Mayor Bill De Blasio
Aug. 21, 2019 By Allie Griffin
The city has lowered the requirements necessary to enter its affordable housing lotteries, lessening barriers that discourage undocumented immigrants from applying.
Starting later today, applicants will no longer need a Social Security number or tax ID number for each adult member of the household to be considered for the lottery, as NY1 first reported.
While undocumented immigrants could already apply to the lotteries, they previously had to submit an individual tax identification number called a TIN. Undocumented immigrants need to apply to the federal government for a TIN, but many don’t have one.
The requirement for each adult family member of a household to submit a Social Security or TIN number to apply is viewed by the administration as a barrier to many undocumented immigrants.
“These new changes are a step towards promoting greater racial equity in our housing market and greater access to affordable housing, regardless of immigration status,” said Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “By eliminating requirements that unnecessarily and disproportionately impact working class immigrant families and people of color, HPD continues to show our City’s commitment to racial and immigrant justice.”
The new changes also allow applicants to wave a landlord-initiated credit check. Instead applicants can show proof that they have paid past rent on time for a year.
“For too long, families without access to credit have faced barriers to the affordable housing they need,” de Blasio said. “By allowing New Yorkers to submit rental history instead of credit checks, we are creating a fairer system for all New Yorkers.”
The new policies reduce the chance of a tenant denied on the basis of poor credit, according to the mayor’s administration. In addition, the city has increased the number of household occupants permitted per unit.
Ana Nuñez, a housing ambassador who works for the nonprofit Churches United For Fair Housing which helps people apply for the lotteries praised the city’s decision on NY1. She said now many more of her clients can apply.
“It completely opens the floodgates,” Nuñez said. “So now this is a truly, truly a sanctuary city.”
In April, the odds of winning an affordable housing lottery were one in 600. With the deletion of the Social Security or TIN requirement, this number is likely to go up.
Queens has the highest number of undocumented immigrants in the city at 184,000 and about 477,000 undocumented immigrants live in all five boroughs, according to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs 2018 report.
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3 Comments
Instead of creating these incentives to invite more illegal immigrants how about focus on the issues of the citizens first. NYC in general is falling apart and it feels we are at Dinkin’s era level of crime and racial divide. This charlatan has wiped away nearly three decades of progress within two administrations by turning against the NYPD, the middle-class and becoming a pawn and puppet of the people who contribute the least. If this was his plan for NYC then what does he have planned for the entire country?
This kind of stuff is why so many people can’t stand him. The average New Yorkers are tiring of his whole “take from others so we can make a better life for undocumented immigrants” scenario. We don’t feel like he is working for us, but rather for them and that’s why he can’t poll above 0% in any of the major Democratic polls. I have always voted Democratic- except in the case of this bozo. In his election years I voted Republican because I saw through his arrogance and phony attitude. His uber liberal agenda is going to eventually cause a backlash. He makes Trump look appealing. I hope that NYC wakes up and starts taking elections more seriously. We can’t just blindly vote for whoever is the Democratic candidate- that’s how we got this piece of work!
Will he just go away already?? He has done enough damage to this city. He’s embarrassing presidential bid is getting sickening at this point. He’s wasting time and money jetsetting around the country to speak to crowds of like 10 people who were already there for a bigger name speaker such as Bernie Sanders. Trump has a higher favorability rating in NYC and that’s really saying something. Go away!