Michael Palumbo (Local 3) on 485X 99-unit loophole
Palumbo describes the incentive to build 99-unit buildings to avoid construction wage requirements under 485X, arguing this hurts the middle class and that the housing crisis should not be solved by pitting workers against housing.
Good afternoon.
Chair Sanchez, Michael Palumbo from Local 3, Residential Division.
I'm here today, I believe, in the goal of 485X.
New York City needs more housing, and we need more affordable housing.
But I believe there's a problem with the way the program is structured.
Under the 485X, there's a major difference between a project with 99 homes and a project with 100 units.
Projects with 100 or more units are subject to construction wage requirements, while 6 to 99 unit category are different requirements.
This creates a very strong incentive to stop at 99, and that's what I believe we need to fix.
We need to build more housing, but we need to make sure that incentives actually encourage developers to build more rather than encourage them to stop just below the threshold.
As an electrician, I see firsthand what goes into construction of these buildings.
The men and women who build New York housing deserve to earn a wage that allows them to support their families.
We should be creating opportunities for people to enter the skilled trades, build careers, and become part of the middle class.
So my request is simple, to stop the 99-unit loophole, which lowers labor costs and overall hurts the middle class.
At the end of the day, New York's housing crisis shouldn't be solved by putting workers and housing against each other.
We should be able to have more housing, more affordability, and more middle-class construction jobs.
And that's what I believe 45X should and can accomplish.
Thank you for your time today.