Justice for Homeowners
On January 15, a number of Local 79 members attended a Justice for Homeowners meeting to hear speakers, including Public Advocate Letitia James, State Assemblyman Keith Wright, and homeowners, address issues related to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s lack of transparency and poor oversight of public subsidies used for the development of affordable housing. A video was shown which documented the countless structural, electrical, and plumbing problems of affordable housing units that were built by non-union contractors. Both Public Advocate James and Assemblyman Wright spoke of the key role that home ownership plays in helping working people join the middle-class. Public Advocate James repeatedly stated that the way to ensure that affordable housing is built right is to “build it union.”
Justice for Homeowners, a coalition of homeowners, workers, community organizations, and labor activists, is working to ensure that accountability, transparency, and procurement reform are front and center in New York City’s plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing in the next ten years.
