OP-ED: Trump's Proposed Cuts To HUD Will Hurt Our Community

Editor's note: The following is an op-ed from the Carroll Gardens Association.

As the largest affordable housing provider in Red Hook outside of NYCHA, the Carroll Gardens Association finds it disheartening to see that the proposed federal budget largely ignores the very real impact that spending cuts will have on our communities. The national budget provides a blueprint for federal priorities, and as it stands, it does not reflect American values of equal opportunity and fairness.

Across the country, more people are struggling to pay their rent each month. New research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition found a national shortage of more than 7 million apartments that are affordable to our nation’s 11 million families with extremely low incomes. Here in New York City, the human costs of the affordable housing crisis are unmistakably clear. The city’s homeless population has hit record highs, with roughly 60,000 New Yorkers in the shelter system, while towering new luxury condominiums illustrate the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

Research has shown that when families have stable, decent, and accessible homes that they can afford, they are better able to find employment, achieve economic mobility, perform better in school, and maintain improved health. Carroll Gardens Association has been a proud provider of affordable housing in Southwest Brooklyn since the 1970s, and is designated by the New York State as a Neighborhood Preservation Corporation. Many of the families who live in our 150 housing units are hard-working tenants who work low-wage jobs, and are able to grow roots in the community thanks to the stability provided by Section 8 vouchers. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could result in a loss of 20,000 housing vouchers. Considering the current housing landscape in New York City, this loss would be devastating and would only precipitate more families into homelessness and deprivation.

Furthermore, we have been assisting rent-stabilized and market-rate tenants facing harassment and negligence from private landlords in our community. Eliminating Community Development Block Grants, as proposed in the federal budget, would take away crucial funding for the New York City Department of Housing and Preservation Development (HPD), crippling code enforcement efforts. This would leave tenants with no tools to hold their landlords accountable for harassment and unsafe conditions, accelerating displacement.

Federal investments in affordable housing provide families and communities with the resources they need to thrive. The Budget Control Act of 2011 has already led to deep cuts to critical housing programs. Since 2010, funding for federal housing programs at HUD has been cut by $4.3 billion, adjusted for inflation. What we need is to lift these arbitrary low spending caps, not further diminish funding for critical pieces of the federal safety net like housing. Policymakers need to look at the harm these spending cuts have on our communities, and not just numbers on a page.

We are excited to be working with a coalition of local groups, resident leaders, and elected officials in Red Hook to mobilize our community and resist these cuts. In preparation for the citywide #NoCuts action on April 20 at Federal Plaza, we urge our community members to attend the Red Hook Forum on HUD Cuts to learn and strategize together at the neighborhood-level. The Forum will take place on Thursday April 13, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at PAVE Academy, 732 Henry Street, Brooklyn.

Lead images: Red Hook Houses, by Jim.henderson, used under Creative Commons