Council Member Sanchez Introduces Housing Connect Improvement Bills

Recognizing Councilmember Sanchez, followed by Lee, then Krishna.

Thank you, Majority Leader.

Uh, between January of 2014 and June of 2020, six-year period, we had 29 million applications received by Housing Connect compared to 27,819 leases signed.

For as frustrating for as frustrating as it is to search for an affordable apartment in New York City, it's made all the more frustrating by application technology that sometimes causes unnecessary issues.

Over the last two years, my office has been collaborating with housing providers and housing lottery applicants to develop solutions to problems that plague Housing Connect.

And to that end, I'm proud to introduce three bills today that I hope my colleagues will sign on to.

1264 addresses the issue of prolonged and onerous wait times to fill re-rentals.

1265 ensures applicants or a designee, that's a new thing, get text and email updates about their applications, and 1266 would create a free weekly in-person Housing Connect assistance program in certain public locations.

The housing lottery should help people to find uh pathways to affordable housing, not be hindrances, hindrances.

And so I would like to thank the team at UNHP and the members of Aura, as well as the members of my staff for working so hard on this bill, and of course to my colleagues who are co-priming this.

Thank thank you to all of you.

Thank you.