in development projects and decisions that are more reflective of the will and needs of the community.
During this time of economic hardship, we have to make certain that taxpayer dollars are used to address real public problems, not just produce profits. The only way to accomplish this is to explicitly include community development as a goal of economic development policies and actions. That is why this bill is so important. It injects the community's interest directly into the process of public economic development decision-making. This approach, I am convinced, will strike that tenuous balance of preserving and strengthening the social and economic infrastructure of communities that we are all striving for in this most ethnically, racially and economically diverse city.
Albert Vann, a Democrat representing Brooklyn, is chair of the Council Committee on Community Development.
