Activists target for-profit developers of affordable housing

“The Real Gentrifiers of NYC” sounds like a new reality show on Bravo. In fact, it’s a campaign by an activist group critical of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing plan, which is taking aim at for-profit developers of affordable housing.

New York Communities for Change says the New York State Association for Affordable Housing is a mouthpiece for for-profit developers and is responsible for gentrification, Politico reported.

“The Real Gentrifiers” campaign is calling on elected officials to turn away campaign contributions from NYSAFAH. NYCC recently organized a protest outside the Greenwich, Conn., home of Ron Moelis, a founder of low- and middle-income housing developer L+M Development Partners, a for-profit company.

“NYSAFAH developers often act like the Koch brothers and try to buy elections as a way to rig housing and development policy in their favor,” NYCC said in a statement.

NYSAFAH, whose members include for-profit and non-profit developers, called NYCC’s campaign a “misleading political attack orchestrated by construction unions seeking to increase their market share.” [Politico] – E.B. Solomont