For most Americans, homeownership is the key to achieving financial security and their entrée to the middle class. In New York City, fewer than a third of our 8.4 million residents own the place they call home; the vast majority of New Yorkers are renters. Among Black and Brown New Yorkers, the homeownership rate is 26% and 17%, respectively.

The dream of homeownership has become more elusive in the city as purchase prices have climbed above $1 million in Manhattan and Brooklyn, $700,000 in Queens and Staten Island, and close to $600,000 in the Bronx. At the same time, apartment rents throughout the city are averaging more than $3,500 a month, making it virtually impossible for most renters to save up a down payment.

It is clear why housing affordability emerged as the central theme in this year’s city elections and will be a top priority for any incoming mayor.

In 1982, when I went to work for David Rockefeller shortly after he founded the Partnership for New York City, my job was to help realize his vision for the revival of the city and its neighborhoods through creating affordable homeownership opportunities for tens of thousands of New York households. Our homebuyers were union members, often public sector or health care workers who moved out of public housing as they purchased homes that became a ticket to a better future for themselves and their children. 

While most of the financing for the homes we produced came through bank loans, the government provided free land, tax abatements, and capital grants to write down the prices to levels that moderate- and middle-income households could afford. First-time homeowners, in turn, stabilized their communities and became a bulwark against the crime, drug abuse, and arson that was raging through our city at the time. 

Today, there are virtually no homes or apartments in the city that are available and affordable to working families. Homeownership development is down to a trickle. There are no significant city or state subsidy programs to offset the high cost of construction, meaning that homes that do get built are priced beyond the means of all but the very affluent. Moreover, the cost of maintaining a home — taxes, insurance, water and utility bills — has skyrocketed. 

A hopeful solution to restore access and affordability seemed to emerge when Airbnb came to New York offering a potential source of short-term rental income that current and prospective homeowners could use to offset rising costs. Sadly, the company’s initial approach to our complicated housing market was overzealous and political opposition killed what could have been a significant source of relief and expanded opportunities for wealth creation for many New Yorkers. 

Legislation to allow some homeowners to utilize Airbnb and other online platforms for short-term rentals finally passed, but it was so restrictive that few could utilize it. As it stands, city law bans many homeowners from renting a spare room or sharing their home while they are away. As a result, families who relied on modest income from short-term rentals have suffered.

Int. 948A, a bill before the City Council, proposes modest and common sense reforms to New York’s near ban on short-term rentals. It would allow a homeowner to rent their home, accommodating up to four guests, when they’re away or if there is a major event, concert or festival in their community. The chief sponsor of the current law has said their intention was never to make short term rental unavailable to single family owners who are away for a weekend, but to forbid use of the platform by hosts with multiple listings.

The proposed new bill maintains guardrails: it doesn’t remove any housing from the market; a homeowner cannot leave a second unit vacant for solely short-term rental use; it doesn’t allow conversions to de facto hotels or enable speculator investors to buy up properties and rent them out.

What the bill does is enforce core safety protections while removing unnecessary barriers for responsible homeowners. As an additional benefit, it provides an affordable alternative to high-end hotels for visiting relatives, students, and others who could not otherwise enjoy our city and its diverse neighborhoods. 

As a housing advocate, I disagree with those who believe this reform of the current law would reduce the inventory of affordable housing in the city. At a time when public subsidies are limited, short term rentals are a commonsense way to allow moderate income homeowners to survive here. The City Council should enact Int. 948A. 

Wylde is president & CEO of the Partnership for New York City.