skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

'Affordable' Housing Needs New Definition in NY, US

play audio
Play

Friday, July 8, 2022   

The reality of "affordable" housing is changing in New York, and advocates for renters' rights argued it is time for an update.

For years, affordable housing has been defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as 30% of a person's gross income, including utilities. But the combination of higher prices, recent inflation and stagnant wages has been eroding this formula.

Teresa Watson, housing justice organizer for the nonprofit People United for Sustainable Housing in Buffalo, thinks the definition is lacking because it doesn't account for people with different sources of income.

"When we're talking about seniors, folks on fixed incomes or people who get SSI, SSI checks come in at about $900 a month," Watson observed. "That means if you're paying $300 in rent, which is almost impossible unless you manage to win the Section 8 lottery, you're still supposed to live off of $600."

According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, 963,000 renter households, or about 28% of renters in New York, are considered extremely low-income. The coalition estimates there is a deficit of more than 615,000 available homes in the state for lower-income renters.

Watson believes rather than using catchall solutions, such as low-income housing tax credits for builders, there should be a national reinvestment in public housing, and communities should look for more individualized solutions.

She feels public housing is truly an affordable housing model, but the system needs a serious overhaul.

"The disinvestment has not only made them unsafe and often unsanitary places to live, they haven't been kept up, they haven't been invested in," Watson contended. "They've been stigmatized, they've been overpoliced. But it is the only housing in our country that actually bases what somebody pays on what they make."

In particular, Watson pointed out Western New York is seeing an affordability crisis as rents skyrocket. One issue she noted is existing properties are often owned by out-of-town landlords who base rents on what they can get, not on the condition of the property.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021