Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Concord Baptist Church

May 31, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much. What an honor to be here today at Concord. I want to begin at the beginning. First, I want to do honor to God. Without Him, this day would not be possible. And I know this extraordinary congregation feels that deep sense of loss as we mourn Dr. Taylor, who did so much for this congregation, for this city, for this nation – an exemplar of leadership. We remember him. We appreciate him. We feel all he did for us. 

Today, you have an extraordinary leader in Pastor Simpson. I got to tell you –

[Applause]

– he is renown. He is renown not just for his spiritual leadership. He is renowned for creating a sense of mission that reaches so many people – those with HIV and AIDS, our seniors, our youth. This church community looks out for everyone. Pastor Simpson has led the way. And apparently he has another identity, I've come to understand, as the Green Lantern. I already thought you were a hero, now I hear you're a superhero. Well, we appreciate it. Like your namesake, you're always doing good. 

And in our household we have a phrase – now you know many of us grew up with the phrase, behind every great man stands a great woman. 

[Applause]

Well, I need to – I need to update that a little bit. My first lady is out of town, but if she were here, she would insist that phrase be updated – beside every great man stands a great woman.

[Applause]

What greater woman than Pastor Emma Jordan-Simpson? 

[Applause]

The people have spoken. 

[Laughter]

I love being at Concord. So much, of course, because of what's happening today – all the things this congregation represents and achieves. But I also cannot help but feel history when I stand here. One hundred and sixty-eight years of opening your arms to anyone who needed a spiritual community, who needed a home, who needed hope. By the way, in 1847, and the years thereafter, some of those who came here seeking a spiritual home literally escaped slavery here in our own nation. That is how rich and powerful the history of this place is. So many others over generations left the south in the Great Migration came here, and found a new start and a new hope. 

And, here in Brooklyn, and particularly in Bed–Stuy, for generations people flourished. It wasn't always easy times, but families found opportunity, they found jobs, and especially they found a place to live they could afford. And it was their community, because they built it up. 

Well, in recent years we've seen a change. And it’s a change we don't talk about enough and we don't think about enough, but we have to put it front and center, because gentrification, it’s one of the ultimate doubled-edged swords. There are good elements for sure, and there are also huge problems that come with it.  And we have seen, in just these years, these last years, people being forced out of their own neighborhood, unable to stay in the place they love, the place they built. And that is not a promise of New York City. New York City, and Brooklyn in particular, for generations was a place for everyone. Not a perfect place. Not a place without conflict or prejudice, but still a place for everyone, because in the first instance, anyone could come here, and anyone could afford to live here, whether they came from the south, or they came from another country. Whether it was one generation passing on the torch to the next, you could live in your own neighborhood. 

And today, for the first time in our history, that is truly in doubt. We know, as Pastor says, we have lost many of our neighbors already, and we know many more are threatened. In this city, 56 percent of us – 56 percent of the people who rent an apartment pay more than 30 percent of their income for a place to live. Some pay more than 50 percent of their income for a place to live. Well, that's not the mark of a city for everyone. We had – for generations we had an ample supply of rent stabilized apartments, rent controlled apartments, Mitchell-Lama housing. We had all of these tools to let working people live in their own city. And slowly but surely, the power of the private market has undermined these tools. And we have not just lost a few affordable apartments, we haven't just lost a few thousand affordable apartments. We have, in the last two decades, lost several hundred thousand affordable apartments in this city. That's how dire this situation is. 

If we don't change our course, we could become a gilded city. We could become a city for only those of great means, and we will not allow that. So I presented last year an affordable housing plan – 200,000 units, built and preserved – enough housing for half a million New Yorkers. As many people as live within the city limits of Kansas City or Miami, Florida. 

So that is the kind of thing the city does for its people here. We're going to create affordable housing over the next 10 years at an unprecedented level. We're going to preserve the affordable housing we have now in a much more aggressive manner. So we can be the city we are meant to be. 

We also know that some, some who are landlords and don't play by the rules are harassing tenants and forcing them out of buildings. So we're investing $36 million dollars for legal services for tenants who are threatened. So, they will have a lawyer to fight against an unscrupulous landlord. 

We know that over 400,000 of our fellow New Yorkers live in public housing, in NYCHA. And we know, for not just years but for decades, the federal government has been reducing its commitment to public housing, the state government has been reducing its commitment to public housing – and so it's up to us.  And two weeks ago, I put forward a plan to save public housing for generations to come, because we need it, we need it in this city. 400,000 people need to know that that public housing will be there for them, it will be safer, it will be cleaner, it will be stronger. 

So we're doing all that we can do as a city. But as I mentioned, we've often turned to Washington asking just to give us a little bit of the help when we’re used to it. I don't have to tell anyone in this congregation what's happening in Washington. It's not the best bet to turn to Washington nowadays. 

So we turn to Albany. We say to those in Albany, we represent 43 percent of the population of the state here in New York City. We're asking for fairness. We're asking for a little help so we can still be an affordable city. So this great city that does so much for the whole state can continue to thrive.

Well, in the next three weeks, it is decision time in Albany. Three weeks where things are going to happen that will affect everyone in this extraordinary church, and your family members, and your friends, and your neighbors, and your coworkers. What happens in the next three weeks 150 miles north of here will affect us all for the long term. 

Rent regulation, rent control, rent stabilization. One million units of housing, affecting over 2 million New Yorkers, almost one quarter of us, set to expire in three weeks. If Albany doesn't act, all that we know – rent stabilization and rent regulation – will end. The private market will take over, and the pace of displacement will be faster than anything we've ever seen before. Will we let that happen? 

Audience: No.

Mayor: Will we let that happen?

Audience: No!

Mayor:  In fact, we not only need to keep rent control and rent stabilization in place, we need to strengthen it. As I told you, we've lost two – over 200,000 units of affordable housing. I'm trying to replace all that was lost. But if rent regulation isn't strengthened, we will continue to lose.

Secondly, in Albany they're making a decision about a program that doesn't get a lot of attention. I'll tell you why it doesn't get a lot of attention. It's called 421-a. It is a tax break. It's a tax break that 30 or 40 years ago was put in place so people would develop in New York City when New York City was going through a lot of trouble, and it was very hard to build anything when no one wanted to be here. Well, guess what? Times changed. 

As I mentioned, that gentrification, and all the other trends we're seeing. People want to be here. People pay a lot of money to be here. So you would imagine, we all in this room being common-sense people, we would imagine that if there was a tax break once upon a time, in the bad days so the developers would create housing, that when the good times came and prices were high and the market was booming, of course that tax break would be gone, right? Well, common sense does not rule the day. There is still at this moment, by state law, a tax break for those who build luxury condominiums. Now, do you think your tax dollars should go to fund luxury condominiums?

Audience: No.

Mayor: I didn't think so. We have proposed that Albany act. We have proposed an end to all tax breaks for luxury condominium development. We have proposed that Albany act and say that any time we give a tax credit, we must have affordable housing in return for that tax credit.

[Applause]

And not just some places, literally in every neighborhood and every borough. My message to the developers is a simple one. The law should say this – if you want a tax credit, give us affordable housing. If you’re not giving us affordable housing, no tax credit for you. It's as simple as that. That seems to be fair. 

Albany has a chance to act on that. Three weeks, they have a chance to make a difference. If they pass the reforms that I have proposed, here's what would happen – we would save taxpayers roughly $1.3 billion dollars because we wouldn't be giving away our tax dollars for luxury housing. And what would we do with that – that $1.3 billion? We could create enough affordable housing for 65,000 of our fellow New Yorkers. That difference – think about that. 65,000 people could know that they could live in their neighborhood, live in their city they love. 

And I’ll – I’ll conclude in one moment, but I got to tell you one more piece because I think you'll find it interesting. I also think that people who can afford a luxury condo should be able to afford a little more in taxes so we could build even more affordable housing.

[Applause]

Now, we start by saying if you're going to pay $1,750,000 dollars for a condo, we're going to ask you for 1 percent tax. That money goes to affordable housing. If you're going to pay $5 million dollars for a condo, and brothers and sisters, there are a lot of people right now – just think about this for a minute. $5 million dollars for a condo apartment. That's happening every single day, particularly in Manhattan. We ask them to pay 1.5 percent in taxes so we can create affordable housing now. There are $10 million dollar condos we have sold in this city. There is a $100 million dollar condo that was sold recently in this city. I think those individuals can afford a little more so we can build affordable housing.

[Applause]

Again, our friends in Albany have an opportunity to make a decision. They have three weeks to do it. If they agree with me, we would be able to build with the money we get from that very modest tax on the most wealthy, we would get almost $200 million dollars a year, enough to build 37,000 affordable units. That is enough for 95,000 New Yorkers. Put those two ideas together – the one I mentioned before about 421-a, the one I'm telling you  about now, this tax that we call a mansion tax because it's only on the most expensive homes. You put those two plans together, that is enough housing for 160,000 people. That would change the lives of people in this room, in this sacred place, and many others you know. And that is what is hanging in the balance.

So, let's just imagine Albany thinks about it and says, okay, we want 160,000 people to have affordable housing. We don't want to keep giving money away for luxury condos. We want to ask those who have done well to help us. Albany can do all that with the stroke of a pen and set us on a good course. 

But we've been disappointed before. We are not blind. We're not blind to petty politics. We're not blind to the games people play. So what if Albany says no? What if they say, no, we're not going to do any of that. That is a slap in the face of every New Yorker who is hanging on by a thread to the housing they have in this city. That’s a slap in the face to everyone who wants to stay in their neighborhood and knows they may be priced out. And we shouldn't stand for that. We should not stand for the notion that two million New Yorkers have to worry right now whether their rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment will still be rent controlled or rent stabilized a month from now. And it will be a slap in the face to every one of them if those laws aren’t not only renewed, but strengthened. 

So I will conclude with this – I'm going to ask for your help. You will hear excuses from Albany. I've been particularly surprised to hear the governor say it's too late to make these changes. Brothers and sisters, it's not too late. Three weeks is a lifetime in Albany, New York. There's plenty of time to make these changes. The proposals are on the table, they've been vetted, they're ready to go. They've been acted on before. It's time. 

I've heard the governor say it's too hard to get these things done. No, not when the people demand it. Not when we've proven it will work and be fair to people struggling to find decent housing. I've heard the governor say not everyone agrees. Well, guess what? Not everyone agrees on lots of things. But it doesn't stop us from moving forward as a city and a state. Sometimes it takes leadership. I have seen many tough things done by this governor. I've seen many tough things done by other leaders. Sometimes we say that people need our help and it is time to act. We don't care about the special interests. We care about the interests of the people. And that’s – that’s the chance we have to get things right. And your voices will matter. Your voices will be heard in Albany. I urge you to let your voices be heard.

Finally, I want to offer a quote from Corinthians because I think it epitomizes the simple clarity of what we're trying to achieve right now. "Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal." Scripture teaches us many, many things. Sometimes it reminds us there's something more fundamental than politics and posturing. It reminds us we're here for each other, and our government should be as good as all of us.

I thank you for this opportunity to be with you. I thank you for all you do to make your community strong. I join with you to fight to make sure your community will be here for everyone for years to come. We've had 168 years in this congregation. Let's have us 168 morem and more beyond that where people of every kind, hardworking people, can actually live in the community they love. Thank you. God bless you.

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