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Communities across New York are strategizing ways to keep residents in quality housing. In Broome County, that effort has taken the form of a housing trust fund.
The Binghamton City Council voted Tuesday to earmark $3 million for renovations at the Town and Country Apartments, which serves low-income residents on the city’s North Side. But the decision has faced pushback.
The YWCA of Binghamton and Broome County is expanding its footprint. The organization plans to build a new child care facility and affordable housing complex over roughly five acres downtown.
The Ithaca Tenants Union has been sitting in on weekly city eviction proceedings for several weeks, to put pressure on landlords, as well as the court, to prevent or stall evictions.
Housing activists in Binghamton are calling on college students to join efforts to improve the quality of housing and tenant protections.
Advocates for “Good Cause” eviction in Ithaca say it would give more negotiating power to tenants who are in a vulnerable position.
Local officials and developers say new affordable apartments are breathing life into one Broome County neighborhood.
Any household experiencing homelessness will be eligible to live there without income-based restrictions.
“Because now they’re pushing community members out and renting their units out to students, and we have to have a plan for that.”
“We can provide all the rental assistance in the world, if there’s no actual home to put someone in, then there’s no roof to put over someone’s head.”
“We have people eligible, we have money available, but no units for people to buy.”
“Some of the places they have around here are not handicap accessible, but this one is.”
“Historically Black and Brown people have been locked out of owning land, and so if we own the land where particular buildings and or other services are operated, we have more of an opportunity to hold onto our resources and power within the community.”
Many of the protesters who spoke during the hearing criticized the budget proposal for adding two new sheriff positions and keeping the budget for the Broome County jail at more than $29 million.
“Those properties, to be honest, should really be condemned, but people have to live there because it’s the only place that they’re able to afford.”
“You always want to make sure that these are built in areas that have amenities in walking distance—bus transportation, but also stores and doctors offices, things like that.”
Elmira was awarded $1 million. Binghamton was awarded $585,000.
The $7.7 million project is funded mostly from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
The Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Service Community Land Trust plans to use it on two developments that will result in 18 affordable homes.
Most at the hearing oppose a proposed mixed income housing development.
“The proposal itself would really discourage real estate investment at a time when New York state should be creating more incentives to attract people, grow businesses, and investment opportunities not only locally but in the entire state.”
“When we have residents coming back from treatment and ending up in the same housing they left we’re not assisting them in staying in recovery,” said Rebecca Kaufman, Director of the Broome County Department of Health.
The shortage of affordable housing is a serious problem across the Southern Tier. On Thursday night in Ithaca, people from different sectors came together to discuss one aspect of the problem — workforce housing.
An affordable housing project in Oneonta just got nearly $7 million from New York state. Gary Herzig says the project fills a big need. “We have very few affordable housing units for working families,” Herzig says. “In addition, we have a list, a long list, of vacant housing units that unfortunately is getting longer every year.”
Herzig works at the community agency Opportunities for Otsego. He helped coordinate the new housing project.