Here’s the thing.
Due to an unprecedented housing crisis, The People demanded that no less than half – $23 million, to be exact – of the American Rescue Plan funding allocated to the City of Binghamton be dedicated to affordable housing. The $6 million currently proposed by Rich David’s administration is not enough.
Not with 300 of our neighbors in emergency shelters or sleeping on the street EACH NIGHT, and 500 more doubled-up within other households because they’re unable to afford rent, and an additional 7,000 facing imminent eviction when the State’s moratorium expires next month. $6 million is not even close.
In fact, $6 million is half of the amount of ARPA dollars Mayor David slushed into the City’s “general fund” to accommodate his real estate friend’s preferred kickback on this parking garage project meant to support the development of 122-units of luxury housing.
And we all know what kind of friends David tends to keep.
You may have seen his recent announcement touting an eventual multi-million dollar investment in affordable housing. The truth is, only $500,000 of the City’s Rescue Plan funds have been devoted to that proposal and the remaining millions are not guaranteed and are nowhere near being secured.
David’s announcement is nothing more than a well-timed media stunt intended to cover up ongoing corruption and mismanagement in addressing the city’s cataclysmic affordable housing shortage. His hollow promises are an attempt to distract constituents from—among other things—the significant investments he continues to make in quid pro quo arrangements at the expense of the City’s most vulnerable.
Our demand remains. $23 million to affordable housing. Anything less is a declaration of war on residents.