State, city fight over funds for low-cost housing

To help close New York State’s $15 billion deficit, Governor David Paterson’s budget authorized transferring up to $270 million of Battery Park City Authority’s excess revenues to the state’s general fund. The Bloomberg administration, however, had planned to use the money to finance low-income housing. The surplus was the main source of financing for the $400 million Affordable Housing Trust Fund set up by the city in 2007. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Comptroller William Thompson are opposed to the state using the Battery Park City surplus, saying that the funds are needed because the recession has crippled financing for affordable housing. In a statement released yesterday, a spokesperson for the state budget director said, “The governor shares the city’s commitment to building affordable
housing, and will continue to seek opportunities to maintain this
long-standing commitment within the current fiscal climate.”