Lloyd Fang (AARP) on COPA and aging in place
Fang, representing 750,000 AARP members in NYC, notes older adults are the fastest growing homeless population, with 60% of older renters rent-burdened. He argues COPA would help older adults age in place by preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement from neighborhoods they've called home for decades.
All right.
Good afternoon, Chair Sanchez.
Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak.
My name is Lloyd Fang, and I am the Associate State Director of Advocacy with AARP New York.
I'm here today on behalf of our 750,000 members in New York City and the millions of New Yorkers age 50 and older
who call the five boroughs home to indicate that we strongly support the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, and we urge the City Council to pass it as quickly as possible.
New York City's housing affordability crisis is clearly an aging issue as well.
Older adults are the fastest growing age group in New York City.
Today, 1.43 million New Yorkers are age 65 or older, a 50% increase since 2000.
At the same time, nearly one in five older New Yorkers lives in poverty.
More than 60% of older adult renter households are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
For an older New Yorker living on a fixed income, the sale of the apartment building that they live in can bring tremendous uncertainty.
A new owner can mean pressure to raise rents, changes in building management and conditions, like some of you have heard already, or displacement from a neighborhood someone has had.
called home for decades.
This dynamic is particularly precarious for older New Yorkers and the need to age in place.
COPA, of course, can change that dynamic.
By giving qualified nonprofit organizations a first opportunity to purchase certain multifamily buildings, COPA can help move at-risk housing out of the speculative market and preserve it as permanently affordable housing.
This is particularly important for our older adults.
Aging in place is about so much more than just remaining, you know, within the apartment that they know.
It's about staying close to doctors, family members, friends, houses of worship, older adult centers, and the neighbors that they can rely on, right?
When an older adult is displaced,
they lose the communities that they've known and grown accustomed to.
Ultimately, what this comes down to is how do we achieve age in place and make it a reality for more and more New Yorkers?
And with COPO, we can do that, right?
We can make New York take a much greater step forward toward fulfilling New York's promise as a city for all ages.
Thank you.